Trip Coach: August 5, 2008

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Anchorage, Alaska: Besides Granada, what city/town would you recommend if you wanted to see historical architecture, eat good food and stay in decent places? Best Pacific beach towns?

Joshua Berman: Granada's historical political/economic rival, León, has a very different feel and fits all your criteria. From León, it is a very short drive to excellent Pacific beaches, nature reserves, and half a dozen volcanoes. You'll love it.

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Hammond, Ind.: Is there good snorkeling? If so, can it be done from the shore?

Joshua Berman: There is excellent snorkeling and diving off of Big and Little Corn Islands and also near a few other remote islands on the Caribbean side (like the Pearl Cays). Otherwise, there is no coral reef in the country and Nicaragua is much less of a dive destination than, say Belize or Honduras.

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Boulder, Colo.: Is there a good place in Nicaragua to go with a 7-year-old? Some place where we can snorkel and do other fun stuff? We are looking for a reasonably priced place with good amenities. We actually would like to travel around Thanksgiving. How is the weather that time of the year?

Joshua Berman: As I just mentioned in a reply, Nicaragua is not much of a dive/snorkel destination, though there is excellent coral and fish to see in the Corn Islands. However, kids love hiking in the cloud forest, peering into live volcanoes, going boating, etc. all of these activities are accessible from your hotel in Granada.

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Santa Monica, Calif.: Does Nicaragua have a retirement visa? What are the advantages of retiring to Nicaragua? Thank you.

Joshua Berman: Randy and I included a whole chapter on different types of visas and how to obtain them in Living Abroad in Nicaragua (see GoToNicaragua.com). Basically, you'd be looking at a "permanent resident" visa, and the process to obtain it is do-able, but not easy.