Oh we will report back on Nicaragua.....Tulum: the beauty of Cancun (amazing water!!) but much smaller and less expensive...more artsy, more history, more non beach beauty. Mayan ruins, caribe water, fresh fish, fruit, vegetables...healthy lifestyle...almost zero clothing budget. Cancun airport is reasonably close and you’re only two flights away to almost anywhere.
We’re both beach bums...so we’re looking forward to San Juan del Sur. The Pacific doesn’t have the beauty of the Caribbean, but it has the sunsets! I might have to learn to surf (I do slalom ski, FWIW).
Boquete sounds like Matagalpa - no heating or AC needed ever....and Matagalpa is a place where you can live for next to nothing. (but it’s not a beach).
Thank-you. Now I have more to consider.