Rancho Santana is a pretty special place - not that easy to get to, but once you are there, you are in a little self-contained world apart. We stayed in one of the Casitas, reasonably close to the main amenities, but comfortable and private (also cheaper than the other options Rancho offers). Comfortable, well-equipped (incl. a full kitchen), good WiFi, good AC, with its own garden full of birds and butterflies. The gardens throughout the resort are beautiful, but it is the natural areas that will captivate you. There are five separate beaches throughout the 2,700 acre property, and a free shuttle will drop you at any of them and pick you up whenever you like. These are wild beaches, not great for swimming because of the huge waves, but great to walk along (and surfing is a big thing here, if you are into that). Inland is miles and miles of dry tropical forest, full of birds, lizards and monkeys (howler and spider). The terrain is often steep and hilly but there is a whole network of trails and dirt roads to explore, long and short. Or you can just stroll the beaches and potter on the rocks. The resort also puts on free guided hikes, birdwatching strolls, monkey scouting, garden tours, etc, which we thought were excellent, although hardly anyone seems to take advantage of them. My wife also did a horseriding trip around the ranch, which was charged separately. There are also, of course, the swimming pools (3), the spa and yoga studio (the latter up a lot of steps), pool bars, etc. for the less adventurous), and lots of places to just sit and watch the waves and the birds. The main restaurant, La Finca y el Mar, is excellent, although as vegetarians we felt a bit constrained by the three veggie meals on the menu, good as they were (you can probably negotiate and ask for alternatives). I think meat-eaters will be very happy with the food. La Boquita restaurant also has a couple of veggie offerings, but is not open every day. La Taquería, way out at Playa Los Perros, also does good local food for lunch, but is also not open every day. And, remember, you are many miles away from the next nearest public restaurant. The breakfasts (now included in the room rate) at El Cafe are great, though, for veggies and meat-eaters alike, with good Nicaraguan coffee too, so you may not need lunch at all You can also pick up some food at La Tienda to eat in. Most (all?) of the food is apparently grown organically on-site. Everything can be signed to the room, so there is no need to carry around money or cards. We only did one off-site trip - Granada and Masaya Volcano - although several others are offered. This one included excellent ziplining in the forests of Volcán Mombacho, lunch and a quick stroll around hot, colonial Granada (we could have liked more time.in the town), a boat trip around the Isletas de Granada (birds, monkeys, views and fancy houses), some time in smaller towns like Catarina (including a demonstration of traditional pottery-making) and, probably the highlight, a dusk visit to Volcán Masaya to watch the mesmerizing red lava in the caldera. The trip was a full day, and a good introduction to the rest of Nicaragua. It did not require too much walking, and our guide Eddy and driver Johnny were both excellent. Checkin, checkout and administration at Rancho were easy and efficient throughout, and the staff were invariably pleasant and polite (and almost all speak English). The front office (particularly Francisco) were also very efficient at answering my many questions, both before and during our stay. We thought the COVID precautions amd protocols were fine - most people wore masks, and much of life was lived out in the fresh air anyway. Plus, the whole place did not seem that busy while we were there (early April). All in all, highly recommended.…
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