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Why in the HELL Would Anyone Want to Visit Central America?? Here's Why...Apr 08 '06 (Updated Apr 10 '06) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Looking for "must see" recommendations for a Central America trip? Here are my thoughts on the best things to see throughout the region....buen viaje! "Central America is a hot, humid, tropical jungle full of banana plantations and mosquitos, and if the bugs don't kill you, the revolutionaries or banditos surely will." I'll bet that's how most people think of the long, narrow strip of land that connects North America to South America. There's a nugget of truth to the stereotype. Scratch the surface though, and you find a land rich in cultural and natural treasures, a warm weather paradise where you can touch thousand year old temples of fierce deities, come eye to eye with panthers or jaguars, climb fire breathing volcanoes, or raft down a wild jungle river. You can do all these things in Central America. People come to scuba dive off the magnificent coral reefs. People come to experience the freshest cup of coffee they've ever tasted in their lives. People come for different reasons --- but most come home with tales of unparalleled beauty, friendly people, and best of all to me, bargain prices. Central America offers me a chance to see more and do more than people who stick close to home, all the while paying less. It's a win-win situation. I love Central America, and I visit there as often as I can. Let me tell you about some of the places that I think make it worth coming back to again and again, and maybe you'll come away with a few ideas and recommendations that can help you figure out how to get as much out of heading "south of the border" as I get.... The Five Best Reasons to Visit Central America Central America is a wonderfully varied region, filled with magnificent sights, beautiful beaches, and natural wonderlands beyond belief. A person could spend a lifetime tromping around Central America and never get their fill of searching for that one "best" place to be. Here are a few thoughts on some of the places that make Central America so interesting to visit... The Beaches and Islands... Everybody loves a beach, and the entire Caribbean coast of Central America has some stunning beaches and islands --- much like the Mayan Riviera area of Mexico's Quintana Roo coast, just to the north. The beaches are great for the same reasons --- crystal clear, turqoise waters and impossibly soft, powdery, fine-grained, clean white beaches. The world's second-largest coral reef stretches from Cancun all the way down along most of the Central American coast. Result: a lot of the Central American (and Mexican) coastal areas actually have better beaches than most well-known Caribbean islands. Snorklers and scuba divers especially love the clear waters and the enormous variety of tropical marine life that lives among the reefs. The most popular seaside escapes in Central America are: * Belize Cayes: There must be at least a hundred islands lying off the coast of Belize offering unparalleled opportunities to explore and relax in the sun, surf, and sand. The islands are called "cayes" ("keys" in American english), but the largest (Ambergris Caye) isn't really a key at all (its part of the Xcalak peninsula). Ni modo. Beaches. Sand. Sun. Cold Belikan beer. * Roatan: Another paradise for the divers and snorklers, lying a few miles off the Honduras coast. It's like a rustic, less traveled Cozumel. Most of the popular beaches of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Panama lie on the Pacific coast, and there are thousands of them --- hundreds that are fairly well known. Many are surfers' paradise spots, filled with friendly towns with inexpensive accommodations. A few are luxury travel dreams come true, with high-end spas, marinas, and golf courses. Families will be at home in casual places like Tamarindo Costa Rica. Fishermen love Bahia Pina in Panama. Folks who like undiscovered gems will love San Juan del Sur Nicaragua. The Mayan Ruins... The Mayan civilization occupied a big chunk of the Caribbean region, ranging from the north coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, throughout Guatemala and Belize, into northern Honduras and El Salvador. There's some evidence that Mayan traders of a 1,000 years ago ventured along sea routes trading with other peoples along coastal Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. There are hundreds of Mayan sites throughout Central America. The grandest include... * Tikal Guatemala: This is one of the most stunning of the Mayan cities, set in the midst of the Peten jungle in northern Guatemala. It's fairly easy to visit via light planes from Guatemala City or Cancun, though rugged individuals who can deal with discomfort and risk (see JAMES23's review) can get there via a long bus journey. Stay at least a couple days so you can catch sunrise from the top of one of the Mayan world's tallest and most spectacular pyramids. * Copan Honduras: The largest and most important city in the southern Mayan realm, Copan is a well-restored and well-understood site, having been explored extensively for more than a century. It's most famous for its large plaza and its acropolis with two major pyramid temples. * El Mirador: Just joking. You don't want to go to El Mirador... It straddles the Guatemalan - Mexican border and there is no way to get into it other than packing in by mule trek along a jungle path (about 2-days each way, walking in 100 degree heat with 100 percent humidity) and there is nowhere to stay or eat once you get there other than the camp you pitch (I exaggerate only slightly). The site is currently under exploration and is said to be larger than any other Mayan city yet discovered, but at this time, its really only a trip for Indiana Jones. The Jungles, Volcanoes, and Other Natural Wonders... Nature lovers adore Central America. There's biodiversity beyond belief and the region is generally cleaner and less polluted than anything in the U.S., Asia, or Europe. With a long mountain range running down the spine of Central America, you get a huge range of habitats, from coastal wetlands, to humid jungles, to temperate mountain forests. It's also a geologists dream with big mountains in a physically active region, where volcanoes and earthquakes are common. Most of the best jungle experiences are to be found in Costa Rica's natural parks. Similar jungles and rain forests and cloud forests abound in Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador, but they're often not protected areas, they're often difficult to visit, and they often present hazards that prevent them from becoming tourist draws, as are numerous parts of Costa Rica. Two eco destinations that I like in Costa Rica are: * Monteverde Costa Rica: It's a tropical rain forest that's known mostly for its huge variety of plant life. It's also a fun place to visit, close to Arenal volcano and the Pacific coast, and there are plenty of places where you can get up into the towering canopy high above the forest floor. * Tortuguero Costa Rica: A different kind of jungle experience, it's a coastal wetland famous for its narrow canals that cut through dense tropical jungle and of course, for its long, rustic, Caribbean seashores that are protected bioreserves where many of the world's most endangered sea turtle species come to nest. Remote and somewhat difficult to visit, but worth the time and expense. There's a lot of volcanoes in Central America too (I think Belize is the only country without a good volcano), and no visit to the region would be complete without visiting one or two. The two most impressive and accessible volcano sites are probably: * Arenal Costa Rica: A very active volcano that's especially popular at nighttime when the fiery lava flows paint the mountain in bright yellow and red streams. A bit remote, but so popular that daily and overnight bus tours go there from everywhere in Costa Rica. * Masaya Nicaragua: A wonderful national park, just outside Managua and a very easy day trip excursion from the capital. Plan to spend a little time at the neighboring market. This is a "two-fer" volcano since it's got twin peak craters, one called Masaya that's inactive, and the other called Santiago that is active and that sometimes spews smoke and steam. The Colonial Towns... Central America was never a real popular place to live for Spanish settlers. People preferred Mexico or South America, and that's where you'll find the really great colonial cities and historical sites. That's not to say that there aren't areas of colonial history in Central America --- there most certainly are --- you just need to look harder and head off the beaten path a bit since they're almost never in any of the larger cities. Here are the three most significant colonial cities in Central America --- this is where you'll find the most historical sites... * Antigua Guatemala: Established as a capital city in the early 16th century, but after earthquakes destroyed large parts of the city, most of the people moved to Guatemala City. Antigua didn't die though...it just became Guatemala's "second city" --- in size anyway --- it's the nicest, most historic, and best looking city in Guatemala (in all of Central America, for that matter). * Granada Nicaragua: Good sized colonial-era city, also dates to early 16th century, boasts picturesque setting on the shores of Lake Nicaragua. * Leon Nicaragua: Larger than Granada, and just as old, though much of the colonial center really dates from the 18th century. Also famous as the home of Ruben Dario. The Panama Canal... The Panama Canal doesn't fit into any neat generalization category, and there's nothing else in Central America quite like it. An engineering marvel and a true feat of man over nature. It's a site to see in its own right, and justly ranks as one of the world's most significant attractions. Most Americans like seeing the canal from the decks of a luxury cruise ship, and its quite easy to book a Panama Canal cruise --- just make sure you get one that actually transits the canal, because some don't really do it right --- they just give you a taste of honey when you know darn well you want the whole beehive. If you're visiting Panama as a destination, there are small vessels that transit the canal each week --- most go only halfway. The best trips tend to go only on one Saturday a month when they transit the entire canal, from Pacific side to Caribbean. While in the area, there are many eco-tourism destinations in the jungles and coastlands, and Panama City is the largest, most worldly, affluent, and cosmopolitan city in Central America --- by a large margin. It doesn't have anything I'd consider a true 5-star draw in itself, but it's a comfortable place for an urban-minded traveler. The Country-by-Country Highlights Maybe you're headed to just one little corner of Central America and want to know what to see there. Maybe you feel like tramping around Central America for a few months (or years) and want a geographic overview? Great place for tramping, by the way! Lots of places to escape the crowds, and lots of places where bargains abound. Here's the highlights I'd try to hit for each country. Belize: I'd come for the easy going beach life and would hang on the cayes. Might do Belize City, but would probably skip Belmopan. Might do a Mayan tour, but I know that none of the really great sites are in Belize. Guatemala: I'd do Antigua, the Mayan city of Tikal, and I'd head inland to some of the small market towns, or maybe over to Lake Atitlan. El Salvador: I don't know much about this country because I've never spent any time there. I know they have only a couple small Mayan sites, and I've heard they have some wonderful beaches that are totally deserted and very remote jungles, but that it's sometimes impossible to get to these places (in fact one place is called "Bosque Imposible" because it's so hard to get there). El Salvador is not on my short list to visit soon. Honduras: Roatan for the seaside, Copan for the Mayan ruins. I might not stick around for long in San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa, but La Ceiba intrigues me and I've heard it has some excellent beaches and national bioreserve parks. Nicaragua: The coast has enormous potential with beaches every bit as good as those along Costa Rica's Guanacaste shoreline, plus it has the colonial towns of Leon and Granada and some diamond in the rough eco attractions. I think the western part of the country will open up to tourism in a big way within the next few years, though the eastern Caribbean side remains desolate with few, if any, reasons to visit. Costa Rica: Jungles, beaches, mountains, nature. Those are the reasons to visit Costa Rica. The cities are unremarkable, by and large, and there are few cultural or historical attractions....but the green-minded traveler will find few places on earth as rewarding as Costa Rica. Panama: The canal is the big draw, but there is a rich diversity of eco destinations in Panama as well. Panama City can be quite a comfortable place to spend a few days, though there are gems in the mountainous town of Boquete, the escapist islands of Bocas del Toro, or the cultural attraction of Kuna settlements on the San Blas islands. If you're looking to spend a couple months settling back in an "off the track" backwater, I'd suggest the towns along the Gulf of Panama on the Azuero Peninsula in Los Santos Province (from Parita as far as Pedasi). Is Traveling in Central America Hard?? It varies. Areas with popular tourist attractions are usually very easy, even in countries where independent travel is difficult. In some countries, the tourist infrastructure is extremely well developed and tourists are very unlikely to have any problems at all, in other countries, tourists will have difficulties finding and obtaining services and could easily find themselves in dangerous or unhealthy situations. It all depends. Here's my country-by-country viewpoint, arranged from easiest country in the region, to most difficult. I'd appreciate comments from seasoned Central America travelers who feel that my rankings are missing something... Easy... Costa Rica: Extremely well developed tourist infrastructure in a generally safe, stable country with wide availability of tourist services, an outstanding park system, and a wide network of well-trained guides who provide services in English --- it's not even very difficult to find guides who speak German, French, and Italian. Belize: Although the country is less diverse and seems to have slightly more crime than Costa Rica, the fact that English is the official language makes it extremely easy for most Americans to take advantage of some of the stunning beaches and coastal islands. Definitely an easy country to visit. A Little Bit Challenging... Panama: The long involvement of the American government in Panama means lots of people who speak English. The tourism infrastructure is well-developed in popular areas, but quickly becomes less well trodden as you get away from Panama City or the Canal Zone. Easy transportation and fairly good stability and security make it a pretty easy country to visit. Quite Tough... Guatemala: Nicaragua: Both Guatemala and Nicaragua have had their share of stability problems in recent decades, but are fairly stable today (Guatemala moreso than Nicaragua). Spanish language skills are important in both countries. You may be able to get by speaking only Mayan languages in Guatemala, but English? No way. Nicaragua is trying to develop a tourist infrastructure, and in a few years, it might be an easy country to visit. The advantage to visiting both these countries is that they get few tourists and prices are rock bottom in unspoiled settings. Safety can be an issue in both countries, though traveling only by daylight and staying in tourist-friendly areas after dark reduces your risk. These are also areas where you want to be aware of health issues, have hepatitis vaccines, and be careful about your mosquito repellent. Very Tough Honduras: Roatan is the notable easy destination in Honduras, with good services and safety. Most mainland destinations are more challenging: nobody speaks English, poverty is common, and crime is an issue in many areas. Never travel at night in Honduras, talk to hotel staff about neighborhood security, and be very alert to risks. El Salvador: El Salvador has a reputation as a rough country, and even native speaking latino travelers tend to avoid it. If you visit, it's a place that will test your traveler skills, particularly if you don't speak fluent Spanish, since nobody will speak English. (And by the way, when I hear news stories about buses getting hijacked by banditos who rob all the passengers, it seems to me like it's always happening just before dawn in Honduras or El Salvador). Vamonos! Well, there you have it. My thoughts on building a Central American itinerary: the best places in the region, the highlights of each country, and few ideas about how easy or hard it is to visit each country. If you wanted to ease into Central American, try a vacation to Costa Rica or Belize and explore what you can there, then if you want to scratch deeper, try some of the more challenging destinations (maybe after a few Spanish lessons). Just go! (And I'll see you on the road....)  |
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