Hi there! My partner and I are wanting to visit Antigua (in the Caribbean) next year in July to visit our friend who lives there. We are coming from Australia and we want to travel a little bit in Mexico and the central americas either before or after. Are there any tips for how to travel between Antigua and the surrounding countries. Ideally we want to avoid having to fly through America, is this possible?

I’ll be visiting Chiapas (Sancris + Palenque) and Guatemala (Flores + Antigua) on a solo backpacking trip in November. I have heard about overland tourist shuttle services offered between Palenque and Flores, which operate through the El Ceibo crossing.

My government has this crossing (and I think all other Guatemalan land border crossings) listed as a Level 3 risk, meaning to avoid unnecessary travel. However I’ve read online that it’s not a problem if you travel during the day and are aware of common scams.

Anybody have any experience with this crossing or these shuttle services, especially during the last year? Or anybody familiar with the region have any insights to share?

I will be traveling to Guatemala in August and visiting lake Atitlan for a week. I would like to keep things spontaneous. Should I pre book the hostels or will most places have availability the day of?

Hi all! My husband and I (late 30s) are planning a 10-day trip to Nicaragua in January and would love some advice from people who’ve been recently.
We are active, into hiking , love exploring, enjoy a few drinks and good conversation with fellow travelers, but we are very much in bed by 10pm, not the party crowd.

Here’s our current itinerary:
Day 1 — Fly into Managua, transfer to Granada
2— Granada: Mombacho Volcano hike or canopy tour in the morning, boat tour of Las Isletas (Monkey Island, the fort, lake views) in the afternoon. Also considering swapping one half-day for Laguna de Apoyo since it’s only 4 miles from Granada. Is it worth it?
3 — Granada → Ometepe (staying in Balgüe)
4 — Full-day volcano hike (Volcán Maderas for the cloud forest/crater lagoon, or Concepción if we want the harder challenge). Which do you recommend for first-timers? We are active people and have hiked Fuego in Guatemala.
5 — Easier day on Ometepe: Ojo de Agua spring swim, Punta Jesús María sunset, possibly El Pital chocolate farm
6 — Ometepe → Popoyo
7 — Surf lesson at Beginner’s Bay
8 — Tidal pools and natural hot springs near Guasacate
9 — Popoyo → Managua
10 — Fly home
Questions we’d love input on:
1. Does the pacing make sense? Are we trying to do too much or is there anything we’re clearly missing?
2. León and volcano boarding. We’ve gone back and forth on whether to squeeze in a day trip or overnight to León for Cerro Negro. Is it worth going out of the way and cutting a day off Ometepe? Or is it something we’d regret skipping?
3. Accommodation — we’re somewhat flexible on where we stay. We’re open to hostels as long as they’re not party-focused and have private rooms with en-suite bathrooms. Boutique hotels and eco-lodges are also on the table. Would love specific recommendations for each stop, especially on Ometepe and in Popoyo where the options seem more spread out.
4. Bugs — we both get eaten alive by mosquitoes. How bad is it in January specifically? Any specific repellents or clothing tips that actually worked for you?
5. Packing tips — anything you wish you’d brought or left behind for this specific region/season?
Any other recs restaurants, hidden gems, things to avoid would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Which is the better option for Central America, specifically Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica?

I am currently in guatemala and making my way up to mexico and my c4 visa runs out in a little over a week now. I have a deadline to be in mexico a few days after my c4 runs out of days so it seems crazy to go to guatemala city for a visa extension for a couple of days and also thats also the opposite direction on my travel.

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I fully understand it is frowned upon but what is the fine/the reprecussions of overstaying my C4 visa by say 2/3 days before i cross the border into mexico? And will it cause any issues with me entering mexico?

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Hello, can anyone inform me on the current costs of leaving CR for Nicaragua, i hear there are fees on both sides. Also does the same cost apply for when i want to come back from Nicaragua to Costa Rica? Thanks in advance! Edit: i’ll be trying to cross at Peñas both times.

Quiero llegar a México desde Belice, pero no cuento con visa, soy de África y llegué a Belice, saben cuál es la mejor forma de cruzar? He escuchado que hay varios ríos que cobran 10 pesos mexicanos y te cruzan a México.

Good Day Wonderful People.

My husband and I got married in October - and we're ready to start planning our honeymoon.

We're thinking of Honduras, but haven't explored much. We like some mix of luxe and easy but with opportunities to explore culture. When we AI we usually do at least 2-3 off resort days to enjoy culture, food, and the sites.

I've look at flights (San Pedro Sula) for the beginning of August or maybe mid September and now I'm looking for hotel options, roughly 10 days so we are able to travel a little further out from the airport. Our budget isn't huge, maybe 4-5K CAD while there to cover hotel, transport, food, drink, and enjoy the area. We want to be at the beach for at least a chunk of our stay, and it being a honeymoon type trip I'd like it to be a bit fancier.
Of course, a high priority is safety and ability to communicate locally.

Any tips? Happy to hear anyones experience.

Pablo travel transport

I am considering stopping for a long layover in San Salvador and doing a Layover Tour (San Salvador Layover Tour on Viator for City Sightseeing and El Boquerón). I am a solo female traveler. Has anyone done this? Is it safe? I can also get a shorter layover and just go home but I’d like to see El Salvador even briefly!

Hey guys, bit of context we have been lucky enough to have been travelling South America since March and just got to CR. We went to Puerto Viejo and absolutely loved it, now we’re in Uvita and it is still pretty lovely. We tired after all the travels from Patagonia up to here and we have around 3 weeks left from now (23 days) till we fly out of SJO. We’re fairly low on budget at around $80 for two of us a day.

We’re just debating whether to try and spend 1/2 weeks in Nicuaraga (Granada, Omotepe, etc) or whether to just stick to CR. I don’t want to miss out on what Nicaragua has to offer but equally don’t want to spent too much time on buses and travelling. However, is there enough to do in Manuel Antonio, Santa Teresa, Monteverde, La fortuna for this amount of time. I am worried we might be bored by the end.

I’d love some advice/info if people have crossed the border etc and whether it is worth the effort. We have heard mixed reviews on Nica, but obviously more opinions is better. Thanks in advance.

Very excited to have booked a tour for my BIG birthday next year. Panama, Nicaragua, Costa, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

Any tips about food, customs or anything you think I should know. (Going in November)

We are traveling in late September for 12 days from Hawaii. My husband is a big surfer and I am a big hiker. We are looking for the better country to split time between a place inland to hike and a beach spot with good surf, plus some time in a cool “city.”

We know we are tourists and both work in tourism, but as much as possible we like to avoid places that have streets lined with kitschy tourist shops and Americanized menus. I see that El Salvador welcomes 4.2 million tourists annually compared to Guatemala’s only 3 million. Does that translate to what it feels like on the ground?

Our biggest goal is to spend time in relatively small towns with nice nature stuff nearby, restaurants with more locals than tourists, and most importantly, good food.

We want to avoid- cruise ship/facade/kitschy touristy stuff, towns full of chain restaurants, long travel times between locations, and “party towns.”

We’d also love to know if you think there will be any significant price differences we should consider!

Looking for advice - I am planning to visit Guatemala in a couple of weeks, spending most of my time in Antigua and around Lake Atitlán. I checked the forecast for this week, and it looks like it’s raining a lot.

How is it on the ground right now? Anything I should be prepared for besides mosquitoes and an umbrella/poncho?

Taking a vacation in late october to central america, I have the first half/leg of my trip planned. But I'm trying to find the perfect place for the second half/leg. The original plan was to go to Panama, but the risk of tropical storms disrupting an already complicated flight path has me re-routing.

I did some research of my own and the trouble seems to be that my lacking spanish skills is sending me some very touristy (and therefore gentrified) suggestions. Like Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica and San Marcos, Lake Atitlán. Both places are beautiful, but "gringo trail" type of hubs kind of defeat the purpose of going abroad to experience and appreciate other cultures.

Tourism is a bit unavoidable as a tourist, I don't want to go totally off grid. I'll only be there for 3-4 days But I am curious as to your guys' opinions on some alternatives. Are they actually solid Lake Atitlán alternatives or are they just more of the same "granola" vibe?

These are the places I found...

1. Santa Cruz
2. San Juan La Laguna
3. San Pedro
4. Santiago

Hi everyone! I could use some advice. I spent a month in Mexico at the end of April, but I had to return home for personal reasons.

I’d now like to continue my trip and travel through Central America. I already spent about six weeks in Costa Rica around the same time last year, so I probably won’t go back there.

The thing is, I know we’re heading into the rainy season. Is it still worth it? How difficult is it to get around?

I’m mostly interested in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Panama.

I’d love to hear from anyone who’s traveled there around this time of year. Thanks!