International Living, July 2025
by Holly Andrew
Along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, the waves are rolling in fast, and I’m in way over my head on my longboard. A wave far bigger than I’m used to crashes just beyond where I’m paddling. I sit up, whip my board around toward shore, and paddle like mad. That familiar swoosh catches the board and I pop up, find my balance, and lean to the right, roaring towards shore.
I’ve caught my first wave in Nicaragua. Water lovers have been coming here since the late 1970s. And now I understand what all the fuss is about.
I’m here with my partner, our seven-year-old, and my retired parents. We arrived under the cover of darkness, fireflies twinkling in the night, so the Ranch was all the more stunning when we rose at dawn. Our villa for the week looked directly out over Playa Santana, one of the properties five beaches along the country’s southern Pacific coast. We’re here for a week—but I should have booked a month.
Rancho Santana is 2,700 acres of sprawling peaks and valleys, fringed by beaches and crisscrossed by rugged dirt roads that kept my Land Cruiser in permanent four-wheel-drive. Yogis flock to this region. Seekers of tranquility find respite. Surfers hunger for it because it feels like Costa Rica 40 years ago. But there’s something for almost anyone here.
With horseback riding, treetop yoga, and spa treatments designed for total mind and body restoration, the Ranch—as it’s often called—has "vacation" down to a science. It’s pure luxury, with exquisite food even at the most casual of the resort’s four dining spots. There’s a hacienda-style inn and, across a foot bridge, expansive villas with kitchens for bigger groups who want the option to cook.
But Rancho Santana isn’t just a dreamy luxury mirage for vacationers on the Emerald Coast… people actually live here. Steps from the sand. And for far less than they’d pay in the States. For buyers looking to build from the ground up, the Ranch also operates as a general contractor, with an on-site team capable of taking a home from foundation to designer finishes.
We spent all week stalking this three-bedroom pool home with ocean views, listed for $735K, that would easily fetch at least $3 million in our South Florida neighborhood. And if you only wanted to live in Nicaragua part-time, they offer a fractional ownership program for the villas where we stayed—and would have been happy to never leave.
A Much Needed Reset
Rancho Santana ended up being an ideal vacation for all three generations of my family. I dropped my 7-year-old off at the Kids Club, where young explorers dive into art, beach adventures, and pool parties. My mom and dad were happy to relax at the infinity pool overlooking the beach. And my partner navigated when I drove, surfed when I surfed, and napped while I wrote.
The attention to detail—across the grounds and in our villa—was meticulous.
The two-level space was a masterclass in rustic luxury: elegant yet unfussy. Old-world aesthetic is paired with modern function. Built-ins and hardwood furniture felt substantial yet comfortable. Every room had the polish of an interior design catalog.
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| At the Ranch, you have your choice of three community pools. Our favorite was this infinity pool at Playa Santana. © HOLLY ANDREW |
After sun-drenched days of gallivanting all over the Ranch—punctuated by the occasional romantic afternoon storm—we gorged on sushi, wood-fired pizza, and seafood fritters packed with shrimp and crab at the beachside La Boquita.
The fancier La Finca y El Mar offered Pacific lobster, grilled coffee-rubbed pork chops, and my favorite, a goat cheese salad that tasted like the eye-candy it was. My seven-year-old loved the mac and cheese with chunks of lobster the size of meatballs.
After morning surfs, we indulged in tableside guac at La Taqueria—nearly fluorescent green, chunky, and perfectly salted—as howler monkeys called overhead.
My body took note of all the fresh, no-filler food at Rancho Santana. I felt a reset almost immediately.
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Rancho Santana’s Beginnings In the early 1990s, International Living’s founding publisher, Bill Bonner, and five friends invested in a vast cattle ranch. Their vision was to create an intentional fusion of rugged Pacific landscape and a carefully planned community. They broke ground in 1998, transforming a stretch of wild coastline into a low-density development anchored by five distinct beaches, a network of villas, casitas, and shared spaces like a spa, surf club, equestrian center, and farm. Today, it’s home to a mix of full-time expats, seasonal residents, and surf-obsessed families—mostly Americans who’ve built second homes or relocated entirely. Many of the staff are local Nicaraguans, some who have been with the project since the early days of conception. Though the resort’s design whispers luxury, it was never meant to be uber-flashy—it attracts those drawn to nature, craft, wellness, and quiet, barefoot sophistication. And yet it’s still more affordable than an oceanfront lifestyle would be in the US. |
Nicaragua is the New Costa Rica
Eat, sleep, surf, repeat. I fell into rhythm here. Out in the waves, the Rancho Santana coaches got my partner and son up and surfing too.
My son’s coach was the beautiful Elise from Burgundy, France (he’ll remember this and thank me when he’s older). She’d grown up going to Costa Rica to surf, but it had changed over the years. To her, it now felt over-touristed, and there was a party culture in some of her old spots, like Jaco, that she didn’t like. "It wasn’t the Costa Rica I remembered," she said. She came to Nicaragua and found a slower, quieter life—one that was more about the wave.
A horseback ride tends to be my go-to for unplugging and getting off the grid. So Rancho Santana’s stable was a welcome perk. They have fit well-trained horses who happily splashed along the beach and pranced through the nearby neighborhood. We passed pigs and chickens in yards and resident surfers lounging in hammocks. We wound through woods and trotted through jungle mud.
It’s moments like these, surfing in the morning and horseback riding in the afternoon, that make me think… I could live here. I could change my life.
Overseas Bootcamp Leads to a Life in Nicaragua
Chris Currey and his family did exactly that 15 years ago.
It all started with International Living’s Go Overseas Bootcamp in New Orleans. (This year’s event starts August 30 in Portland, Oregon.) Chris, a Maryland Realtor, was seeking a more family-oriented life. His wife, Isabel, has roots in Ecuador, and they craved a Latin American environment in which to raise their daughter. He put a deposit down on a casita at Rancho Santana… and life as he now knows it took shape from there.
These days Chris has risen to the ranks of Executive Vice President of Real Estate at Rancho Santana, and his passion for the property is evident in what they’ve achieved… "Each project leads to the next one," he says. "We’re constantly modernizing. Always anticipating."
Isabel also brought restaurant expertise the Ranch desperately needed. Isabel signed a two-year contract to modernize the property’s dining experiences, completely overhauling the farm-to-table approach and computerized the entire ranch. But she did it in 18 months.
The Ranch is supported by its own farms. From vegetables and greens to orchards and eggs, your food has not traveled far when it reaches your plate. And you’ll definitely see a random cow grazing along the dirt road or a pig wandering by.
With their young daughter Neila in mind, Chris and Isabel also founded Rancho Santana’s international school, Escuela Santa Ana (ESA).
Neila started kindergarten with two other students living at the Ranch and was the first to graduate. Now she’s at Loyola in Los Angeles, and ESA boasts enrollment of 62 kids between pre-K and twelfth grade. And for families living at Rancho Santana part time, there’s a fully virtual option so students can travel and live elsewhere with no interruption in studies.
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School, Clinic, and Church There's now a trade school across the street from Rancho Santana and graduates are often hired on at the resort. The Roberto Clemente Health Clinic provides healthcare and emergency services for the local community and guests who might catch a bug or need stitches after a fall. In 2020, Rancho Santana christened a non-denominational church, set high on a mountain peak and looking out over the ocean. There's also an on-property market, La Tienda. |
"It Takes A Community To Make a Community."
Today, Rancho Santana hosts a vibrant community of full-time residents like Chris, with close to 1,000 people on staff. They have access to mentorship, education, and English language training. In a region where opportunities are often seasonal, informal, or low-paying, the Ranch stands out for offering stable, respected work with real prospects for growth. These are coveted jobs. "Our staff is our secret sauce," says Chris. (He’s right. Everyone is authentic and kind.)
"You don’t need to bring anything with you when you come. Sell your furniture before you move. Maybe bring some special pieces of art… but otherwise you can get everything here," Chris says. "Just tear a page out of a Pottery Barn catalog and they’ll build it for you." There’s a wood shop and iron fabrication studio on premises. And after seeing the attention to detail in the villas for myself, I can tell you it’s much higher quality than the mass produced furniture you’ll be leaving behind.
When they’re not working, Chris golfs and Isabel surfs–or you might see her hiking the steep dirt roads… the property is her gym. When Neila is home from school, you can catch the family enjoying quiet moments at the villa pool or out at the beach with their dog. It’s a simple yet meaningful and abundant life.
What’s the secret to life at Rancho Santana? Chris tells me, "People live in the moment here. Life is day to day… family oriented."
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Nicaragua on the Rise Ronan McMahon, Founder of Real Estate Trend Alert, would say, "The Path of Progress" has found its way to Nicaragua. Infrastructure is advancing by the day. The roads from Managua to Tola are undergoing a massive upgrade. (Although you’ll still need to watch for rogue cows meandering through the street…) In the near future, international travel will vastly improve. The old Soviet-built airport in Managua, Punta Huete, was used for commercial transport and has long runways to accommodate big cargo planes. It’s currently in the midst of a modern renovation to become one of Central America’s main international hubs. Once complete in 2028, Managua will offer nonstop flights to Europe, Asia, Africa, the US, and of course, South America. It’ll be a game changer for Nicaragua. |
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