Rivas

Rivas controls Nicaragua's Pacific access point—the narrow isthmus where Lake Nicaragua nearly meets the Pacific Ocean, creating the route that would-be canal builders from William Walker to Chinese investors have imagined cutting through. San Juan del Sur, the department's coastal town, has become Nicaragua's primary beach tourism destination despite lacking the infrastructure of more developed competitors.

The transit function predates tourism. Spanish colonizers recognized that the San Juan River connecting Lake Nicaragua to the Caribbean, combined with the short overland crossing at Rivas, created the most practical interoceanic passage before Panama Canal construction. This geography attracted Cornelius Vanderbilt's transit company and William Walker's filibustering adventure before railroad and canal technologies shifted traffic elsewhere.

San Juan del Sur attracts surf tourists seeking Pacific swells without Costa Rican crowds or prices. The town's modest development compared to Costa Rican beach resorts represents either underdevelopment or charm, depending on visitor preference. Political uncertainty under the Ortega government has dampened investment that might otherwise have transformed the coast.

By 2026, expect San Juan del Sur's beach tourism to track broader Nicaragua sentiment, canal project discussions to remain aspirational rather than actual, and Rivas's transit heritage to provide historical interest without contemporary function.