Anyone been to Central America?

[mutinyzine]

Hey!

Me and my girlfriend are heading off to spend about 4 months in central America this fall. I was wondering if anyone on the board has visited the places we're going to and if you might have any tips and ideas of what to see, what not to see etc.

We're going to Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and hopefullly Colombia as well.

Thanks!

[scotterson]

I spent a week in costa rica, we camped in the rain forest right above a river, and it was beautiful. My brother's been also, but stayed on the coast, and loved it. Can't really go wrong. I guess it depends on what you are more interested in seeing, but its really an awesome place.

[bicyclepirate]

For Nicaragua: my favorite city was León. Its just a cool place to walk around, and you can still see a lot of the old revolutionary murals around the city. They were destroyed everywhere else. There is a small indigenous part of town on the outskirts of Leon that you can walk to from the city center to see this giant tree, a historic church, and just to say you have been there (I can't remember the name, but its pretty well known). If you have the chance to go up into the mountains around Esteli or Matagalpa, see if you can take a tour of a coffee farm, or maybe stay a night or two in someone's house. Its absolutely beautiful, and I had the best food I'd ever eaten in Central America there. You can get homemade cheese, handmade tortillas, and very very fresh coffee. I think there are tour guides you can hire that can help you figure this out. Managua pretty much sucks, but if you want to see historic landmarks related to the revolution, then its worth going. Grenada is a really pretty but I found to be a little dull. There are places in between Managua and Grenada where you can swing through forests on zip strings, its pretty frightening but awesome. San Juan del Sur is an awesome beach town. When you are Nicaragua, make sure you at least try Pitahaya fruit. Its pretty easy to get as a juice, its like a florescent purple color, but the best fruit I've ever had, I still dream about it.

I've also been to Guatemala and Costa Rica, but really, Nicaragua is my favorite place. The people are absolutely amazing, and I found it really easy to just strike up interesting conversations with random people. Other people I know that have traveled through Central America seem to agree. It really depends on what you are looking to do, how much money you have, and your sense of adventure. Guatemala and Honduras can be frightening places, and I found Costa Rica to be somewhat expensive (higher charges for tourists for many "tourist" type activities).

[mutinyzine]

For Nicaragua: my favorite city was León. Its just a cool place to walk around, and you can still see a lot of the old revolutionary murals around the city. They were destroyed everywhere else. There is a small indigenous part of town on the outskirts of Leon that you can walk to from the city center to see this giant tree, a historic church, and just to say you have been there (I can't remember the name, but its pretty well known). If you have the chance to go up into the mountains around Esteli or Matagalpa, see if you can take a tour of a coffee farm, or maybe stay a night or two in someone's house. Its absolutely beautiful, and I had the best food I'd ever eaten in Central America there. You can get homemade cheese, handmade tortillas, and very very fresh coffee. I think there are tour guides you can hire that can help you figure this out. Managua pretty much sucks, but if you want to see historic landmarks related to the revolution, then its worth going. Grenada is a really pretty but I found to be a little dull. There are places in between Managua and Grenada where you can swing through forests on zip strings, its pretty frightening but awesome. San Juan del Sur is an awesome beach town. When you are Nicaragua, make sure you at least try Pitahaya fruit. Its pretty easy to get as a juice, its like a florescent purple color, but the best fruit I've ever had, I still dream about it.

I've also been to Guatemala and Costa Rica, but really, Nicaragua is my favorite place. The people are absolutely amazing, and I found it really easy to just strike up interesting conversations with random people. Other people I know that have traveled through Central America seem to agree. It really depends on what you are looking to do, how much money you have, and your sense of adventure. Guatemala and Honduras can be frightening places, and I found Costa Rica to be somewhat expensive (higher charges for tourists for many "tourist" type activities).

Thanks for the tips Bicyclepirate! Yeah, we're pretty damn excited about going to Nicaragua!

You say Guatemala and Honduras can be frightening places? In what way do you mean? We've been to South America, Mexico and Cuba and have a pretty good idea of what not to do and when to be careful. Any safety tips for Central America you wanna share would be greatly appreciated.

Also, when did you go there? What year and what time of year?

Thanks again!

[bullflip]

My mom is Guatemalan so i visit there every 3 years or so. It CAN be quite frightening. when i was 17 i went to a bar with some relatives and when eminem came on i was so durnk i started rappin along and then people wanted to kick my ass so we ran to our truck outside and sped off whlie they chased after us. just for me being american. a nice place there is Antigua. its also cool to see the volcano of which i cant rememebr the name. there are parts though that welcome tourists with open arms, and others where people will want to beat your ass and rob you cause your white/black/american. depending on what parts you visit, dont wear a nice watch or an ipod, cause that shit will be stolen off of you. but as i said, i think in Antigua you'll be fine. anywhere else?

[thousandjulys]

i've been to cosa rica several times and tend to head to off the beaten path locations. there is a spot on the caribbean side called playa chiquita. It's close enough to puerto viejo but is really nice country side and you really get a feel for the true costa rica. there is a nice 3 bedroom house called the papaya house there within walking distance(5mins) to the beach that you can rent for under 400 dollars a week.

manuel antonio has beautiful beaches but its pretty touristy. headed to nosara in about 2 months. anxious to see how that compares.

[bicyclepirate]

I was in Nicaragua and Costa Rica the summer of 2003. I had been to Guatemala in the summer of 2001 or 2002, I can't remember now. I've also done a lot of traveling in Mexico and South America, so I know what you mean, any notions that some place is "dangerous" should be treated with skepticism. I haven't experienced anything bad myself, the closest actually was somebody trying to steal my watch in San Jose, Costa Rica. But for Guatemala, keep in mind it was a place that went through 30 years of civil war, and the levels of violence in that country now are on par with the level of killings during the war. Some of it is political, but a lot is also just crime and armed gangs that formed out of the excessive number of people with weapons and experience at killing people. While I was there I was staying in Panajachel, which is on a lake. A popular thing to do is to go hiking up in the mountains around the lake. A few tourists were robbed and killed doing just that while we were there. The thing that got me most about Guatemala is you can sense the impact of all this violence on people, just in the way they look and act. I know Nicaragua has been through a lot too, but in I just didn't get that feeling while in Nicaragua. For Honduras, I haven't been there myself, but I've heard from friends that have been there that have been personally hijacked on buses by groups of armed men. This happens in Mexico too, but from my sense, not on the scale that it does in Central America. So, if you are traveling on buses through rural areas, which I assume you will be, just make sure you don't have a lot of valuables on your person. My friends made it through fine, but just know that it could happen.

[benc]

Oh man, Costa Rica is incredible (but San Jose sucks). My favorite place was Montezuma. It's on the west coast. PM me if you have any specific questions, but other people probably know what they are talking about as well. You def. want to go off the beaten path in CR. It's totally safe, and the people are fantastic.

In Montezuma we rented this house for $80/night: http://www.amordemar.com/casa%20sol/index.htm - it's not really a good deal for 2 people, but a good idea of what you can find.

[zac]

I've been to Costa Rica because my sister lived there for over a year or so. I kind of have mixed feelings about it.

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

ive been to missouri, which if the real central america

[pjaicomo]

I was in Nicaragua and Costa Rica the summer of 2003. I had been to Guatemala in the summer of 2001 or 2002, I can't remember now. I've also done a lot of traveling in Mexico and South America, so I know what you mean, any notions that some place is "dangerous" should be treated with skepticism. I haven't experienced anything bad myself, the closest actually was somebody trying to steal my watch in San Jose, Costa Rica. But for Guatemala, keep in mind it was a place that went through 30 years of civil war, and the levels of violence in that country now are on par with the level of killings during the war. Some of it is political, but a lot is also just crime and armed gangs that formed out of the excessive number of people with weapons and experience at killing people. While I was there I was staying in Panajachel, which is on a lake. A popular thing to do is to go hiking up in the mountains around the lake. A few tourists were robbed and killed doing just that while we were there. The thing that got me most about Guatemala is you can sense the impact of all this violence on people, just in the way they look and act. I know Nicaragua has been through a lot too, but in I just didn't get that feeling while in Nicaragua. For Honduras, I haven't been there myself, but I've heard from friends that have been there that have been personally hijacked on buses by groups of armed men. This happens in Mexico too, but from my sense, not on the scale that it does in Central America. So, if you are traveling on buses through rural areas, which I assume you will be, just make sure you don't have a lot of valuables on your person. My friends made it through fine, but just know that it could happen.

Seems kind of dangerous.