San Juan del Sur (Nicaragua, Granada City)

San Juan del Sur is a port town on the Pacific Ocean, part of Nicaragua's Rivas Department. It is situated approx 140 km (87 mi) south of Managua (Nicaragua's capital and largest city). San Juan del Sur has population around 8,000 and is popular vacation travel destination for surfing.

Port San Juan del Sur (locode NISJS) is the gateway and the principal cruise port to Granada City (Granada Department's capital, population around 105,000). Granada is on Lake Nicaragua and visited via bus tours from San Juan del Sur, at approx 100 km / 60 mi to the north, or around 2-hours drive distance.

The city's economy is heavily based on tourism and commercial fishing. Most foreign tourists come from Europe, USA and Canada. There is a proposal for building the so-called "Nicaragua Canal" - connecting Pacific Ocean with Lake Nicaragua.

The town was a resting place for gold prospectors in the 1850s. Correspondingly, it served as a hub for Cornelius Vanderbilt Lines. Today tourists are coming to San Juan del Sur from all over the world including Americans and Europeans. It is possible for cruise vessels that have missed scheduled port visits to dock and offload in the region. The influx of tourism feeds the tourist-dependent businesses in San Juan, including the ones visiting off of a cruise ship the many restaurants and boutiques in San Juan del Sur. San Juan also offers about 11 established hostels and accommodations of all kinds. 

A statue of Christ of the Mercy sits above San Juan del Sur on the bay's northern end. Mirador del Cristo de la Misericordia lies on one of the highest points and is one of the tallest statues of Jesus in the world.