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Nicaragua is generally known for being affordable and San Juan del Sur is no exception. Of course, the actual cost of living will vary depending on your lifestyle and spending habits.
In this cost of living report, we’ll provide valuable insight into budgeting for life in San Juan del Sur. We cover everything from housing and healthcare to entertainment and more.
A BIT ABOUT US
We are a Canadian couple that has been living in Nicaragua full time since December 2011. We fund our life here by selling real estate and helping people relocate. We also manage our friend’s Airbnb. To clarify we don’t have any children, but we do have a 2-year old miniature schnauzer. We own a 2013 Landcruiser Dual Cab and two motorcycles.
DAY TO DAY SPENDING
The chart below shows a breakdown by category of what we spent in August of 2023. Our grand total was $1994.12 USD.
For a detailed look at of every single purchase we made during the month click here.
Housing – $0
Our home — that we own outright — is a 1500 square foot, 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath with a private pool and ocean view. We are a few minutes’ walk from the center of town and the beach. At present a comparable property would rent for $1200 – $1400 USD per month.
Currently in San Juan del Sur you can find budget friendly housing for as low as $350 – $500 USD per month. This type of home is very basic, often without air conditioning or hot water. Whereas more upscale North American style homes rent for much more. At the present time a 3-bedroom home with a private pool and an ocean view rents for $1200 to $1800 USD per month and up.
Electricity – $109.36 USD
Air conditioning is the biggest electricity draw in our home. With very little rain this season, we have definitely noticed an increase in our monthly electricity bills compared to previous years. For this billing period we used air conditioning between 8 to 10 hours a day. We had the thermostat set to 26 degrees Celsius (78.8°F).
Keep in mind this is a bill from a household with only 1 air conditioner being used. Plan on spending at least $50 USD per month more for each extra bedroom with air conditioners in use.
A few ways we are able to save on electricity:
- All appliances in our home are less than 5 years old. They all have inverter technology.
- In the cooler months we use the timer feature on our air conditioner and only use it between 2 and 4 hours per night. We also use ceiling fans.
- All lights in our home have LED bulbs.
- We only do laundry when we have a full load. We do not own a dryer.
- We have a gas stove and hot water heater.
Home Internet – $47.58 USD
We live in town and have internet service with Claro. It is a fiber connection and we get unlimited data at a speed of 150 Mbps. Our monthly plan costs $47.58 USD.
Claro also offers 4G service. You can get 250 gigs of data at 5 Mbps. This package costs $27 USD per month. To connect this service you have to pay $69 USD for the router.
Fiber availability in San Juan del Sur and surrounding area is limited. Many households outside of the city center use Wifinic for their home internet. Their plans are on the pricier side. For 25 Mbps the monthly plan costs $184 USD.
TV – $7.99 USD
Netflix is the only TV service we pay for. Our monthly subscription is based here in Nicaragua. Our cost is $7.99 USD per month.
Water – $53.13 USD
Water comes to our home via the city at the low cost of $0.40 USD per cubic meter. Until now, the highest water bill we’ve ever had in 5 years was $15 USD. Recently we’ve been having issues with city water supply.
For this billing period we only received 8 cubic meters of city water for the entire month. Subsequently our reserve tank went dry at the beginning of the month. After two days of using pool water for “bucket” showers and “bucket” flushing our toilets, we called a private water delivery company to fill our tank. We paid $50 USD for this service and the water only lasted 10 days.
Water supplied within a private development is more expensive. For example in Lomas del Palermo water costs $2 USD per cubic meter. While in the gated community of Pacific Marlin residents have to pay a minimum of $110 USD per month for up to 42 cubic meters.
Cell Phone – $24.44 USD
Cell phone service is cheap in Nicaragua. We have Pay-As-You-Go service with Tigo. We are on a plan that automatically renews weekly. Total cost per month for each of us is $12.24 USD.
Our plans include the following:
- 20 GB of data + 4 extra FREE GB
- Unlimited Tigo to Tigo calling minutes
- 120 text messages
- 120 multi-use minutes valid in Canada, the United States & Central America
- Free use of social media and various other apps (Facebook, Facebook messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, Amazon Music, Apple Music & Deezer).
Roaming for North and South America is available at a cost of $20 USD for 10 days or $10 USD for 3 days.
Aside from the low cost, what’s great about this plan is that, as long as you keep enough credit on your account, the plan automatically renews. All data, minutes and text messages you did not use roll over and continue to accumulate.
Vehicle & Transportation – $150.36 USD
While the town of San Juan is relatively compact and walkable, many expats choose to live with some form of personal transportation.
If you want to avoid monthly trips to the mechanic you should budget between $12 000 – $15 000 USD for a used vehicle. The Toyota Hilux and Toyota Prado are two of the most popular vehicles here.
For those that are comfortable on two wheels a motorcycle is a great way to get around. You can buy a good used bike for between $900 – $1200 USD. Yamaha YBR 125 CC is a solid option. For those that want something a bit more powerful the Genesis SX3 250 is great. Both are similar in price when purchased new.
Currently diesel costs $1.23 USD per litre. Regular gas costs $1.36 USD per litre.
Collectivo taxi fare in and around town costs C$30 ($0.82 USD) per person. Round trip shuttle to the beaches range in price from $5 – $10 USD per person.
We filled our truck at the end of the month. We paid $125.64 USD for 103 litres of diesel. Since we don’t typically drive too far we consistently go more than a month before we need to refuel.
Household – $187.03 USD
Generally, we don’t spend much on household items. But this month, we splurged on a new Ninja blender from Pricesmart. We also bought a Hydro Flask water bottle and a print from our favorite local artist.
When you first arrive, you will likely need to buy a few household items to make your rental more comfortable. Don’t forget to add extra to your budget for this.
Groceries & Snacks – $598.81 USD
Food prices at produce markets and grocery stores are very reasonable; if you’re buying local.
Our grocery bill this month was the highest it’s ever been. One reason being we spent over $200 USD at Pricesmart. Yet, we should note that some of the food items we bought at Pricesmart last us a couple of months. Plus we also picked up some cleaning supplies that will last 6 months. In addition to this we cooked a lot of delicious quality meals at home. We also replenished some of the more expensive staples that we enjoy cooking with. For example, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, sesame oil, and fresh ground pepper.
Right now, a pound of ground beef costs $2.91 USD. Boneless skinless chicken breast is $3.61 USD per pound. A dozen eggs costs $2.33 USD. You can buy one pound of potatoes for just under a dollar. A 1 kg container of Yoplait Greek yogurt is priced at $7.41 USD.
Restaurant – $216.94 USD
Dining out in San Juan can be budget-friendly street food or more upscale dining experiences. For example, we can get two plates of food from La Reina del Sur Comida Buffet for less than $10 USD. In comparison, a date night meal of filet mignon poutine and a spicy tuna roll at The Beach House, with drinks and tip included, rounds up to around $40.00 USD.
Of course, if you pay attention to various restaurant promotions, you can get some nice meals at great prices. As an example Tuani’s has a 2×1 special almost every day of the week. The Hip also has daily specials including $5 salads, $5 wings and $6 poutine.
Alcohol – $173.92 USD
If you stick to local beer and rum, alcohol in Nicaragua is very inexpensive. A local beer in a bar or restaurant ranges from C$60 – C$80 ($1.64 – $2.20 USD). While a pint of craft beer costs $5 USD.
For best pricing on imported liquor we shop at the Duty Free store at the port. To save on beer we buy cases of bottles at our local distributor.
La Linda Malbec is one of our go-to wines. A 750 ml bottle costs $14.28 USD.
Pet – $0
If you’re bringing four legged family member(s) with you you’ll need to budget for their expenses. Regular flea, tick and heartworm preventative is very important. We use Nexgard Spectra for Sheldon. To save a few bucks we buy the pill for large dogs and we are able to get 4 doses from it.
We feed Sheldon Member’s Selection High-Protein Adult food. The 40 lb. bag we buy at Pricesmart in Managua costs $39 USD.
Veterinary care in Nicaragua is incredibly low-priced compared to North America. A consultation with our vet Dr. Faran Dometz costs $16 USD. A dental exam and cleaning under anesthesia starts at $72 USD.
Health & Beauty – $58.81 USD
San Juan del Sur offers a variety of health club options depending on what your needs are. Gordon’s monthly membership at Gymsito is $17 USD. A 10 pack of classes at Zen Yoga costs $70 USD. Personal training sessions at Move Viva Fitness will run you $25 USD per hour.
You can find beauty services like haircuts and massages at reasonable rates. This is especially true at local establishments. But, services with my expat stylist cost almost as much as what I would pay in Canada.
A one hour massage costs between $20 – $40 USD.
Clothing – $37.35 USD
I was a shopper when we lived in Canada, but here I am not. The fact that we live 2 1/2 hours from the capital city of Managua — where you can find modern malls like Galerias Santo Domingo — has definitely played a part in this.
There are many small clothing shops in San Juan, with both new and used apparel. However, it can be hard to find affordable, quality clothing or footwear. For this reason I do most of my clothes shopping in Canada when I travel back to visit family.
If you’re a thrift store shopper, you’ll be happy to know that there are many used clothing shops (ropas americanos) here. Close Out is a popular chain.
Gifts – $17.08 USD
When you live in an impoverished country there is no shortage of need. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine how and who to help. Most often we lean towards supporting people we actually know over random strangers.
In addition to helping our neighbors in times of need, we also buy birthday and Christmas gifts for our 3 nephews in Canada. If you plan to do the same don’t forget to include a line item for gifts in your budget.
Entertainment – $50.09 USD
For the most part what we do for entertainment is free. So we spend very little in this category month to month. Surfing, salsa classes, live music, beach days, and open mic nights are some examples of free entertainment in San Juan del Sur.
An art class at The Art Warehouse ranges between $10 and $15 USD. You can reserve a pickleball court (with paddles and balls included) for $11.50 USD per hour.
Travel – $251.55 USD
Every 3 or 4 months we love to get out of town for a night or two. This month, we took an overnight trip to the capital city of Managua. We went to attend The International Festival of Arts, Culture and Gastronomy. We stayed at The Crowne Plaza and got a great rate by booking through the Expedia app. The $251.55 USD includes what we spent on accommodations, taxi fare, and all the food and alcohol we consumed while traveling.
OTHER EXPENSES TO CONSIDER
Besides day to day expenses it’s also important to budget for the following:
Out of Country Trips
If you plan to travel after moving to Nicaragua, whether to your home country or elsewhere, don’t forget to add this expense into your budget.
Health Care
Nicaragua offers affordable healthcare compared to many Western countries. Insurance and out-of-pocket medical costs can vary, but they are generally lower than in the United States and Europe.
Gordon and I have been living in Nicaragua for almost 12 years without health insurance. To date we’ve been lucky and haven’t had any major medical expenses. But since 3 close friends were admitted to the ICU in recent months — with some pretty serious health issues and a major bill to boot — we have decided it is time to look into our options for coverage.
There are two very good private hospitals in the capital city of Managua. The Vivian Pellas Metropolitan Hospital and the Nicaragua Military Hospital. Both hospitals offer plans that you can pay into monthly.
Vivian Pellas has plans starting as low as $30 USD per month with 25% – 80% discounts for various medical procedures and doctor’s visits. The Military hospital has a more comprehensive plan with an extensive list of procedures covered at 100%. The monthly cost for the plan at the Military hospital for both Gordon and I is $90 USD.
Treatment in public hospitals is free for both locals and foreigners. But, the quality standard is not what most foreigners are accustomed to. If you can’t afford extensive medical treatment at a private hospital, you should get insurance.
Dental Care
Whether it’s for routine cleanings, fillings, or major procedures like implants or crowns, Nicaragua’s dental care offers a reliable and cost-effective option for both locals and visitors.
We have an excellent Spanish speaking dentist a 30 minute drive away in the town of Rivas. For a cleaning we pay $15 USD. Or a cleaning here in town at Sun Care Dental costs $50 USD.
Car Insurance
The country requires mandatory third-party liability insurance for all vehicles. We pay $55 USD per year for our truck insurance with Seguros Lafise. Motorcycle insurance is $35 USD for the year.
For those driving newer vehicles full coverage insurance is the better option. Our friend owns a 2021 Toyota Hilux 4×4 Double Cab. He pays $668 USD per year for full coverage (collision) insurance.
Domestic Help
In Nicaragua, it is common for some households to hire domestic help, such as housekeepers, nannies, gardeners, and cooks. Although domestic help is affordable, we prefer to take care of our own house cleaning, gardening, and pool care.
Now and again we do hire a cleaner to come in. We pay her $16 USD for 4 to 5 hours of cleaning. We also provide lunch, snacks and drinks.
Current minimum monthly salary for a full time domestic worker is $202 USD. Besides the base salary, employers must also pay a percentage to the government for the employee’s social security and health insurance plans. What’s more you are also required to pay aguinaldo (an extra month’s pay) plus 4 weeks of vacation pay. All said and done you’re looking at a total expense of around $300 USD per month per employee.
Tourist Visa Renewal
As a non-resident living in Nicaragua, you must renew your tourist visa every 90 days. For those living in San Juan del Sur, the easiest and most cost effective way to do this is to cross the border to Costa Rica at Peñas Blancas. While you may have read that staying out of the country for 72 hours is required, this information is not true. You can leave Nicaragua to Costa Rica, then turn around and come directly back. Your re-entry stamp will get you another 90 days in the country. This “border run” costs $25 USD. Door to door the trip takes about 3 hours.
THE BOTTOM LINE
San Juan del Sur is a great place to live on a budget. With its beautiful beaches, laid-back atmosphere, and affordable cost of living, it’s no wonder that so many people choose to make this vibrant coastal town their home.
Whether you’re envisioning a permanent relocation or an extended visit, we hope this comprehensive cost of living report has served as a valuable compass for navigating the landscape of life in San Juan del Sur.