UMassCanuck07

Hello all! I have decided to take a trip to Central/Latin America.

Let me first state where I have been in that area:

- Cancun, MX (loved it since I went two years ago when I was 20)
- Belize City, BZ (loved it as well...the ruins and such were amazing!)

I am 24, just out of college, and the son of an AA flight attendant so I fly free, so I do not have to worry about airfare. I would be going alone, and am more into the cultural stuff rather than going out and getting smashed at a bar.

So here are my options:

Panama City, Panama
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Mexico City, Mexico
San Jose, Costa Rica

Basically I want somewhere that I go where I do not have to travel far from the airport to the city centre and such and where I do not have to take a bus 2.5 hours to see everything. Basically I want a city that has plenty to do all-in-itself.

Thanks for any idea/comments/suggestions!

elgringito

Honduras has spectacular Mayan ruins in Copan, but this is more than a 2.5 hour bus ride from Tegucigalpa and around two hours from San Pedro Sula (an option on American). Tegucigalpa nor San Pedro Sula are great cities for sites in and near the city, in my opinion. The Bay Islands, a short and inexpensive plane ride best made from San Pedro Sula are an option for great diving and snorkeling.

UMassCanuck07

What airline would I take from San Pedro Sula to the Bay Islands? Are there hotels/resorts there?

elgringito

Unless things have changed recently, TACA is the only airline that you can reserve seats on a U.S. site such as expedia. Roatan has numerous hotels and resorts, not up to U.S. standards, but very niche. Anthony's Key resort is and Fantasy Island are two I have stayed at. A good site to view is http://www.roatanforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=960.

Anthony's has the option to swim with Dolphins.

keisari

all the places you are considering are in Central/North America.
why not go to the real South America.
how about Buenos Aires (theater, tango, gauchos, great food/wine) or Lima/Cuzco/Machu Pichu?

thenelsons

San Jose is a decent size city but the more cultural things to do are going to be a bus or car ride away....the Arenal (spelling?) volcano, fabulous National Parks, coffee plantation tours, zip-lines thru the tops of the rainforest trees, 4 wheeler atv tours, etc....also depends when you are going, now is the start of the rainy season there and it is beautiful until about 3pm daily then it varies between light showers to downpours~ rainy season is over in October/November.

UMassCanuck07

So how safe are these cities seriously?

egtravel

I can answer for San Jose, CR (been there five times) and Panama City, Panama (been there once). Obvioulsy, Costa Rica is special to me. San Jose is a big, sprawling city, set in a beautiful, eternally spring-like valley. The city itself is not nice and has little to offer the tourist. There are a couple of cool buildings and one or two museums...that's about it. However, you can travel in an hour to two hours in any direction and see a spectacular site. Such as a volcano, rain-forest or sit on a beach. On safety, the first time I was there my friend was stabbed in the street of San Jose on the way back to our hotel. He was walking alone, which is NOT the thing to do any place you are unfamiliar with. But if you travel out of San Jose, there is so much more to see. The Carribbean side has the turtles (depending upon what time of year you are there) and the Pacific has beaches and surfing. Also there are canopy tours all over the place. We did one and it was definately worth it! Don't go to the Carribbean side Dec to Mar...it rains a lot more during those particular months, for some reason. Pacific side has more rain May to October. It's a beautiful country and the people were very friendly all over.

Panama City is totally different from San Jose. I felt safer in Panama City, but maybe because it seems more familiar. It's modern and most of the buildings are high rises. It resembles Miami, in a way. At least that's what the Panamanians like to compare their city to..."Miami-like". Again, it's a big city, but has much more to offer than San Jose. If you want to stay in the city, you can also be at some pretty cool places in an hour or two. We stayed on Ancon Hill for a couple days and traveled to the Panama Canal (not far at all), Lake Gatun (thought I was on the Amazon!) and also a boat trip to an ecological reserve (can't remember the name) where we had a guide take us on the trails around the island looking for the wildlife. It was pretty cool. It's run by the Smithonian Institute, I believe. On the Carribbean side is Bocas Del Toro, and island archipelago just south of the Costa Rican border. It was an amazing place with tons to do, if you like snorkeling and water. We also did a night time jungle tour which was pretty cool too. We also went to the Pearl Islands (beautiful water!!), but I would only go for one to two nights as it's very, very, primitive. Also, it seemed to me that Panama didn't quite have it's tourism together as Costa Rica does. And I didn't find the people as friendly either. From what I've heard, Honduras and Guatamala are a bit more primitive, but are starting to become popular. You may also want to consider Nicaragua. Good luck with choosing! You won't go wrong no matter what destination you pick, I'm sure.

enperadore

I would suggest you consider Nicaragua as well. American (AA) has two daily flights into Managua and one of the most visited cities in the country is Granada, located only 45 minutes by bus. Nicaragua has been rated one of the safest country in the western hemesphire after Canada. If you make Granada your base you will have tons to see all within an hour by bus and very cheaply. Your dollar will got really far here with food and drinks. The beaches are all less than 2 hours from granada including San Juan del Sur and Pochomil. I have lived here for 8 months now with no problems and just using the public transportation. As with any latin country it helps knowing a little spanish but the people are super friendly and they are not Gringo haters. If you been to Cancun, then you have faced danger and nicaragua will be a cake walk. In granada its common to see foreigners walking late at night around the central park area and sitting on the bars drinking a cold beer. Costa Rica is Gringoland and snotty ticos, just my opinion. contact me if you want more info.

thenelsons

I personally don't find the ticos to be snotty at all......and I am such an obvious gringo (blonde hair & pathetic spanish). I enjoy eating at the local restaurants and have never had a problem with just pointing and nodding until I get enough to eat and drink....the workers are always doing everything they can to make sure I am happy, the table is clean, etc. I think they are glad to have the Americans there spending their money.

smalltown

Hi

I second the suggestion for Nicaragua. I just returned from a trip there myself. It's absolutely wonderful...

st

ejm

About 45 minute drive from Guatemala City is a Antigua - it is really a lovely town - very evocative. Also a great place to learn spanish if you are interested - lots of schools who will also arrange local lodging with a local family as part of the schooling experience. I really recommend Antigua - it is a great place to stay - just be aware that the week before Easter gets VERY crowded because of the Lent processions - if you can get a reservation someplace I would very highly recomend being there for the Thursday thru Sat night processions - they are something that you will never see anything like them again. Not commercialized and really awe inspiring no matter what your religious beliefs. Even if you are not there during the Easter season Antigua would still be a great place to visit in GUA - former capital and lots of ruins and history there - it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

While in Gua I would also be sure to visit the Petan and particularly Tikal - it was really spectacular - lots of Mayan ruins in the region but Tikal has good infrastructure. You can arrange a pretty inexpensive flight while in Antigua - can arrange for hotel in park etc.

There are 2 or 3 places to stay inside the park - the benefit of staying inside is that you can hike about a mile into the park just before dawn, climb a pyramid and watch the sun come up over the jungle - it is pretty spectacular - howler monkeys, toucans, misty ruins etc.

Lake Atitlan is another great spot in Gua

whatever you decide have a great trip