Best Places to Stay in San Juan del Sur as a Digital Nomad
I spent 9 weeks ‘backpacking’ through Central America – except I had a huge checked bag lol – and I completely fell in love.
Three of those weeks were traveling around Nicaragua with my home base in San Juan del Sur.
San Juan is a cool little beach town that mostly attracts surfers and backpackers, especially solo female travelers… girl power!
Although the town is small, there are some important things to help you decide where to stay as a digital nomad in San Juan del Sur.
Read more: Digital Nomad in San Juan del Sur: A Complete Guide
Where to Stay in San Juan del Sur
Hostels
In San Juan del Sur specifically, I think the best option is to stay in a hostel. Its super cheap, you can make new friends, and they provide daily shuttles to the beaches as well as offer other fun activities.
I loved our time in San Juan, but I think it was because of all the people we met. Without that, if might have gotten old quickly as there isn’t that much variety here.
Not only that, but staying in a hostel is the easiest way to get to all the beaches, you can take surf lessons, and figure out where the place to be is on Wednesday nights. Read all about the best beaches of San Juan del Sur!
The biggest downside of staying in a hostel is that you will sacrifice WiFi quality. And possibly have a bad working set up, which was what happened to us.
Learn more about the wifi and best places to work in San Juan del Sur.
Chill Hostels
Hola Ola Hostel (somewhere between ‘chill’ and ‘party’)
Party Hostels
Surf Camps
Vacation Rental
If you want more space to yourself, and a better internet connection, Airbnb or VRBO could be your best bet. There are a surprising number of them despite the town being quite small.
The main part of the city with bars, restaurants, shopping, taxi services and banks is south of the river. However, most of the Airbnb’s are located in the neighborhoods north of the river. Despite this, the town is not very big so it is still walkable – although you may be dealing with a big hill.
Prices range quite a bit, but the majority are between $1000 to $2000 per month. We planned this trip super last minute and unfortunately when we booked our stay, there weren’t many vacation rentals within our price range. Luckily we stumbled on a little apartment on Expedia for only $30 a night… a good reminder to check all platforms before giving up!
The major downside of staying in an Airbnb is getting to the beaches that are outside San Juan del Sur. You will either need to rent a car or moto, or take a taxi to reach them.
Where We Stayed in San Juan del Sur
Selina Maderas
Selina is every nomad’s dream. We’ve always wanted to stay here, but Airbnb’s seem to offer the better bang for your buck usually. Until here. Selina Maderas is actually affordable.
There is wifi throughout the compound (yes, I said compound), with tons of seating areas and outlets. The best part is the dedicated coworking building with sweeping views of the hilly landscape.
This space is on a separate wifi network from the rest of the hostel so its super fast. After being on the road so long, I forgot internet could be that fast. They also have coffee, tea, and water set out all day.
Although there are tons of pros to staying and working here, there are a few drawbacks.
First, it isn’t located in San Juan, but 15 minutes north (driving) near Maderas Beach. They run daily shuttles to the town, but if you’re working during the day, it’s not really ideal to depend on the shuttle schedule.
You might be thinking, well that’s great because I want to surf at Maderas Beach anyway. Well, although it is technically walking distance, it is quite the walk. Uphill both ways.
So you essentially get trapped here. Although Selina has a restaurant with a full food menu, if you get sick of that, there are only a 2-3 places to eat within walking distance.
My final gripe about Selina is that most everyone there is working. Duh. So although it is a ‘hostel’, everyone kind of keeps to themselves and doesn’t socialize, at least when we were there. I feel like that defeats the purpose of a hostel.
Nuestra Casa
These apartment-style hotels are perfect for digital nomads. And at a super affordable price. Our room had a small kitchenette with a mini fridge, sink, and burner, but there is a full kitchen to use in the common area as well.
We also had an amazing balcony with views of the ocean, and a front row seat every evening to the bright orange sunsets. The best part was there was a desk in the room and the internet was superb.
Not to mention the overly affectionate cat, Sushi, who liked to roll around in our bed, sit in our suitcases, and lay next to us while we worked (especially with Jack). My allergies did not approve, but I just couldn’t say no to our new furry friend.
Maybe I am a cat person after all..? (as I’m editing and updating this post, this comment is so funny to me now…)
Book Nuestra Casa here to meet Sushi irl.
Hola Ola
This hostel was a really fun experience and we made a lot of great friends. And I feel like San Juan is one of those places where you have to stay in a hostel to get the full experience.
However, the internet was a disaster. The room we were staying in didn’t get internet at all, and the common space was not really great for working. There were only a couple uncomfortable couches and some little stools around a table; plus it was the only space people could socialize. So not a great environment for concentrating or joining Zoom meetings.
This is the week we experienced all the highs and lows of what San Juan internet has to offer.
Read about the best places to work in San Juan del Sur.
The great thing about the hostels in San Juan, is that most of them have a beach schedule and shuttle you to the different beaches every day. This is a great way to go since the beaches people hang out at and surf are actually not in San Juan del Sur, but 10-20 minutes out of town.
Hola Ola would transport everyone who signed up to the beach in the morning, and return in the evening. But I know Casa Oro ran shuttles to and from Maderas beach multiple times a day.
This is a great way to meet people because you’re just hanging out at the beach all day with your hostel-mates.
Keep reading: Digital Nomad in San Juan del Sur: A Complete Guide
