Hot answers tagged central-america
17
I spent four and a half months backpacking in the 7 countries you mentioned in 2009. Just based on my own experience I would say the difference in how dangerous a place felt was not between the countries but between places within each country, or even parts of a city.
Some parts of the bigger cities should be avoided, especially at night. However many ...
14
I've found regardless of destination, that people are far less offended by cultural faux pas-ses then by behavior that would be rude anywhere. In India, I've accidentally paid with my left hand, and I've seen the person in return get a little uncomfortable, and accept the money with his right. What I did, however, is just apologize and ask, at which point he ...
13
All of the capital cities are dodgy, but some only in certain areas.
Belize
Belize City and Belmopan both have bad reputations, but they're the only capital cities in Central America I haven't been to.
Costa Rica
The most developed and safest country in Central America.
San José feels safe compared to the other capitals and people do go out at night. ...
12
In general you shouldn't see what you're seeing here - especially for multiple dates, which makes me think that it's possibly either a website error, or a scam of some form.
Airlines do have multiple prices for each flight, and a limited number of seats available in each class. ie, one specific flight might have 5 seats available for $100, another 10 seats ...
11
I was in South America (Argentina to Colombia) and in Ecuador & Colombia met a lot of people coming down from (and afterwards friends I'd met travelled up into) Central America.
With just one exception (who flew), the others had all gone via the San Blas Islands.
http://wikitravel.org/en/San_Blas_Islands
Which to me look simply stunning! I'd seen ...
10
Backdoor Jobs is probably my favourite resource for out of the ordinary job adventures. It includes a variety of different jobs for different people with different backgrounds and experiences. A lot of the jobs listed are leading groups or hiking / trekking, BUT there are a lot of other ones available too.
The owner / writer of the site Michael Landers ...
10
Take a look at http://www.claudiocorallo.com/
His story is amazing, and he is probably one of the best cacao producers in the world.
They do the whole growing of cacao to sell and they produce their own chocolate also.
I know of a friend that went to Claudios farm in S. Tome e Principe and they have a guided tour where they explain the whole process of ...
9
When I was in Panama City about 4 or 5 years ago all the hostels had ads posted by private people, sometimes families, that sailed back and forth in their yachts and wanted travellers to come along to help with costs. There was a waiting list for each yacht.
At the time the price to sail was pretty much the same as a flight which was in the region of $300 ...
9
Several people already mentioned the sail boat option, but as none of them has done it themselves, I will add my experience from May 2009:
As said elsewhere the hostels in Panama city act as intermediaries between travelers and the boats. They have a list of boats leaving on certain dates with prices which ranging from 250 to 350 US dollars.
While some of ...
8
I only have a partial answer. If you are in Europe and you lack the funds, a substitute for the sensation of chocolate and cacao can be found in the Chocolate museum (DE) in Cologne, Germany. They actually have a greenhouse with cacao trees. Although you will not be allowed to pick them.
You can also go to Suriname. There is no commercial plantation ...
8
If you are really on the lookout for cacao and chocolate form start to finish, Chuao in Venezuela is the place to go.
They do not have an official 'assist on the plantation' arrangement, but local life revolves around the process, and you will certainly be able to see every part of it, and taste the products at various stages.
In my opinion, the BEST ...
7
There are at least 2 tours that I could find that could fit your criteria:
Undiscovered Carribean
and
LeatherBack Volunteer Vacation
I am sure that you could probably get to those beaches on your own if you choose to but I think these would be better. There is actually a whole slew of tours just like those at SeeTurtles.org
EDIT
More on Turtle ...
7
An example of what I found out in Brasil: I was in a restaurant with friends, and my nose was running (spicy food, you know ;) ). In my own country (Holland) the polite thing to do is to blow your nose while facing away from the table. When I did that, I received surprised comments from my friends. Apparantly it was better to just snort it up and blow your ...
7
According to the Bureau of Consular Affairs:
A visa is not required for U.S. citizens; however, a tourist card must be purchased for $10 upon arrival. Tourist cards are typically issued for 30 to 90 days.
You can see all pertinent information here. It is accurate.
7
I think Nicaragua is a relative safe country. You can read the information provide by travel.state.gov It is acquire but also consider that like any country there are good places and others are not a good idea. They focus about the bad stuff because they are talking about the crime and safety.
travelig safety Nicaragua
I have traveled to US and met a lot ...
6
Like you I only took chicken buses but there are some long distances options.
For example from San Jose in Costa Rica you can go to Panama City (15 hours: 1pm or 10pm)
San Salvador (48 hours, 6am, 7:30am) or even Guatemala City (60 hours 6am, 7:30am).
However when looking at an itinerary it turns out the buses are stopping overnight in places in El Salvador ...
6
Short answer: Sometimes.
Long answer: it depends on a LOT of factors - the airline, their policy, whether it's over international or continental borders, whether you're using an agency or website that has access to certain TYPES of tickets (even in economy class there are several categories that they sell). It's frustrating.
When I'm searching, I open up ...
6
You can certainly drive it. You can get as far as Yaviza in Panama, but no further.
Mexico is very picky about the paperwork needed for your car. I'm sure the other countries vary.
Expect to have to pay some bribes sometimes, for this I was recommended to take lots of cigarettes to be used as "gifts" before officials start to give you grief. Don't drive at ...
6
Depends on which Central America country you're visiting, but for the most part the Pan American highway is your safest bet. Also, you probably want to read the answers to this question: Driving from San Antonio to Copan Ruinas, Honduras
6
I don't know the current situation about Wifi in those countries but I am a developer and I've travelled in all of them. I did not have a laptop nor did I do any work but once in a while I did some coding just to keep my brain in shape and learn new things.
I general expect the Wifi to be better in Chile and Costa Rica than in the other countries and again ...
5
I've heard several reports that the Darien Gap is quite dangerous due to drug trafficking. Personally, I would fly although I understand it's possible to cross by hopping on small boats on the Caribbean side. One of the Lonely Planet books (sorry I forgot which one) has more details, but they also don't recommend it.
5
The Pan American Highway is probably the most popular route.
Mexico and possibly other countries require insurance from an underwriter in that country. It will probably be a lot cheaper to arrange that before the trip.
It would be worth checking to see if it is unsafe to travel in certain areas, and at night. In Nicaragua, for example, there have been ...
5
When I have priced tickets to South and Central America the cheapest places to get to were Columbia and Panama. Spirit Airlines has some cheap deals including to Lima Peru but I have heard from friends that their service is bad. They also only let you have one 40 lb bag on some flights. But in your case that might not be an issue. Also check out where in the ...
5
There are probably two acceptable answers here:
Pacaya - an active volcano in Guatemala, it's erupted 23 times since the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. It then erupted in 1965 and has been erupting basically continuously since then.
Santa Maria - also in Guatemala (which makes it easy for you), which appears on this list of 10 most active volcanoes ...
5
I am traveling to Montezuma, CR this coming April. I would need to fly
out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. What is the best airport to land in CR
and what are the ground transportation options to Montezuma.
Well, one major airport in the country is San José (Juan Santamaría) airport (SJO) located near the capital. In most cases, that is the "best airport ...
4
I am not sure that this question can be answered at all but let me try.
The prices for the tickets can vary and vary widely since your timeframe includes Easter.
Since you have not specified budget or times you can look at various airlines flying from Amsterdam to see who goes directly for example:
KLM has direct flights to Panama City, Panama Flight ...
4
I did a few searches. This UK travel company has a 15-day itinerary. This regional summary has 7 stops each for a day or two with some possible side trips. So it certainly seems reasonable that you could create your own route and spend a very enjoyable 21 days.
4
I can confirm after checking in person, that nappies are available pretty much everywhere in Panama and Costa Rica (at least in the locations indicated in the question). Obviously, don't count on finding your favourite brand though.
Sadly this information is not the only one that hasn't been updated since the first edition of the guide book years ago :(
4
Here are some links to travel jobs to get your started:
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/shortterm/tourism_hospitality_gap_year_jobs_abroad.shtml - all sorts of jobs, however not particular South America related
http://www.tefl.com/jobs/search.html - currently only 4 language jobs in Mexico; but a lot more in other countries. This job here ...
4
The choice is about: freedom of movement vs hassle & costs.
The good thing about your own vehicle is that it will take you wherever you want to go, whenever you want to go. Even to the places that are not served by public transport. The downside is that crossing borders with a car increases hassle, this will be most notable when shipping your car around ...
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