Central America Backpacking
Central America
Central America has some interesting destinations. The most developed for tourism is without doubt Costa Rica. Prices are high and the Capital San Jose is not much to write home about this is not unique in Central America. Guatemala's Capital of the same name is a metropolitan mess. You can see corruption gone mad as Councils seem to have given up on planning and maintaining let alone building nice areas.
Still where were we ? Costa Rica is open to cruise ships at Puerto Limon - but people go just to Costa Rica for its amazing rainforest beaches , surfing eco lodges or to spot turtles laying eggs among many other reasons.
You can do the turtle tours in Nicaragua as well but boy what a contrast in price. This place is backpacker friendly being cheap and having a lot of cool places to go take a look at Nicaragua Backpacking. Be careful in Managua especially in the main bus station it is a no go area just outside take a decent looking cab to your pre arrange hotel !
Honduras offers some great destinations for scubadiving with the Bay Islands - Utila and Roatan, Roatan being another popular cruise destination. The mainland of Honduras offers the scent of pineapples in the air is cheap to travel in and has some great Mayan ruins such as Copan.
Let us not forget Mexico - that massive powerhouse just south of the USA. Great for tourism , yes spring break in cabo or Cancun and another magnate for the cruise ship visitor. There is desert in the north , mountains in the south as it forms into Guatemala. Check out the individual countries to get a better feeling. If you have been we would like to know what you thought of some places and perhaps you would submit a destination(s) for us.
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- Category: Costa Rica
Served by some flights you may be able to take advantage to the surrounding area that is know as Fortuna. La Fortuna got famous as the gateway to Volcan Arenal in Costa Rica. The surrounding area is rich in things to do like hot natural springs (Tabacon) horseriding or visit the waterfall La Catarata de la Fortuna, canoeing, hiking, canopy tours, white water rafting...the list goes on and you will see why it is a popular spot with backpackers. You can find many places to stay in town accordingly to your own taste and expense. It is really amazing on a clear night to see the red sparking lava from Arenal.
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- Category: Costa Rica
Sitting pretty on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific coastline, the small village of Dominical and hence Dominical Beach the central america surfer’s paradise. Though not at all recommended for swimming there is also good scubadiving. Whales and turtles frequent the coast here and depending on the season this may be on the list of things to do. Watching turtles nesting is an amazing experience. Dominical has some great lodging options and is popular with backpackers. Its great to do Horse riding around here with the local fauna and flora while the sea salt permeates the air mixed in with eau de cheval :) Cao Island is a great place to dive and also do a day trip to this is close by.
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- Category: Costa Rica
The Costa Rica wilderness is an amazing experience for nomads and nature lovers. If you want to lose yourself and find yourself again in the mysterious wild charm of nature, the eco tourist spots in Costa Rica are the places where you should head for.
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- Category: Guatemala
It is so remote it took me 10 years to finally get to Tikal, its not on the beaten track and there were stories around about buses getting targeted by robbers looking for backpackers and their money. The second time around I made a break from where I was living in Roatan Honduras. A visa run if you like. To get my passport stamped and refreshed. The route along the way deserves a mention.
San Pedro Sula, crossing the border at Corinto onwards to Puerto Barrios and Livingston a break neck speedboat to punta gorda under the cover of darkness and waves I will never forget 007 style. El Rincon Flores and Tikal itself. to be continued...
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- Category: Guatemala
Antigua is the pretty upper class part of Guatemala.
Read more: Antigua Flawless Colonial City Spanish Courses and Cobblestones
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- Category: Honduras
Two big cays and 11 small ones 20 miles NE of La Ceiba, a port in Honduras, on the Caribbean coast, under the name of Cayos Cochinos hide the beauty of turquoise pristine water, a bio marine research center, one kind of all inclusive hotel and the best of all: Cayo Chachahuate. A group of garifuna families live here and sometimes they offer very basic accommodation and food for tourists for a few dollars, if you pre-arrange with locals in La Ceiba and you are willing to spend a few days sharing 2 bathrooms with 100 people. Not easy to get there, but totally worth it.
An ecosystem with a coral reef in the North side of the cays, amazing sunsets, the most fantastic people with a totally different way of living. A one in a lifetime experience.
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- Category: Honduras
West Bay is pretty much that paradise beach you get on the tv. It is at the western tip of the bay island Roatan situated off the north coast of Honduras.
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- Category: Honduras
Stesha Pasachnik an expert studying the black Iguana in Honduras comments 'When I contacted this company to discuss this photo I received a general email stating that they were sorry that I was not pleased with this book.' This is a very disappointing attitude to take from a global brand not addressing the point at all almost insulting with that kind of reply.
So what's this tropical storm about ? The cover of their new Honduras guide book. Well says Stesha 'Look closely and you will see that this green iguana is tied up by its tendons, and ready to be sold.' 'This is an Illegal activity in Honduras'
I could imagine the outrage if their cover showed a Russian circus bear on its cover with a leg chain on a particularly nasty human creation.
Did the editor miss it ? It must have been impossible that the photographer did and the artist who would edit the photo before the cover went into print must surely have seen the devilish detail.
Will they change it ? - presumably not as they will have done their print run. Perhaps they will if they do a reprint.
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- Category: Honduras
Utila, Honduras is truly a tropical island paradise situated along the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef--making it perfect for divers and snorkelers looking for an escape.
Whew, has the whole world gotten you down? How many times have you said to yourself, "I wish I could live on a deserted island". What if I told you that was possible. And that it wouldn't cost you a gazillion dollars to do it. Sure enough, head to Isla de Utila (Island of Utila) in Honduras and it's all possible.
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- Category: Honduras
Roatan is a little known spot even today many people have not heard of this elongated crocodile shaped paradise. It started to gain some notoriety in the later 1900’s as a scuba diving location and was firmly rooted on the backpacker tourist map because of its diving and sister island Utila, famed for being the cheapest place to learn to dive in the word with the possibility of snorkelling or diving with the worlds largest fish the whale shark.
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- Category: Mexico
Cabo is like a dream. We went there for the first time last year not knowing what to expect. As we were driven up a long winding road to our resort, (Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach) I was getting goose bumps!
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- Category: Mexico
San Miguel Allende is a small town about 275 km from Mexico City and 97 from Guanajuato in Mexico. It became an attraction for tourists due to the thermal springs and mainly because of the beauty of the colonial buildings. The temperature is nice all year around so you can also enjoy the outdoors activities such as paragliding and skydiving or just walk the city.
Also some cultural events such as the San Miguel Jazz Festival and the "Sanmiguelada", some sort of Spain's Pamplona Festival in a Mexican version... and restaurants and bars for evening/nights in the "city center".
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- Category: Mexico
Visiting the historical and fascinating Oaxaca in Mexico is something that can be enjoyed at any time of the year. This is a place that is rich in history and culture, offering a range of attractions, places of interest and activities to keep you busy.
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- Category: Nicaragua
She came to me in Roatan one or two days after my arrival. She is no longer with me. Another guy took her from me while in Nicaragua, He gave me no warning and like me he believed in possession being 9 tenths of the law. There was no real warning, I got complacent I guess and took her for granted. I now have to wake up without her screaming at me, and she illuminated my way as we were left in the dark during the first stages of the trip. That poor bastard, he will not be able to use her as I could, but never mind I have a better one in England. I miss you Sony Ericsson.
Editors Note: Sadly John Ur featured in this article passed away to Cancer. The author kept up somewhat whilst John had the strength to write he could. One day the news stopped coming. RIP John. You were an immense guy. The original website johnur.com is gone but I found the images were still here https://johnur.typepad.com/