Can I buy good clothes in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua?
Vanessa Pattison - Zen Yoga Nicaragua
Finding a clothing store in San Juan del Sur is not a problem. There seem to be shops popping up on every corner.
Finding good quality clothing is a little more tricky. There are a few shops that have nicer quality clothes but they are more expensive and not usually the same quality as you would be accustomed to from the U.S.
Several clothing stores in San Juan del Sur have opened up recently with imported clothes but choices are slim. If you...
Finding a clothing store in San Juan del Sur is not a problem. There seem to be shops popping up on every corner.
Finding good quality clothing is a little more tricky. There are a few shops that have nicer quality clothes but they are more expensive and not usually the same quality as you would be accustomed to from the U.S.
Several clothing stores in San Juan del Sur have opened up recently with imported clothes but choices are slim. If you are looking to buy a bathing suit and sarong choices are many. Having lived here for 10 years and likewise my ex-pat friends we usually stock up when visiting our country of origin. It is sort of a given that you will ask or be asked to bring something from your home country whether it be a clothing item or coveted food item.
Posted August 5, 2014
David Smith - Nicaragua Sotheby's International Realty
Yes, you can buy good clothes in San Juan Del Sur, but it is quite expensive. When you say "good clothes," you can buy good quality board shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, etc. Those are the types of clothing that you will get. Girls can buy a lot of t-shirts and tank tops. There is lots of beach clothing and casual clothing such as jeans and shirts, but not dressier clothing. If you want dressier clothes you go to Managua and there are malls in...
Yes, you can buy good clothes in San Juan Del Sur, but it is quite expensive. When you say "good clothes," you can buy good quality board shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, etc. Those are the types of clothing that you will get. Girls can buy a lot of t-shirts and tank tops. There is lots of beach clothing and casual clothing such as jeans and shirts, but not dressier clothing. If you want dressier clothes you go to Managua and there are malls in Managua where you can get Polo or Ralph Lauren. You will be spending around US $100 on a polo shirt, but it is available.
I wear polo shirts in San Juan Del Sur. I work in real estate so I like to be nicely presented but still casual and fit in locally. I wear a lot of polo shirts but I bought them in Canada because, as I mentioned above, they are $100 in Nicaragua. In Canada, they're $60.
The locally-made clothes that you can buy in San Juan Del Sur are cheap clothes that you can always wear on the beach. There is a lot of cheap clothes available here that are not particularly of good quality or that will last a long time.
Posted February 26, 2015
Julie Speier - San Juan del Sur Day School
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No, with some rare exceptions, you can’t buy good clothes to buy here in San Juan Del Sur. If you are looking for clothing and you are in San Juan, I recommend going to Auric and Turquesa.Turquesa is a local little boutique whose clothing a local girl named Yaosca Jimenez designs and that has really good clothes. The other company called Auric, which was started by two British fashion designers, who came up with a really cool line of clothing. Those small boutiques sell...
No, with some rare exceptions, you can’t buy good clothes to buy here in San Juan Del Sur. If you are looking for clothing and you are in San Juan, I recommend going to Auric and Turquesa.Turquesa is a local little boutique whose clothing a local girl named Yaosca Jimenez designs and that has really good clothes. The other company called Auric, which was started by two British fashion designers, who came up with a really cool line of clothing. Those small boutiques sell clothes that were designed and custom made here in Nicaragua but these are specialty stores, so you will pay full retail prices for the items.
I am a bargain shopper when it comes to clothes so I do my clothing shopping when I go to the States, where I like to find sales. Here in Nicaragua, especially in San Juan Del Sur, most of the little boutiques have poor quality fabric that is made in China that you end up paying full price for even though they are not really that well-made. That is why I don’t do my clothing shopping here except for going to Auric and Turquesa.
You could also go to Managua and do your shopping at the malls there, which are similar to some of the malls in the US. You will find a Benetton and a Lacoste store there but there is rarely anything on sale in the malls in Managua. You will pay a little bit more than the retail price in the States. Being a parent and a school director, I am always looking for toys, and I have found it hard to find toys like Melissa and Doug that are of high quality. I pay more than retail price for them and half the time, once I get home and take the toy out of the box, it’s a missing a piece or it’s already broken. As a result, I came to the realization that because there is no return policy in Nicaragua, these big corporations send their defective items down here. You buy it for full price and you can’t return it when you get home even if it’s already broken. Once you buy it and take it out of the store, it is yours. It’s really frustrating for me and has happened about a dozen times.
(Turquesa Boutique, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, pictured.)
Posted January 26, 2016
Elisha MacKay
Buying good clothes in San Juan Del Sur is a challenge for me because I cannot buy good quality clothing here. There are loads of tourist t-shirts with the typical Toña (local beer) logo or Flor de Caña (local rum) logo. You can get these t-shirts for US $3 to $4, but they're just poor quality with a synthetic fabric. It's very difficult to find inexpensive, quality cotton, breathable, and lightweight clothing in San Juan Del Sur. In fact, I...
Buying good clothes in San Juan Del Sur is a challenge for me because I cannot buy good quality clothing here. There are loads of tourist t-shirts with the typical Toña (local beer) logo or Flor de Caña (local rum) logo. You can get these t-shirts for US $3 to $4, but they're just poor quality with a synthetic fabric. It's very difficult to find inexpensive, quality cotton, breathable, and lightweight clothing in San Juan Del Sur. In fact, I would say that I do 90% of my clothing shopping when I take my annual trip back to Canada.
When I do shop for clothes in San Juan Del Sur, most of the time I'll go to a used clothing store here in San Juan Del Sur or in the town of Rivas, which is 30 minutes away and where there are some larger used clothing shops. In these used clothing stores, I can find better quality clothing, although used. I don't have a problem with buying pre-used clothes. It’s clothing that people from Canada and the United States have donated and somehow these shop owners have been able to obtain these clothes and have these in their shops.
You can also go shopping in Managua where there are two major shopping centers. One is the Centro Commercial Galerias and another one by the name of Metrocentro shopping center. At the Galerias mall, they just opened a Zara store. They also have Pull&Bear and Berschska. These are three new stores that have just opened in that mall in the last year or so. There are also other stores in which people may recognize the brand names from Canada or the United States.
However, for me, shopping in Managua is still a struggle. I find the clothing to be overpriced for what it is and there's rarely a sale. I'm a sale shopper when I go home to Canada or I shop at places like Old Navy and H&M where I can just get simple cotton clothing that's inexpensive. I don't find that in Managua so I just don't even really bother and rarely go shopping in Managua.
(T-shirts made in Nicaragua, pictured.)
Posted May 30, 2017