Central America - 1 week Central America in December

We want to go to Central America from December 1 - 8. Have never been there. We are looking for something low stress, possibly all inclusive, but want to go to a place where there is more to do than sit at a beach. Would appreciate some culture, hiking. We try to stay away from really touristy places. Any place that is sunny, clean and safe works for us. Any recommendations are appreciated.

Central America should be sunny in December, with cool winds blowing from the North.

Decameron Resorts has two locations in Central America: Salinitas, El Salvador and Panamá. Panamá is much safer than El Salvador, but inside the resort or during resort activities safety shouldn't be an issue.

Both of them offer extra activities, check if tours and activities are sheduled for the dates of your visit.

From Salinitas, El Salvador there day trips to Copán, Honduras (Mayan Ruins) and Antigua, Guatemala (Nice colonial town in highlands, touristy on weekends).

Check out the links for local activities in both resorts:

http://www.decameron.com/eng/salvador/salenitas/activities.html

http://www.decameron.com/eng/panama/royal/activities.html

Central America should be sunny in December, with cool winds blowing from the North.

Decameron Resorts has two locations in Central America: Salinitas, El Salvador and Panamá. Panamá is much safer than El Salvador, but inside the resort or during resort activities safety shouldn't be an issue.

Both of them offer extra activities, check if tours and activities are sheduled for the dates of your visit.

From Salinitas, El Salvador there day trips to Copán, Honduras (Mayan Ruins) and Antigua, Guatemala (Nice colonial town in highlands, touristy on weekends).

Check out the links for local activities in both resorts:

http://www.decameron.com/eng/salvador/salenitas/activities.html

http://www.decameron.com/eng/panama/royal/activities.html

I'm going to second this, but really second the Panama vote. Panama is safe and easy. US dollar is the currency so that is a big plus...

Antigua, Guatemala is amazing and another wonderful place you should look into. Guatemala is not safe, but Antigua is OK. Not great safe, but OK.

Still vote for Panama because of the safety issue.

http://www.gamboaresort.com/

Non-beach place in Panama.

They have tours from this resort (not all-inclusive) which include, but not limited to, a day trip to a tribal village (way cool), day trip to a large Smithsonian research island, plus all the other stuff listed on the site. I don't represent this place at all - but I send many people there. (In fact, I will be there again with another group over the dates you mention.)

I am biased towards Panama because I live here and it is the safest L. America country by a long shot (except maybe Costa Rica... but that country is not cheap at all), but have traveled/lived in all of Central America.

http://www.gamboaresort.com/

Non-beach place in Panama.

They have tours from this resort (not all-inclusive) which include, but not limited to, a day trip to a tribal village (way cool), day trip to a large Smithsonian research island, plus all the other stuff listed on the site.

The couple hour boat tour of Gatun Lake that I took from the Gamboa Resort offered the best concentration of exotic tropical wildlife I have ever experienced. Among other things seen:

Capuchin Monkeys, Snow Monkeys, and Howler Monkeys,

Crocodiles, Tree Sloths, Capybaras, Aardvarks,

all manner of birds, including owls, hawks, eagles, falcons, egrets, macaws, toucans, some extremely colorful types of ducks, and numerous others.

I did not stay there, I just showed up with a driver who recommended it and paid around $50 USD for a couple of hours. I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend it. It was like Manuel Antonio on steroids.

We want to go to Central America from December 1 - 8. Have never been there. We are looking for something low stress, possibly all inclusive, but want to go to a place where there is more to do than sit at a beach. Would appreciate some culture, hiking. We try to stay away from really touristy places. Any place that is sunny, clean and safe works for us. Any recommendations are appreciated.

From the frequency of posts in this forum, it should be clear that Costa Rica is ultra-touristy with Panama not far behind. If you want something less touristy try El Salvador or Nicaragua, which both have incredible hiking and culture.

Also I would avoid all-inclusive and travel independently to get the best hiking and culture.

ROYAL DECAMERON SALINITAS is a low priced option at only around $130 per room night, for up to two people all-inclusive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlHnTh_35qY&feature=related

http://www.decameron.com/eng/salvador/salenitas/overview.html