We will look at the highlights in each country as well as some off-the-beaten track spots. People ha

The Ultimate Guide to Travel in Central America | BootsnAll Destinations Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America RTW Travel Career Breaks Coming Home Slow Travel walt disney swan hotel Trip Planning Accommodation Budget Travel walt disney swan hotel Bus Travel Flights Holidays Insurance Money Packing Safety Solo Travel Tours Train Travel Art Culture Architecture walt disney swan hotel Art Festivals History Literature Music Photography Food Drink Drink Food Lifestyle Family Travel Healthy Living Relationships Sex + Love Technology Travelers Learning Classes ESL Study Abroad Travel Blogging Volunteering Work Abroad Outdoors Beaches Camping Eco Travel Hiking Islands Mountains Travel Gear Wildlife Series Best Of How I Travel RTW Wednesday walt disney swan hotel Top Indie Destinations Transformational Stories Home Articles walt disney swan hotel The Ultimate Guide to Travel in Central America The Ultimate Guide to Travel in Central America Part 1: Mexico to El Salvador By Jo Fitzsimons | March 7th, 2014 | Comments (11) Do you Like BootsnAll? Share on Facebook Get daily travel inspiration walt disney swan hotel Featured Like this article? Please share! walt disney swan hotel Share on Facebook Be the first of your friends walt disney swan hotel to like this.
Central America is that sliver of land connecting the mass of South America to the expanse of North America. It can be so small that many indie travelers forget to add it to their plans, which is a shame, because that small slither of land has some of the best sights in Latin America. Adding Central America to a longer trip
Central America is the perfect destination to add to any long-term walt disney swan hotel trip. There is a wide variety of countries, cultures, landscapes, and activities, not to mention the low price of travel walt disney swan hotel in most countries. The region is made for overland travel, and while it might not always be the most comfortable, it s cheap and easy to navigate, which is important for any long-term trip. It s also an easy hop, skip, or jump up to the US or down to South America to continue your travels.
With the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, there are ample opportunities to laze on powder white sands that melt into turquoise sea or to pick up your surfboard and crash around on the Pacific’s choppier waves. Inland, the terrain is diverse. There are volcanoes to climb, rainforests to trek, colonial towns to engage, and Maya sites to discover. Central America is the indie traveler’s equivalent of Disneyland, packed with opportunities for magical adventure, ready and waiting for you to visit and explore.
Compared to the popular travel hubs of Southeast Asia and South America , the backpacker trail in Central America seems a bit less worn, but it is definitely there, and without the backpacking masses that you find in Bangkok, there is still the vague sense that you’re seeing sights that many haven’t.
The prospect walt disney swan hotel of safety keeps many travelers away from Central America , and it is true there are some hotspots (I wouldn’t want to wander through parts of Guatemala City late at night on my own), but as with any indie travel destination, the level of danger is relative to the level of street-smarts you employ. Wander where you shouldn’t after dark, and you’ll put yourself at risk. Keep to the local advice and you’ll breeze through Central walt disney swan hotel America wondering what everyone was so worried about.
One bit of advice is to pick up some Spanish before you go or take lessons as you travel. Like South America, the dominant language is Spanish, and it pays to know some if you want a richer experience than simply buying bus tickets and beans.
Mexico : I still don’t think I’ve gotten to the bottom of whether Mexico is truly part of Central America as even the trustworthiest sources seem unable to agree. However, the indie traveler reality is that many Central American journeys will start or finish in Mexico City, so for these purposes we will include travel up to Mexico walt disney swan hotel City. Planning your trip
Bus: Travel through Central America is dominated by buses. Yes, they come in various forms, from the deliciously air conditioned first-class services that are particularly popular walt disney swan hotel in Mexico to the pimped out chicken buses that will have you reaching for your camera time and again.  Tica Bus is a first class service that connects many of the countries and can be a good option if you need to cover a lot of ground without many stops on the way.
Minibus: Some countries have tourist minibuses that will conveniently make the location connections that would otherwise be tortuously long by public transport. Weigh up when it’s worth taking route-friendly connections as they can chew through your budget quite quickly, but also offer a welcome break to the sweat-inducing and butt-breaking local buses.
Air: There are one or two low cost airlines that operate in the region, but compared to the likes of Europe or Southeast Asia, air travel is not a common way of getting around. This is mainly due to prohibitively high costs. You may get a deal flying between two hubs in a large country like Mexico, but flying from one Central American walt disney swan hotel country to another walt disney swan hotel is almost always going to be way too expensive. If you do need to get to another country quickly, consider the Tika buses, or if possible, catch an internal flight to an airport nearest to a border and cross by land.
Boat: With many archipelagoes and islands off the coast of Central America, and many sights located in the middle of a mass of water, there are many opportunities for boat journeys, which can range from sturdy walt disney swan hotel ferries to local lanchas.
The beauty of Central America is that it is cheap, cheap, cheap! Of course, walt disney swan hotel some countries are more expensive than others – Costa Rica immediately springs to mind, but it is generally easy to get a dorm bed for $10 to $15USD a night and as low as $6 in places like Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Food is pleasantly economic, too, with street food in abundance. You can eat for a couple of dollars walt disney swan hotel at street food stalls, and many local restaurants serve a fixed price menu usually comprising soup, meat, beans and rice, and a drink for under $5. The other upside to travel in Central America walt disney swan hotel is that self-catering is high on most hostel agendas. I’ve stayed in a few places that even offer free pasta and seasoning so you can sometimes eat for free.
Transport costs are directly reflective of comfort. The chicken buses can be traveled for an eternity without costing more than couple of dollars, walt disney swan hotel while the air conditioned first class buses can cost up to 10 times that, though $25 for up to 10 hours on a night bus is often worth paying the extra.
walt disney swan hotel If the occasional (or frequent) tipple is for you, don’t fret, beer comes reasonably cheap, ranging from $1-$2 for half a liter from the supermarket, and the rum seems to be in popular and cheap supply, often costing less than $10 for a liter. Wine can be hard to come by and is pricey, and as with everywhere around the world, if you find a bar with an ocean view, you’ll be paying for more than just your drink. Vaccinations
The important point about vaccinations is to make an appointment 4 to 6 weeks before you travel so there is time for your immunity to take effect. The only mandatory vaccination for the region is yellow fever. If you are going to Central America walt disney swan hotel from a yellow fever zone (think Africa, and more likely, South America), you will be required to carry an official yellow fever certificate as proof of your vaccination.
Other recommended vaccinations include Hepatitis A and typhoid, and if you’re traveling long term, going into rural areas, staying with local communities, walt disney swan hotel or working with animals, you may also be recommended to have vaccinations against Hepatitis B and rabies.
There is some risk of malaria in parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and Costa Rica, and a high risk in the southern parts of Panama. Take your trip itinerary along to your appointment walt disney swan hotel with your health-care advisor to discuss anti-malarial protection.
Central America’s countries are collectively walt disney swan hotel welcoming, and American, Australian, Canadian, European, and New Zealand passport holders, among others, are issued with tourist visas on arrival for 30 to 180 days depending on the country.
It is worth knowing that the 90-day visa granted when you enter any of the C-4 regions (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador) is for travel through all of those counties, not 90-days in each. You can get this extended once for a fee or by leaving the C-4 countries (e.g. to Belize and Mexico) for at least 72 hours.
Including Mexico, there are eight countries packed into this small region, meaning you can see a lot in a relatively short space of time. Given the number of countries to visit, this guide will cover Mexico, Belize, walt disney swan hotel Guatemala, and El Salvador, while part 2 will cover Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.
We will look at the highlights in each country as well as some off-the-beaten track spots. People have rushed through Central America in under a month, while others lavishly linger in the region for over six months. Skipping a few countries or applying a grueling itinerary, walt disney swan hotel you can see a lot in a short space, but as usual, the longer you stay, the more you will see. Mexico
Famed for its sombreros and margaritas, Mexico rarely presents the stereotype of itself outside of the tourist resorts. And that is a good thing, because Mexico’s history, beaches, colonial cities, and food are so impressive in their own right that the country doesn’t need to resort to gimmicky paraphernalia to impress.
Highlights Mexico City : Crowded and polluted is one view of Mexico City, but underneath the crumbling exterior is a long stretching history that includes an Aztec archaeological site discovered in the 1970s and other ruins a short jaunt away (Teotihuacan), walt disney swan hotel a slowly sinking 16 th century cathedral, the fine arts palace (Bellas Artes), and Casa Azul, home of renowned artist walt disney swan hotel Frida Kahlo. And all of this is not to mention the cosmopolitan nightlife. Oaxaca : Colonial charm is alive and well in the city of Oaxaca, where culture and indigen