In this report, I share my San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua cost of living including rents, utilities, groceries, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment. But first, I will show you around town so you get a feel for whether or not you are interested in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua.
We are presently touring around Central America identifying the best places to retire cheap in Paradise. We completed tours of the Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua and we will soon be ranking our favorite places in each country and our favorite places in all of Central America.
Please subscribe if you are interested in the best places to live a more interesting life on less money. That is what we do. I left the USA in 2007 and I have been to 67 countries so far writing reports about the best places to retire cheap in paradise.
After completing our tour of Costa Rica, we crossed the land border and headed north into Nicaragua. Our first stop in Nicaragua was San Juan Del Sur. San Juan Del Sur is the most expensive beach town in Nicaragua but it will still feel cheap to many foreigners and is the number one place in Nicaragua for beach-loving ex-pats.
If you are looking for even cheaper prices, check out the beach villages north and south of San Juan Del Sur.
San Juan Del Sur is a small touristy beach town along the southern coast of Nicaragua on the Pacific Ocean. Google Map.
First, I will share my estimated costs of living in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua.
After that, I will show you our favorite restaurants and grocery stores, our favorite day trip, our livability factors, and where we stayed.
Cost of Living in San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua
Here is my estimated cost of living if Qiang and I were to live in San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua. But we are all different, so you will have to visit and do an exploratory visit in order to estimate your estimated cost of living here.
Rents: To rent an unfurnished 1 bedroom apartment, you will have to pay around $250-$350 per month for a local-style apartment. The rents were higher a few years ago but the demand has been lower recently. I will use $300 per month for rent which does not include utilities. If you want a western-style apartment you could easily pay double or triple. I also provide a link to my report about how to find perfect apartments around the world.
Utilities: This is at sea level so it would be difficult to avoid air conditioning completely. I estimate my electric bill would average around $75 per month which includes water and gas.
Groceries: Based upon our time here and the money we spent on groceries, we estimate about $300 USD per month on groceries for two people.
Restaurants: If we went out to eat twice per week, once for date night and once for a lunch somewhere, we would spend about $35 per week or $150 per month in restaurants for the two of us. We would eat mostly in the mom-and-pop local restaurants like you will find elsewhere in Nicaragua rather than the expensive expat-style restaurants.
Cell Phone Data: The cost to recharge prepaid service is about $20 USD per month. My android phone will act as a hotspot so we can both be on the internet at the same time when we are out of the house together.
Laundry: We could send our laundry out once per week for about $8 to wash, dry, and fold, so about $32 per month.
Water: We would spend about $20 per month on bottled water.
Internet: The Internet will be about $50 per month depending on how fast you need your service.
Transportation: Everything you would want in San Juan Del Sur is fairly walkable. So we would pay about $20 per month in transportation since we would ride our bikes and local buses mostly.
Alcohol (Optional): Local beers are about $0.70 USD in stores. If you watch and buy in bulk on sale you may save a little. But in bars and restaurants, beers run about $1. So for two people, we estimate about $80 USD per month for alcohol since we would drink more at home.
Entertainment (Optional): We would budget about $100 per month for entertainment for the two of us.
|
San Juan Del Sur |
Expense (USD) |
|
Rent |
300 |
|
Groceries |
300 |
|
Utilities |
75 |
|
Restaurants |
150 |
|
Cell |
20 |
|
Laundry |
32 |
|
Water |
20 |
|
Internet |
50 |
|
Transportation |
20 |
|
Recurring Total |
$967 |
|
|
|
|
Alcohol (Optional) |
80 |
|
Optional Total |
$1047 |
|
|
|
|
Entertainment (Optional) |
100 |
|
Optional Total |
$1147 |
The above cost of living is for 2 people but is just an estimate on the low end. For a full understanding of what it would cost you to live here, visit Numbeo San Juan Del Sur and add anything you spend money on in your home country that is not mentioned in the table. Our costs of living are generally much lower than a new traveler’s because we are great bargain hunters but there are a few people that live cheaper than we do.
Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.
More typical living costs in San Juan Del Sur range from about $1300 to $2000 per month. But people spending that much also have higher incomes or pensions. They often report spending more on entertainment, eating out, and alcohol. Many also have more expensive cars, houses, or apartments.
If you are going to try to retire cheap offshore, make sure to read my report, the Two Biggest Risks of Retiring Early for Cheap Offshore, which explains why you should have emergency funds available for unexpected large expenses.
Best Beach Sunset in San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua
Google Map. You will probably laugh at my map. Basically, the beach spans from one end of the town to the other. It will not be difficult for you to find you favorite spot. The whole thing is a beach, so just start walking in along the sand and pick your favorite places.
The sunset is so relaxing here, we walked down to enjoy the sunset every day.
If you are looking for less crowded beach options, check out Playa Hermosa or Playa Maderas. Shuttles to and from these beaches and others are available from Casa Oro.
San Juan Del Sur Nightlife
Sunday Funday is probably the most famous thing happening in San Juan Del Sur was not up and running when we were in San Juan Del Sur. It is a drunken pub crawl. Try Googling Sunday Funday when you are in town if you are interested.
Things were still in slow pandemic mode when we were in town but here are the main areas you should walk to hear the sights and sounds of the evening to see if anything tickles your fancy. Just click this map and walk the path. The locations on the Google Map are not suggested, they are just there to get you walking in the correct areas.
San Juan Del Sur Favorite Day Trip
Grab the free shuttle to the Tree Casa Resort shown in the above video. You buy a day pass for around $24 USD per person and most of that is credited to your food and drink at the Tree Casa Resort. We loved this day trip! Google Map.
San Juan Del Sur Best Restaurants, Markets, Groceries
Restaurants:
Mercado Central: Pick whichever restaurant in the central market is the busiest on the day you are there.
Dale Pues: This was one of our favorite restaurants while we were in town when we felt like having foods from home rather than local foods.
Pizzeria La Terraza: Beautiful view and reasonable prices while you eat a wood-fired Pizza.
Ding Repair Cafe: Western-style expensive cafe with great breakfasts.
Social: Restaurant, bar, and swimming pool right in the middle of town. Qiang had sushi and I had a Tempeh dish.
Ceviche: Qiang loved the $3 takeaway Ceviche she got at this fish market as shown in the above video.
Favorite Markets:
Grocery Store: The grocery store is across the street from this link. This grocery store had a nice selection of both local and imported foreign foods.
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: You will prefer the prices and quality for fresh fruits and vegetables at this market but you will also find pop-up street markets come and go.
Fresh Fish Market: You can buy and cook at home or they also have ready-made ceviche.
San Juan Del Sur Livability Factors and Retirement Desirability Score
Here are some of the factors I think about when I consider a place for early retirement potential. After I discuss each factor I will assign an overall retirement desirability score to San Juan Del Sur.
Walkability: High Desirability I love living in walkable areas of the world where you can walk to restaurants, grocery stores, nightlife, parks, and other interesting things to do. San Juan Del Sur is completely walkable. We would probably just purchase bicycles if we lived here.
Internet: High. The Att Speed Test in our apartment WIFI was 10 Mbps download speeds and 4 Mbps upload speeds. So the Internet speeds were all we needed for our purposes.
Food: Medium. There is not a large selection of various foods from around the world as you may expect in a smaller beach town of this size. The higher concentration of ex-pats also means there are not as many cheap local restaurants as in other parts of Nicaragua. But there are at least some local style restaurants such as in Mercado Central.
Weather: Medium. There are basically two seasons in San Juan Del Sur, the wet season and the dry season. The best time to visit San Juan Del Sur is December through March. The warmest months are April through November which is muggy and hot with daytimes averages around 31C, 88F, and nights average of around 25C, 77F. The other months are just a little cooler with average daytime highs around 29C, 85F, and night lows average around 23C, 74F. The rain falls mainly from mid-May through mid-November. Make sure to visit during both seasons before deciding to live here.
Things to Do: Medium. Surfing, kayaking, standup paddleboarding, fishing, swimming, biking, live music (some), cooking, gym, yoga, restaurants, running, coffee shops, dirt biking, and hiking.
Healthcare: Medium. Nicaragua ranks 71st of the top 100 for healthcare according to this international survey. A new hospital opened in San Juan Del Sur recently and should be able to help with many routine problems. But for more complicated issues you may need to see a specialist in one of the better hospitals in Managua: Vivian Pellas Metropolitan Hospital, Hospital Bautista, and the Military Hospital. Some ex-pats purchase medivac insurance for around $260 per year in case they need to be airlifted to the USA for even more complicated procedures. Do not be surprised if your cost of care is 70 to 90%% cheaper than it would be in the USA.
Social Considerations: High. If you decide to retire in San Juan Del Sur, you will want to learn some Spanish. Your life will be more full if you are able to communicate meaningfully with everyone around you.
Expats: Medium. There are a few Facebook groups for ex-pats living in San Juan Del Sur. One, two. I suggest people join these groups to ask questions and get answers to questions that only an ex-pat would know. But make sure to make friends with both locals and ex-pats for a richer experience living here. I explain why in my report, The Top 10 Mistakes International Retirees Make.
Real Estate: High. On the day I wrote this report, I was curious how much a small house or Condo would cost in or near San Juan Del Sur. So, I used Google to translate “Homes for sale in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua” into Spanish, “Casas en venta en San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua” and I was able to easily locate this 2 bedroom house for sale for $58,000 USD.
But I never recommend buying real estate until you have lived somewhere for at least 2 to 3 years. In fact, I have a report explaining Why Retired Expats Should not Buy Real Estate Overseas for the first 2 to 3 years of living somewhere new overseas. Make sure to read that before deciding to buy real estate overseas.
Visa: High. Citizens of many countries are given a 90-day visa-free tourist stamp upon arrival in Nicaragua. If you fall in love with Nicaragua during your exploratory visit and decide to stay you will need to apply for residency. The retiree residence age is 45 years old if you can show $600 monthly pension or more, but some have been able to gain this residency before age 45 by proving financial stability. Each additional dependent requires showing an additional $100 pension.
Safety: Medium. In general, I would stay away from Managua unless you are going there for medical treatment. We felt safe in San Juan del Sur, but we were in the central area of town which is generally considered one of the safest areas. Nicaragua was ranked 120th in safety on the Global Peace Index for 2021. But make sure to read my report on how to travel the world safely, including in your home country. I provide all of my tips and tricks that have kept me safe for 14+ years traveling the world.
San Juan Del Sur Overall Retirement Desirability Score: High. San Juan del Sur is definitely on the map for us now when we travel through Central America. We will rank our top spots in Central America in the next few weeks and I suspect San Juan del Sur will be in the top 5 easily for Central America. It has the feeling we like of being immersed in a foreign culture as a student rather than as a place where ex-pats move because it is more like home. The cultural immersion, the low cost of living, and the totally laid-back atmosphere of San Juan Del Sur, all added up to keep smiles on our faces.
Where We Stayed
We stayed here while we were in San Juan Del Sur. We paid $166.28 for one week including tax including utilities. We found it here on Bookings.com. You’ll pay 166.48 in USD. We usually just rent for a few days or a week and then try to find the best deal with our feet on the ground. Here is my report about how to find perfect apartments around the world. You will almost never find the best long-term deals online.
How we got to San Juan Del Sur
We came to San Juan Del Sur from Costa Rica. We took a bus from the bus station in Liberia, Costa Rica to the border (Frontera Bus) of Nicaragua for about $3 USD. From the border on the Nicaragua side, we took a private taxi to San Juan Del Sur with Daniel (WhatsApp) for $30 USD. Here is Daniel’s number: +505 8776 9376.
Thanks for reviewing my report, San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua Cost of Living.
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