Easygoing San Juan del Sur is the hub for exploration of Nicaragua's toned-and-tanned southern Pacific beaches. The town itself, with its clapboard Victorian houses, a towering statue of Christ on a neighboring hillside and a steady influx of young and beautiful international travelers and surfers, is quite fun, with a good range of dining, drinking, shopping and nightlife venues.
And while the once-sleepy fishing village doesn't sit on an amazing stretch of coastline – you need to head just north or south for that – its half-moon, brown-sugar beach is pretty for a sunset stroll. Top it all off with a string of world-class surfing enclaves located within easy distance of town, and you have all the workings to kick off an amazing adventure in paradise.