London's Sunday Tmes carried a report of several US retrees settling round a delightful bay far from the madding crowd.
I haven't been to Nica for over 30 years and now considering a look-see visit, I'll travel using the latest LP when I decide to go, but can any of you knowledgeable ones suggest such a location.
Also which is the best way from Europe - are there any premium economy routes and I wish to avoid Miami and Houston.
I would suggest the MOON Nicaragua guidebook.
You may find cheaper to fly to San Jose (SJO) Costa Rica with so many flights and usually the lowest prices of any capital in CR, at least from the US. Iberia via Madrid, and Condor via Germany? There direct flights in US via the following cities to all capitals in CA, and also, there is a newer airport closer to Nica border in CR Liberia (LIR), just 2 hours bus ride to border.
American is via Miami (MIA), United is direct from Chicago now (ORD), and I think from Newark New Jersey (EWR), and check TACA from JFK NYC.
Delta/KLM from Atlanta (ATL)
American from Dallas (DFW), and United from Houston (IAH).
Taca also serves all of CA capitals, though not all direct from each capital to another,
The bus from San Jose CR to Managua is direct on King Quality or Tica Bus.
You can sometimes catch the same bus in Liberia, or there are direct busses to border every 30 minutes. From border, you can taxi hire to San Juan Del Sur or to San Jorge via Rivas for Ometepe. Or just wait for the busses to Rivas and switch there.
As you asked in your question, the cheapest from Europe to avoid US is to go through Cancun. Iberia sometimes has some cheap flights to San Jose and then bus with Transnica, Tica, or King Quality.
The bay featured in the Times is San Juan Del Sur which I agree looked good from the aerial shot be is too popular to be far from the madding crowd. Its a popular resort in Nicaragua but CA generally has a whole lot better to offer...
Ehhh...SJDS looks great in photos, but in reality is about as nice as the worst beach in Costa Rica, you cant swim off the main town beach, you have to commute to the good beaches, and the most the good lodging is pricey and above town, far from the ocean and its also very hot there, not very sophisticated in a bad way, lot of backpacker yahoos and gringo partying deadheads...the good land and ocean front is all snapped up by developers and its gated communities like Morgans Rock Etc, and thius was when I was last there in 2006, if you need a beach and some surf waves, its a quick and easy fix, otherwise, I would avoid it...
THank you all so much for your efforts. Compared to the Indian TT site, this is great.
I visited CR from 78 thru to about 98 , but it is comparitively expensive for a retired Brit and has lost its old character.
I'll have to think further about a suitable Winter retreat which inevitably means SE Asia that cant be bad and I know it quite well.
