7 Days Beginner Yoga Holiday and Surf Camp in Leon Area, Nicaragua

The Free Spirit Hostel

The Free Spirit Hostel is a home and a place to share incredible moments with people that you know since only a couple of hours. Here, everyone believes in family and friendship. Next to the beach, you will make new, long life friends every day. This incredible location in front of the ocean will make you believe you are in a dream every night at sunset. The huge choice of surfboards, the daily yoga class, and the incredible atmosphere at all time will make you want to stay forever.

Guest kitchen and family dinner

This fully equipped outdoor kitchen is available for guest at any time. At night, you will discover a new recipe for the delicious dinner. ”Le Repère”, the bamboo bar, is always there to offer you some snacks.

Swimming pool

The Free Spirit Hostel is only five meters from the ocean, but a little stop in the swimming pool is a must. This is the perfect place just to cool down, enjoy a drink, or even read.

Theory course

To ensure a safe and complete surfing experience, this theory course will give the necessary tools to feel in perfect harmony with the water.

Surf classes

These personalized surf classes will give you the opportunity to evolve in this new sport that will quickly become a passion. To help you progress during the week, you will be paired in small groups of similar level during the courses of an hour each.

Yoga

The Free Spirit Hostel believe that combining surf and yoga is the best for both your mind and body. You will improve your flexibility and strength, and you will also learn to enjoy the present moment. The five weekly courses are perfect for beginners who want to try it for the first time or for the yogi who wants to enjoy a good session.

Nicaragua

The Globe and Mail and the Lonely Planet voted Nicaragua as one of the best destination for 2015. It is one of the safest countries in South and Central America. Nicaragua is a cheap and accessible country with plenty of flights coming to Managua for less than 600 USD both way from North America. You can get beer for 1 USD and meal for less than 5 USD almost everywhere.

In Nicaragua, there are no crowds found compared to the neighbor Costa Rica. It has consistent and desirable conditions all year long (more than 300 days of offshore), waves for all levels of surfers with some beach breaks, point breaks, and incredible barrel sections. You can also enjoy a true cultural experience with the colonial history and the friendly locals.

El Transito

El Transito has the reputation to be an all year round consistent break. A hidden secret in Central America where you can surf almost alone half of the year. When other breaks of the North or South are flat like a swimming pool, El Transito will normally give you some waist to chest waves. Every level of surfers will be pleased in El Transito.

Free Spirit has some barrels sections, some mellows fun lines, and some perfect beginner waves right in front of the doorstep. No matter what you are looking, you can have it here. From November to February, it’s perfect for beginner and intermediate surfers. From March to August, the waves are amazing for the intermediate and advanced surfers who want to challenge themselves.

Perhaps, there will always be a place on the beach suitable for the beginners. The breaks of El Transito are best in the Nicaraguan offseason, starting at the end of October going until March.

The different surf breaks

Straight in front of The Free Spirit Hostel, you have three awesome peaks on the main beach (sand bottom) and perfect to learn and improve your skills. The breaks are typically offering some mellow rights and lefts with some barrel sections suitable for every level of surfers.

On the left side of the beach or the south end, you can find a good point break called "The Corner" with a rock / sand bottom. You can enjoy this playful long left wave when the swell is right. You can even get a barrel some days.

A 5 to 10-minute walk north from The Free Spirit Hostel will bring you to a section in the middle of two big volcanic rocks. It’s a quick barrel section that will please the advanced surfers.

This package includes breakfasts and dinners. Every morning you will be able to choose from three different breakfasts because you never know what you will feel like eating the next morning. Meanwhile, there will be a group dinner where you will enjoy the delicious meal in a good company. The vegetarian option will always be offered

Since it’s opening, The Free Spirit Hostel has built part of its experience on the type of food you consume, and the way you appreciate it. Although Free Spirit proposes fresh fish twice a week, all of the dinners are vegetarian. Instead of meat, the team matches four or five different flavors, combining spices, local vegetables, and original ideas to excite your taste buds in a creative manner.

Meat is available in the village and you’re welcome to cook it back at the hostel. Dinner is family style, meaning that guests, staff members, and owners alike get together for a time of sharing and community. Also, Free Spirit regularly offers homemade baking goods for a very low price.

• Enjoy the local baseball match during the weekend or the daily basketball or soccer match opposing the Nicaraguan youth
• Get a Reiki treatment with the certified practitioner (20 USD for 40 minutes). It is a Japanese healing method that treats anxiety, fear, stress, physical injuries, and more
• Get daily meditation which is encouraged and often shared together
• Get Henna tattoos (from 5 USD) from the professional tattoo artist, Chloe. Henna is the plant from which the leaf’s pigment is used to create art design on any part of the body. Although it is not a permanent tattoo, it will stay visible on your skin for five to seven days
• Have a possibility of setting a volleyball net on the beach, watch movies / documentaries on the retro projector, make a bonfire and jam around it at night with the musical instruments (piano, guitars, djumbe, etc.), opening a conversation circle on the topic of your choice, and more
• Take a quick walk to the natural swimming pool, run in the volcanic sand early morning, and enjoy a sunset horseback ride
• Walk around the village, meet its people, and appreciate that particular laid-back atmosphere

• 4 surf classes (1 theory class in pool, 3 classes at sea) for beginners or merge all the classes to do a full 1 hour 30 minutes of private class
• Daily yoga class
• Surf rentals (selection of 40 boards from 9' to 5'10'')
• Breakfasts and dinners
• 6 nights' accommodation

Driving directions from Managua or Leon

• Take the ‘Carretera Vieja Leon’ and then turn at kilometer 46 when you see a small pulperia with a Pepsi sign in front.
• Take a dirt road for 13 kilometers and you will get to El Transito.
• When you arrive in the village, go down a little hill and find a sign of The Free Spirit Hostel telling you to turn right and then take the first street on the left.
• At the end of that street, you will find Free Spirit on your right.
• The journey will take about one to 1,5 hour.

Arrival by bus

From Managua, there are three buses a day for El Transito from terminal Israel leaving at 12:00 p.m., 01:00 p.m., and 03:00 p.m., but be there in advance because some buses can leave earlier sometimes. First, take a taxi to go to the terminal Israel, it should cost you no more than 50 - 150 NIO (2 - 5 USD) per person from the other bus station Huembles or UCA. From the airport, it should be around 10 USD.

Then, stand outside of the main entrance of the terminal Israel to catch the bus that will come from the Oriental Terminal on the main street. You cannot miss it, there will be around 20 people waiting for buses to pass. The bus fare should be around 25 - 30 NIO (1 USD) and a little extra of 1 USD for board bag.

If you miss the bus going straight to El Transito or you want to take the bus in the morning, you can take every bus that goes to Leon passing by La Carratera Vieja Leon and you ask the driver to be drop at kilometer 46 for El Transito and you hitchhike the 13 kilometers of dirt road.

From Leon, it will be a two-bus journey. First, you have to take a bus going to Managua by the Carretera Vieja Leon and tell the driver that you want to exit the bus at kilometer 46. The bus stop at the entrance of the road going to El Transito. Then, you will have to wait for a bus coming from Managua that will bring you to the village, but be sure to arrive at the junction before 04:00 p.m. If not, you will miss the last connection and you will have to hitchhike the last 13 kilometers of dirt road.

Arrival by taxi

A taxi from Managua or Leon to The Free Spirit Hostel in El Transito should cost you around 50 - 70 USD depending on your negotiation skills. Tell the taxi driver to take the Carretera Vieja Leon and turn at kilometer 46 when you see a small pulperia with a Pepsi sign in front. From there, you are only 30 minutes from the hostel. You will see a sign of the hostel when you enter the village down the little hill. Take a right at the sign, then turn left at the first street. At the end, you will see Free Spirit on your right.

From Managua, the partner taxi driver Oswaldo will bring you safely to the hostel for 65 USD. He speaks proper English and he will be waiting for you at the airport with a Free Spirit sign.

• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.