Poneloya

Poneloya is a great place to escape the heat of León. Less than half an hour from León by bus or shuttle, Poneloya makes a good day trip, but there are also good accommodation options if you want to stay for a while to swim and enjoy the ocean. It is quieter and less touristy than its interconnected sister beach town of Las Peñitas just to the south. Administratively both Poneloya and Las Peñitas are part of the municipio of León, but Nicaragua does not have an equivalent of counties, so municipalities include both a city and a lot of rural areas around it.

By car

From León to Poneloya it is an easy 20-minute drive on a good road.

By bus

The buses for Poneloya leave from the municipal market in Sutiava. To get from León to Sutiaba, you can either walk the 14 blocks from the Central Park along Calle Rubén Dario, which takes about 25 minutes, take a taxi (C$20-30 per person) or ride on a public pickup truck (C$3). The bus to Poneloya costs C$12 (each way) and leaves when the bus is full, which works out at about once an hour. The first bus leaves very early in the morning, around 4 am, and the last bus back leaves Poneloya around 6pm.

By taxi

A taxi from León is C$150-250. The rate is not fixed, do haggle before you get in the cab. Taxis back can be a bit hard to find so get the phone number of the taxi or pay for the driver to wait.

By thumb

It is certainly possible to hitch this short ride, however be prepared to chip in a bit of cash to the driver.

Distances between the beach, estuary, restaurants and hotels are small and the best way to get around is to walk. Take the main road that runs behind the ocean front houses if you are in a hurry or walk on the sand along the beach if you want to enjoy the scenery.

Poneloya is surrounded by beautiful nature.

• The sunsetA trip would not be complete without watching the sunset over the ocean.

The main thing to do in Poneloya is to enjoy the beach and to swim. The latter can be done either in the ocean, with waves that at times can be intimidating, or in the estuary at the northern end of the town, where the water is calm and nice. Except for Easter week, there are hardly any crowds here and it is possible you will be the only one out on the beach.
Besides hanging out at the beach, there's a billiard hall popular with locals at the end of the paved road in Poneloya, though at night it gets a little rowdy as locals get drunk on Lijon - a cheap sugar cane liquor. There are rustic restaurants past the billiard hall, and lots of Flor de Caña rum. There is also a Catholic Church in Poneloya in case you need to make atonement for what Flor made you do.

There are a number of small general stores (pulperías) along the main road that sell the basics, but for major shopping you need to go to the municipal market in Sutiava (closest) or some place in León.

There are several seafood restaurants clustered in the northern part of town around the estuary.

• Doña HildaA basic restaurant serving excellent seafood, including fresh fish and lobster. You can ask the staff to move a table down to the water line for some romantic peace and quiet.

The restaurants around the estuary are good places for a beer or rum.

There are a number accommodation options, from hotel Lacayo, old and historic, all wood structure, to Hotel Poneloya, refurbished rooms with a/c across the street. They have upgraded the beds, famous for uncomfortable before. Still, the rooms have no real windows. Rooms were US$25 a night.

Poneloya has powerful waves crashing on the shore, with strong currents and rips. The beach is not patrolled by lifeguards and there are no signs or flags to indicate where it is or isn't safe to swim. With kids it is best to swim in the estuary.

• The sister beach town of Las Peñitas, just south of Poneloya, and the Juan Venado Island nature preserve. You can take a long walk there along the beach, or wait for a bus or taxi to show up.
• The colonial city of León, 20 km to the northeast.