San Juan del sur, Nicaragua

You would never suspect it, but in the mid-1800s the sleepy fishing village of SAN JUAN DEL SUR was a crucial transit point on Cornelius Vanderbilt's transisthmian steamboat line, on which people and goods were transported to Gold Rush– era California. A second age of glory arrived in the 1980s, as hordes of internacionalistas visited, making the town a well-known holiday spot. Today San Juan del Sur is the most popular beach town in Nicaragua, at least with foreign travellers – European backpackers and American surfers together make up the biggest contingent. Located in a lush valley with a river running down to the town's beach, the setting is beautiful; the beach itself is a long wide stretch of fine dark sand running between two cliffs. With excellent seafood restaurants and an increasing number of good places to stay, San Juan is the kind of town where you could easily spend a few days.