Sunset at the beach in Poneloya

Poneloya is a peaceful beach town and fishing village on the Northern Pacific Coast of Nicaragua, close to León. It is known for its simple but very tasty seafood restaurants.

Understand

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.

Get in

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. It can be a bit hard to find a taxi to get back to León, so get the phone number of the taxi or pay for the driver to wait.

By thumb

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

Get around

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.

See

Poneloya is surrounded by beautiful nature.

• The sunset. A trip would not be complete without watching the sunset over the ocean. C$0. (updated Feb 2017)

Do

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. To get protection from the sun, you can rent a table under a simple roof. These are located at the northern end of the beach, close to the estuary. Except for Easter week, there are hardly any crowds and you may be the only one on the beach.

Buy

For the basics, there are a number of small general stores (pulperías). For major shopping you need to go to the municipal market in Sutiava (closest) or one of the supermarkets in León.

Eat

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

• 1 Doña Hilda (On the estuary). A 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. (updated Feb 2017)

Drink

The restaurants around the estuary are good places for drinking beer or Flor de Caña rum. There's a billiard hall popular with locals at the end of the paved road, though at night it gets a little rowdy as locals get drunk on Lijon - a cheap sugar cane liquor.

Churches

There is a Catholic Church in Poneloya in case you need to make atonement for what the Lijon or Flor de Caña made you do.

Sleep

Poneloya has fewer hotel options than nearby Las Peñitas.

• 1 Surfing Turtle Lodge (Cross the estuary, and walk 1 km north along the beach.). On the beach, one kilometer from the nearest road. Private rooms and dormitories. On-site restaurant. US$17. (updated Jul 2020)

Stay safe

The ocean beach has powerful waves crashing on the shore, with strong currents and rip tides. 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 chilren it is best to swim in the estuary.

Go next

• 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.