Warm water, perfect waves, and empty lineups… does surfing get any better than this!?
I had the best surf session of my life on this Nicaragua surf trip, no exaggeration.
I’ll tell you all about it, but to sweeten the pot, Greg decided to give away a trip for 2 to his Sirena Surf Lodge… but only if I could get barreled!
Pressure’s on.
Getting to Nicaragua
We’re from San Diego, so usually it’s cheaper to drive to the border of Mexico, walk across through CBX, and fly out of Tijuana.
But this time, flights out of TJ were around $1500. Apparently some airlines are still whacky from the Covid days.
Flights from San Diego had looooong layovers, so we drove up to LA for our $900 flights. I was hoping to pay only around $400-$500, but what can you do.
LA to a quick connecting flight in El Salvador, and then we landed in Managua, Nicaragua.
Greg was there waiting to pick us up in his white truck, and we drove about an hour and a half back to his surf lodge.
It’s nice that airport pickup (and dropoff) is included in the price, because usually we have to pay extra for this service on our other surf trips.
Greg
Greg turned out to be a more interesting man than the Dos Equis guy.
He had nonstop stories to fill the drive, and good ones at that. From flying planes, to racing motocross, to sailing his boat from San Diego to Nicaragua, this guy has some life experiences!
One of his many talents was making Pina Coladas, which we enjoyed many of.
I had read stories of people getting their camera equipment held at airport customs, so I just packed my GoPro in my backpack. Greg let us use his Canon with a long lens… because if I get barreled but nobody sees it, does it even count?
Also, drones are not allowed in Nicaragua, but you might be able to find a local with one 😉
Nicaragua Surf Spots
We timed our surf trip perfectly, because it was the slow season but we still had some fun swell to play with.
It was just our crew surfing almost every spot we went to. Crazy. A couple times we surfed with just a handful of other people.
As part of the surf trip package, you get one boat trip every day, which is pretty cool!
Sirena Surf Lodge is right on the beach, but the break out front wasn’t really working for most of our trip. Still fun to wake up and swim around first thing in the morning though.
Some other beaches were walking distance, but mostly we would take the boat to some better spots.
Apparently Puerto Sandino can get really good (long left), but it was verrrry laid back and mushy when we were there. Fun to cruise on Greg’s pink longboard though.
There was never anyone else at this spot when we surfed it, but I’m told it can get a bit of a crowd on it during the busy season.
We explored a couple other beachbreaks that had more punch… one of them with nonstop barrels. That’s where I had the best session of my life. What a dream. 80 degree barrels (our wetsuits are nice, but boardshorts are better) with nobody else out.
Oh did I mention that Greg rips?
Crocodiles or Sharks in Nicaragua?
I’ve heard stories of people getting attacked or killed by crocodiles when crossing rivermouths in Costa Rica or Nicaragua, so we were keeping our eyes peeled.
Greg claims to have seen crocodiles in the lineup before, but we didn’t see any while we surfed.
(Greg claims the sharks keep the crocs under control, but we didn’t see any sharks either)
Beginner Surfing?
None of the spots that we surfed were very beginner-friendly, but wifey B gave a good effort!
On a smaller day at my favorite beachbreak, she rode a couple waves on the pink longboard.
Sirena Surf Lodge Review
When you stay at Greg’s surf camp, all you need to think about is surfing.
Greg will pick you up from the airport, take you to the surf spots, and feed you 3 delicious meals per day. There’s a couple other restaurants nearby if you want to explore, but let’s be honest, Greg’s team provides the most delicious meals.
All this for about $125/night if you book a 6 night stay.
The surf lodge is super nice, and it’s even more impressive that Greg built most of it himself.
While we were there, he was working on a new bar area and talking about plans for an infinite pool.
There’s a pool and ping/pong table (essential for a surf camp), tons of different lounge areas and chairs, comfy hammocks and bean bag seating.
They provide yoga mats which we used on the upstairs “balcony” area, with a gorgeous view of the ocean.
The bedrooms all have air conditioning, and in the bathrooms you’re allowed to flush toilet paper!
(This is actually really nice because in most Central America surf camps you are supposed to put your used toilet paper into a trash bin).
Greg brought the American amenities to Nicaragua.
And you know internet is a necessity, so we could work a little bit every day to make sure all of your orders and messages were taken care of.
Like I said, just show up and be prepared to surf, and Greg will take care of the rest.
Ho Stevie! Surf House
A mile or less from my favorite beachbreak, we found some new condo type houses being finished. These were the only modern looking houses we saw in Nicaragua, and I was very interested!
How cool would it be to have a brand new house on your favorite empty beachbreak?
We got some more information, and prices start around $170k, which isn’t bad, but keep in mind that financing isn’t available in Nicaragua, so that would need to be a cash purchase.
Ho Stevie! Airbnb surf house maybe?
Did Stevie Get Barreled?
Well, if it’s not a “hell yes” then it’s a “no”.
While I didn’t make it out of a proper barrel, I got some head dips, and Greg said that’s good enough for his giveaway.
Watch the video at the top of the page to see how you can win a trip for 2 to Sirena Surf Lodge.
