Sports and Outdoor activities in Nicaragua

Nicaragua’s national sport is baseball, and every town has a field and numerous, active leagues. Ask your local taxi driver about league games, for which most of the town will turn out in support. Football (soccer) is played by children in the street, but lacks the popularity here that it has in other Latin countries.

Visiting surfers are drawn to the country’s Pacific coast, where there seems to be an endless run of deserted beaches with great breaks; the most popular area (with good tourist amenities) is around San Juan del Sur, near the Costa Rican border – you’ll find the most surf camps, teachers, and board sales or rentals in this area. Nicaragua also offers excellent hiking, with stunning volcanoes, like those on Isla de Ometepe and mountains around Estelí and Matagalpa. On the Atlantic coast, diving and snorkelling are a must, particularly on the Corn Islands, where you can reach wrecks and reefs from right off the beach. Nicaragua is also the only country in the world currently offering volcano-boarding – using a customized plank to ride the ashes on the Cerro Negro volcano near León.