If you’re okay with living on the other side of main street, i.e. the side where the houses don’t open up directly to the beach, prices drop considerably. Main street, also known as Las Penitas first street, runs parallel to the beach and the public pathways located after each block of villas guarantee easy access to the ocean for everyone. This arguably the address that has seen the most action during recent years when it comes to property development. Here, impressive vacation homes are intermingled with tin shacks and worn down cottages.

If you don’t mind taking a five minute stroll down to the ocean you can do what quite a high number of expats has done these last few years – buy some land a block or two from the beach on one of the side streets that connects to main street. This is the neighbourhood where you will find a majority of Las Penitas subsistence fishermen and their families. Fishing nets hang to dry in the gardens; children play in the street, and don’t be surprised if you meet a sow with her piglets on your way home.

Compared to other Central American countries such as Costa Rica and Panama, construction costs are much less in Nicaragua so buying an empty lot and erecting your own dream home is certainly an option.

You are more than welcome to contact us and we will help you find a suitable property. Just send us an email and we will make sure to find some properties that match your requirements for you to look at when you get down here. We can also e-mail you photographs and information about properties, and assist you in finding a reliable lawyer to help you avoid a lot of problems that might otherwise arise when buying a property in Nicaragua.

If you want to go fishing off the coast of Las Penitas simply contact one of the authorized local fishermen and plan the trip with him. For a fee, the fishermen will take you out deep sea fishing or explore the mangrove forest.

Fishing trips normally start at six a clock in the morning (right after sunrise) but it is usually possible to negotiate a later start if you want to.

If you want to make an appointment in advance, you can for instance call fisherman Antonio González at 505-887 666 75 or Kon-Tiki tours at 505-843 860 50.

Fish names in English and Spanish

Diving Las Penitas

Kon-Tiki tours offers diving and scuba diving trips, but is not a dive school – they arrange transportation and guiding only. They do for instance offer a “Diving for the Treasures of the Sea” trip.

You can contact them by calling 505-843 860 50 or get in touch with them by visiting the Las Penitas Language School. The owner of the school speaks English, Spanish and Norwegian.

For the surfer on a budget there are plenty of accommodations to choose among, even if you want to stay right on the beach. Prices for beach front dorms start at 6 USD and you can get your own private room for 15 USD. There are several rustic restaurants along the beach and on main street (which runs parallel to the beach) that will welcome you with open arms even if you arrive barefeet and in wet shorts with your board over your shoulder.

At several places along the beach, ragged rocks are located just a few meters from the waterline and they can be hidden during high tide so be careful. Spend some time scouting the shoreline at low tide to know what’s hidden beneath or simply ask one of the locals to point out the risky spots for you. The name Las Penitas literary means “the little rocks” in Spanish.

If you want to bring your own board with you on the chickenbus from Leon that’s no problem, but it is also possible to rent surfing boards and body boards at most hostels and at the surf school.

Surfing overview for Las Penitas

Experience level:                Suitable for all surfers, but be aware of the undertow

Wave quality:                     World Class

Frequency:                          Very consistent year round

Type:                                   Point-break

Direction:                            Right and left

Normal length:                    50-150 meters

Swell size:                           Starts working at 1.0-1.5 m and holds up to 3 m+

Tide position:                      All tides

Bottom:                              Sandy

Surfing lessons in Las Penitas

Coco Surf School opened in April 2009 and offers classes and surfboard rentals, and will also repair damaged boards for you. Renting a board costs 3 USD per hour or 10 USD for the whole day. The school is located right at the beach; look for a thatched cabana between Playa Roca and Hotel Suyapa.

You can reach the owners Rafae and Carlos on cocosurfschool@gmail.com, visit their website or call 505-8-958-7443.

Location: Olazul is located on the beach near the shrimp farm.

Information:
Olazul offer visitors small but cosy cabins. They have cabins with and without air conditioning.  Each cabin has a private bathroom and a small private terrace.  The standard of the rooms are among the best you will find in Las Penitas.

The hotel has a well maintained pool and if you don’t feel like swimming in the pool you have the ocean just outside your door. The ocean often has high waves and the pool might be a good choice for children or if you’re a poor swimmer.

The hotel has a restaurant that is supposed to be good but that we have not reviewed yet. When we do, you will be able to find our review in the restaurant section. Breakfast are included in the price for the private cabins.

Olazul also offers dorm rooms at 10 USD / night which is higher than what many other Las Penitas hotel and hostels charge for their dormitory rooms.

The hotel is well maintained and rooms as well as communal areas are kept clean and in good condition.

The hotel offers a number of tours including tours into Isla Juan Venado and fishing tours.

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Location: Playa Roca is located halfway down the Las Penitas main road, just after the exit to the second road.

Information:
Playa Roca is located on the beach just behind one of the best bathing spots on the Las Penitas beach where a row of rocks reduce the impact of the otherwise heavy waves.

It is a popular hotel with 8 single rooms and 2 dormitories. You are bound to meet other English speaking people here. They have a restaurant with a beautiful view of the sea. You can read our review of the restaurant in the restaurant section.

The outer limits of the hotel have unfortunately been destroyed by wave action which gives the hotel a worn and battered appearance at the moment. This is however a recent damage and is likely to be repaired when ocean cycles allow it.

We have received some reports of guest getting a poor welcome and service in this hotel but have not been able to verify this information, nor have we been able to get a first hand account from any guest with such experiences. This is therefore to be considered a rumour at this point.

A word of caution: The wifi service is often offline and should not be relied upon. There is however an internet café with Wifi in Las Penitas that you can visit if you need internet. The internet café also offers international calls.

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Location: Oasis is located on the beach, roughly 100 meters / 3oo feet before the bay.

Information:

Oasis is a restaurant located on the beach and all tables have Pacific Ocean view. The restaurant offers a small menu of different dishes ranging from fish to hamburgers and steaks. The food is not bad but can be somewhat uneven and is far from being the best in Las Penitas. The prices are fair and main courses start from around 100 cordobas (5 USD).

The service is good but sometimes a little slow. The furniture is plastic and the floor of most of the restaurant is sand. The overall feel of the restaurant is pleasant and this is a good place to meet other tourist from all over the world.

Oasis offers a nice selection of soft drinks, beers and freshly squeezed juices. They serve a highly refreshing freshly squeezed pineapple juice.

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Location: Barca del oro is located at the very end of Las Penitas main road where the buss stops and turn around to head back to Leon.

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Barca del oro is situated very nicely with a view over the bay and Isla Juan Venado.  It is also a popular hostel. Barca de oro offers good food at prices that are little, but not much, higher than the average Las Penitas restaurant. Expect to pay 125 cordobas (6 USD) for a beef, fish or chicken meal. They serve what might be the best beef in Las penitas.

The environment is very nice with a lot of plants and well maintained wooden furniture on concrete floor. They also offer restaurants guest the opportunity to sit in the garden where the ocean view is better. The furniture in the garden is plastic and the floor is sand.

The service varies a lot, one time it’s excellent and the next time you visit you might have to wait 30 minutes just to receive the menus.

Barca de oro have a nice assortment of soft drinks, beers and spirits and is one of few places in Las Penitas where you can get wine.

Barca de oro is a great choice for people with limited or non existent knowledge of Spanish since the owner speaks English and French.

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Location: La Riviera is located near the end of the main road of Las Penitas with view over the bay, close to  Barca de oro.

Information:

Riveria is a pizzeria serving U.S. west coast style pizza. If you prefer east coast, New York,  pan pizza style pizzas this is not the restaurant for you. This is not to say that the Pizza is bad and it is a good option if you like east coast style Pizza. Riveria also serves pasta but this option is not always available. Riviera opens at 5 pm and is open Thursday – Sunday.

The service is good and the newly constructed restaurant has a nice atmosphere to it. They often show movies at night or play music videos on the big screen.

Riveria has one of the best bars in Las Penitas and is an ideal place to drop by for a beer or a few drinks. They also have very good freshly squeezed juices.

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Location: Bertha is located near the entrance to Las Penitas, about 100 meters down the road from the (very small) police station and the Claro Cell tower.

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Bertha is a nice little restaurant with good prices. A meat, fish or chicken dish cost 100 cordobas / 5 USD, and a large sea food platter (enough for several persons) is 250 Cordobas / 12 USD. The food tastes good and they are well known for their fish, lobster and shellfish. The service can be a bit slow at times but that is true for most restaurants in the area. Also, it happens on occasions that they don’t have some of the items offered on the menu.

The restaurant is very rustic with straw roof and plastic furniture. Part of the dining hall has a concrete floor but most of it has sand floor. The walls are covered in beer advertisements.  Some tables have a limited beach and ocean view.

Bertha has a good assortment of soft drinks and beers. If you however are looking for good wines you might prefer to visit another restaurant.

Bertha can be recommended to anyone who primarily is looking for good cheap food within a short distance from the beach.

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Location: Barca del oro is located at the very end of Las Penitas main road where the buss stops and turn around to head back to Leon.

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Barca del oro is beautifully located within the bay of Las Penitas eith a beautiful view of the bay, as well as the ocean and Isla Juan Venado. Barca de oro is beautifully nestled among trees and has a well planted garden. The entire hotel has a peaceful atmosphere to it.

The hotel is popular and you are bound to meet other travellers while staying there.

Barca de oro also contain a popular restaurant. Visit our resturant section to see our review of the resturant.

Barca de oro offers free body board rental, beach volleyball, games, books and tv for their guests.

They also offer a variety of tours such as turtle tours, horse back riding, tours into the nature reserve and kayak rental. They can also help you arrange trips to other parts of the country.

They offer a private parking for guest.

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