visiting El Castillo Fortress don the Rio San Juan
25 Highlights of Travels in Central America
I just completed my extensive, 15-month explorations of Central America!
Yes, in mid July, 2018, I flew out of Costa Rica to Phoenix, Arizona for a big family gathering, thus ending the final leg of my long, long jaunt through the 7-country isthmus that connects the North and South American continents.
at the border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua
My entire travels through Central America actually consisted of two trips. I first arrived in Central America by flying into Guatemala on Nov. 1st, 2105 (I can easily remember the date because I arrived that day in order to experience the Day of the Dead Festival, which I unfortunately completely missed. Lol)
During my first stint in Central America, I spent two months in Guatemala and one month in Belize before heading north into Mexico. Little did I know that I was about to spend the next 1 ½ years traveling around Mexico, with short side trips to Puerto Rico and Florida.
Eventually I returned to Guatemala from Mexico in July, 2017, to finally see the rest of Central America. In Guatemala I spent one month re-visiting my two favorite places in the country – the stunning colonial town of Antiqua and gorgeous, volcano-rimmed crater lake Atitlan.
From there I headed slowly south, visiting the remaining five countries of the region. It took me an entire year.
enjoying waterfalls – 7 WF tour
Here are the total times I spent exploring each country
Guatemala – 3 months
Belize – 1 month
El Salvador – 1.5 months
Honduras – 5 days (yes, that’s right, days)
Nicaragua – 3.5 months
Costa Rica – 4.5 months
Panama – 1.5 months
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In the case of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, part of the reason I stayed so long was due to work reviewing luxury & boutique hotels and updating a country guide for Nicaragua. Without that work I probably would have stayed three months in each country anyhow, exploring and enjoying the diverse destinations.
I probably would have stayed a little longer (2-3 months) in Panama if I didn’t have to return to the USA in mid July, 2018, to attend a family gathering. Otherwise, I think my travel times were just about right for in-depth explorations of each country (aside from Honduras, which perhaps deserves a visit to the famous islands of Roatan and Utila).
I’ve already written a few articles about my over-all travels in Central America.
One Year of Travels in Latin America
10 Things I Love about Central America
10 Things I Dislike about Central America
Overall Impressions of Central America
Overall I really loved the region. All the countries (save Belize, which was colonized by England) share some huge similarities, such as a Spanish colonial heritage, the Spanish language, Latino culture, nearly the same cuisine and nearly the same topographies and nature. But they all have some distinctive culture, customs and destinations unique to their particular country.
In terms of costs for budget travel, all the countries except Panama and Belize cost nearly the same. I averaged just under $600 US per month in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica (I know – surprise on Costa Rica!).
Belize is considerably more expensive, by far the most expensive country in Central America. Being very careful, I averaged $30 US per day / $900 US per month.
Panama was also more expensive, costing me about $700 US per month.
In the end, my favorite Central American countries were Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua. I also loved Panama City because I’m so enamored of skyscrapers.
25 Main highlights of My Travels in Central America
Taking a broad overview of Central America and looking back on my 15 months of travels in the region, I’d say the following were the top highlights of my explorations. These are the places/activities that I most recommend to anyone traveling to Central America.
Guatemala
1. Antigua – gorgeous, beautifully-preserved colonial Spanish town
2. Lake Atitlan – stunning crater lake rimmed by volcanoes
3. Flores – cute colonial town set on a tiny lake island in NE Guatemala
4. Tikal – one of the largest Mayan ruins sites in the world, in NE Guatemala
see all my articles and photos on Guatemala here
relaxing at the Split – Caye Caulker
Belize
5. Caye Caulker – cool & hip tropical island in the Caribbean
You can check out all my articles and photographs of Belize here
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El Salvador
6. The 7 Waterfalls Trip – Ruta de Flores in northern El Salvador – read it here
7. Climbing Santa Ana Volcano – El Salvador – read it here
8. El Cuco Beach – southwestern El Salvador on the Pacific Coast
You can read all my articles about El Salvador here
Nicaragua
9. Leon & Granada – two amazing colonial town in Nicaragua – read it here
10. Ometepe Island – small ‘au naturale’ island with two volcanic peaks, set in Lake Nicaragua – read it here
11. Popoyo Beach – laid-back surfer’s beach on Pacific coast of Nicaragua
12. Corn Islands – twin islands with Creole culture in the Caribbean
13. Day Trip to tiny artisan villages near Masaya – central Nicaragua
14. Overnight stay at Rancho Santana Resort – Pacific coast
15. San Carlos / El Castillo / Rio San Juan – far southeastern Nicaragua
You can read all my articles about Nicaragua here
Costa Rica
17. Beautiful Pacific coast beaches, especially Samara and Dominical
17. Volcan Arenal / La Fortuna area with volcanic views and Tabacon hot river
18. San Jose – Central America’s best capital city – read it here
19. Several amazing hostels in Costa Rica – at San Jose, Jaco and Uvita
20. Lapa Rios Jungle Resort – overnight stay
You can read all my articles about Costa Rica here
at the Panama Canal – 2018
Panama
21. Panama City – particularly the modern skyscrapers and Costo Viejo old town
22. Panama Canal – visit to Miraflores Locks and the Canal Museum
23. Bocas del Toro Islands – in NE off the Caribbean coast of Panama
24. Overnight stay at Red Frog Resort – Bastimento Island, Bocas del Toro
25. El Valle – town set inside an extinct volcano in central Panama
You can read all my articles about Panama here
sunset at Lake Atitlan – Guatemala
Overview of each country
Following are my descriptions of each country, in brief, along with any points I particularity loved or disliked about them.
Guatemala
Guatemala has a very strong presence of Mayans, generally still wearing their traditional clothing, making traditional arts & crafts, and more-or-less living a traditional lifestyle. This gives Guatemala, more than any other Central American country, a unique and authentic flavor.
This tiny country has a huge diversity of stunning natural places, including 30 volcanoes, black sand beaches on the Pacific, amazing crater lake Atitlan, extensive central mountains, gushing rivers, and languid tropical jungles & rivers on the Caribbean. Gorgeous volcanic peaks, some of them quite active, can be seen from many places.
Also of note are Guatemala’s vibrantly colored old school buses used for public transportation, the gorgeous colonial towns of Antigua and Flores, magical Lake Atitlan rimmed by volcanic peaks, and Tikal Mayan Ruins in northern Guatemala.
What I disliked in Guatemala
While Antigua is a really gorgeous and well-preserved colonial town, it suffers from serious traffic congestion, which also creates a lot of noise and air pollution. Many of the country’s roads are in poor condition and taking public buses can be somewhat of a nightmare, particularly for long distances.
You can check out all my articles and photographs of Guatemala here
rustic cabins on Caye Caulker
Belize
The color of the Caribbean Sea at Belize is out of this world! It glows in absolutely stunning shades of turquoise, teal and aquamarine. The powdery white sand beaches are dreamy, too.
I loved the vibrant colors of wooden houses, shops, restaurants and deck chairs found at Belize’s beaches and islands. In central Belize, a huge clan of Menonites, all dressed in their traditional clothing, is a bizarre sight to behold.
What I disliked in Belize
I did not enjoy the Garafuna culture found at all of Belize’s Caribbean islands and beaches, particularly their rap & hip-hop music, although they did seem to be genuinely nice people.
Nor did I like the overwhelming American cultural elements in Belize – dated soft rock music from the 70s & 80s; bland American food, restaurants & bars, and suburban architectural style. It’s all so lower-class, suburban USA.
Belize is also, by far, the most expensive country in Central America.
You can check out all my articles and photographs of Belize here
near summit of Santa Ana Volcano – El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador has a lot of beautiful and diverse nature. Much like Guatemala, there are volcanoes, tropical jungles, Pacific black-sand beaches, gorgeous crater lakes and miles & miles of forested mountains. Their unique ‘national food’, called pupusas, are a real highlight of visiting El Salvador.
What I disliked in El Salvador
The capital city, San Salvador, is pretty crappy – ugly and lacking in architecture and attractions, save in the small, limited downtown historic area. In fact, aside from Suchitoto town and a few colonial buildings still remaining in a couple other places, the towns and cities of El Salvador are quite unattractive.
Riding public buses can be quite grueling as they are very hot & crowded and take an extremely long time to reach their destinations.
You can read all my articles about El Salvador here
Tegucigalpa
Honduras
I did not like Honduras! I stayed a whopping 5 days only!
But to be fair, I only visited the capital city of Tegucigalpa, which probably nobody likes. I didn’t make it to the country’s most famous and popular sites of Roatan & Utila Islands or the Mayan Ruins of Copan.
I wrote about my impressions of Honduras in this article
What I disliked in Honduras
I found this country to be very expensive, poor value for money, and very difficult to get around by public transportation. The people seem to get angry easily as well, which isn’t especially enjoyable. Tegucigalpa has nothing of interest or attraction.
Little Corn Island
Nicaragua
I really liked Nicaragua! Of particular note are the two stunning colonial cities of Leon and Granada. Aside from Antiqua, Guatemala and the Casco Viejo neighborhood of Panama City, Leon and Granada are the only preserved colonial towns in Central America, making them even more precious.
All over Nicaragua there are working animals – horses, oxen and cows – both in the cities and countryside. I found that quite charming.
Several stunning volcanoes can be seen near Leon, Granada, Masaya and Managua, presenting spectacular scenery. There are also some great, little-developed beaches on the Pacific Coast and the Creole-dominated Corn Islands, which are unique to the region.
What I disliked in Nicaragua
Riding public buses can be quite grueling as they are very hot & crowded and take an extremely long time to reach their destinations.
While Nicaragua is often considered to be very inexpensive, I think that era is long gone. Outside of Leon and Granada, I found prices for both accommodation and food all over the country to be quite expensive. In fact, they’re on par with prices in Costa Rica!
You can read all my articles about Nicaragua here
view of Arenal Volcano from Observatory Lodge
Costa Rica
I didn’t expect to like Costa Rica. I’d heard how expensive, touristy and developed it is. Luckily, my extensive hotel work ‘forced’ me to travel all over the country and spend more than four months there.
I discovered, to my surprise, that Costa Rica didn’t cost me any more than the other countries of Central America. In fact, it’s cheaper than Panama and Belize for budget travel!
In the end, Costa Rica is probably my favorite country in Central America, along with Guatemala and Nicaragua. This is a country to enjoy practically unspoiled nature – gorgeous undeveloped Pacific beaches, interior mountains and volcanoes, dense tropical jungles and lots of wildlife. Visitors are bound to hear Howler monkeys, see loads of colorful butterflies and birds, spot sloths and coatis, among other jungle animals.
In addition, San Jose is the only nice capital city in Central America (aside from Panama City, which is a distinctly modern city full of skyscrapers). San Jose has great museums, lovely city parks and a great diversity of gorgeous architecture, all set in a surprisingly cool to chilly climate in the central highlands.
What I disliked in Costa Rica
The cost of food, groceries, toiletries, clothing and all other daily necessities is very high. I don’t know how the Ticos survive on their meager salaries with the cost of living there! That’s really my only gripe about Costa Rica.
You can read all my articles about Costa Rica here
Panama
The best destinations in Panama are Panama City and the world-famous Panama Canal. Panama is the only city south of the USA with loads of beautiful, modern skyscrapers. It also has a greatly-preserved colonial district, called Casco Viejo, and a wonderful leafy park lining the coast.
The only other places I liked in Panama were El Valle, situated in the center of the country, and the wonderful, laid-back Bocas del Toro Islands, situated at the far northeast Caribbean coast, close to the border of Costa Rica.
I was super lucky to be invited to stay at the fabulous Red Frog Beach Island Resort at Bocas del Toro, where I was given an entire 3-bedroom luxury house with private pool and spectacular views of the Pacific. It was a great way to end my travels in Panama!
What I disliked in Panama
Panamanians seem to love freezing air conditioning and roaringly loud radios, complete with loud, obnoxious djs yelling all the time. I didn’t enjoy either of those aspects of the country.
In addition, aside from Panama City, the towns and cities are quite ugly. The country, overall, is rather bland and lacking in distinctive culture. It’s also an expensive country for budget travelers – second only to Belize for high costs.
You can read all my articles about Panama here
staying at Finca Rosa Blanca Resort
Summary
It took me 15 months to explore Central America’s seven countries. Over-all I really loved the region.
It’s a great place for nature lovers & adventurers, travelers interested in indigenous cultures and budget travelers. Each country has its charms and all are worth exploring for 1-3 months each for anyone who has enough time.
I hope you’ll get to visit any or all of the countries in Central America while you’re out exploring the world.
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Hi! I'm Lash, an American nomadic world traveler who's been traveling solo since 1998. I’m passionate about traveling the world nomadically and then sharing it all with you. I hope to inspire you to travel the world, to entertain you with tales from the road, and to help you reach your travel dreams. Welcome! 
