.

Hi everyone! My wife, friends, and I are planning a trip to El Salvador in January and will be staying in El Tunco as our home base. We chose El Tunco because we’re looking forward to enjoying its nightlife and going out for drinks in the evenings. We don’t plan to rent a car, so we’ll be relying on a driver for day trips.

Here’s the rough plan:

• Thursday: Arrive in El Tunco and settle in.
• Friday: Visit Santa Ana Volcano and Lake Coatepeque.
• Saturday: Explore Ruta de las Flores (Juayúa, Ataco, etc.).
• Sunday: Relax in El Tunco, with possible short trips nearby (waterfalls, beach hopping).
• Monday: Head back to the airport.

The driver mentioned that some of the day trips might be tricky due to travel times and early starts. Does this itinerary seem doable, or should we adjust the plans?

I’d love any tips on:

• Must-visit spots or hidden gems near El Tunco.
• Restaurant recommendations (especially near Lake Coatepeque or along Ruta de las Flores).

What is the best shuttle company to travel with? from El tunco to Antigua, Guatemala

Hi everyone, my husband and I are Americans who speak Spanish fluently and just booked a trip to Guatemala for January! Here is what we are thinking:

Day 1-3 Antigua, possibly with overnight volcano hike on day 3

Day 4 San Pedro (Lake Atitlan) - we would arrive here early to explore the town and spend the night

Day 5-8 Santa Cruz (Lake Atitlan) - base ourselves in Santa Cruz but do things like kayak/hiking

Day 9 Return to Antigua

Day 10 Shuttle from Antigua to international airport

--

How does that sound? Any specific recommendations in these places?

Hi, myself and girlfriend are thinking of crossing into Guatemala from Mexico at the El Ceibo border. Any advice on this ? Is it very dangerous?

Hi!! My sister and I (18 and 24) are planning a 2-week backpacking trip in Costa Rica at the end of Feb - beginning of March. We want to stay at hostels and meet other travellers, and want a mix of nature, exploring, activities, cities, etc. We are both very adventurous - I have travelled solo before but this will my sister's first trip, so looking for advice and opinions about what to do and where to go!

What itinerary would you recommend? What cities and activities should we do? What hostels should we stay at? Anything we should know about Costa Rica in Feb/March? Thanks so much for your advice - we appreciate it! <3

Hey guys so I recently travelled in Central and South America for 3 months - El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, then onto Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. I spent around £4600 altogether and I know lots pf people might be curious to know exactly how much to expect to spend when travelling over there! I just posted a YouTube video with the breakdown - https://youtu.be/Zj39p2HPvHY?si=DV3XsxD8bwSKAN7r

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations for travel esims for Guatemala? They all seem expensive and with less data availability than the esims I’ve downloaded in other countries. Are physical sims much cheaper or not worth it?

Thanks :)

I'm looking into a company called Anywhere.com to plan a trip to Guatemala. They have 1k reviews on Trustpilot (a site that ironically have complaints against them with the BBB), 300 reviews on FaceBook, and 30 reviews on Google. An overwhelming amount are positive and I feel like it's too good to be true? Has anyone used them before? What was that like?

Hello. I plan to visit Panama in late december and can't decide between Santa Catalina or Playa Venao. I'm a keen surfer and will be staying for 1 week. Any advice on the the two towns is appreciated :)

I'm a 30F and plan to backpack el salvador in december. I land SAL at 1930 and want to go straight to Santa Ana that night. It looks like busses don't run that late (can someone confirm that?) so I was going to get a taxi or uber. I have had issues in smaller countries trying to find an uber driver that would take me a long distance late at night. Anyone with experience here think I would be able to make this work? Or any alternative ideas?

Also, any tips specific to el salvador?

My girlfriend and I are travelling to Mexico and Central America for the first time in December/January. We have approx. 42 days total (6 weeks) and plan on staying in cheap accom/hostels for the most part. Our plan is to start in CDMX and work our way down south, we need to fly back to LA for an onwards flight to our home country around 20 January 2025.

Our plan is to experience several countries in the region, maximising our time in a few places as opposed to trying to see everything.

We are both late twenties and mostly enjoy food, local culture, the beach, nature, wildlife, surfing, yoga and the odd drink/party. We are keen to try avoid built up touristy places such as Tulum/Cancun and will prioritise more memorable experiences as opposed to laying around on a beautiful beach everyday.

The itinerary below still has some wriggle room and would love any feedback/suggestions/advice from people. Particularly regarding Mexico and skipping Belize/Northern Guatemala in favour of more time in Nicaragua/El Salvador. Is there any other places that we should definitely visit or change?

Thank you so much :)

Mexico

• 4 nights CDMX
• 2 nights Oaxaca City
• 4 nights Puerto Escondido
• 4-5 nights San Cristobal De Las Casas/Chiapas area (excluding overnight bus from PE)

Take bus from San Cristobal to Lake Atitlan

Guatemala

• 3 nights Lake Atitlan
• 4 nights Antigua (including overnight Acatenango hike)

Take bus from Antigua to El Tunco

El Salvador

• 3 nights El Tunco (surfing and chilling)

Fly from San Salvador to Managua to save time

Nicaragua

• 3 nights Granada
• 3 nights Ometepe
• 3-4 nights in a chill beach town where you can surf ideally not SJDS e.g. Popoyo or Playa Maderas?

Take bus from SJDS to somewhere in Costa Rica?

Costa Rica

• 3 nights in La Fortuna or somewhere to experience Costa Rica highlights briefly e.g. nature/see some sloths
• Fly to LA for onwards flight to home

Hello Everyone!

I am leaving Canada in January 2025 to explore Mexico and Central America. Below will be a rough itinerary for context, but I am struggling with a budget. I have about $14000 CAD ($10000 USD) saved. This is excluding flights, but will need to include all accommodation, food, transportation, and tours.

Mexico - Approx. 1 month

• Mexico City - 1 week
• Puebla- 2 nights
• Oaxaca - 1 week
• Puerto Escondido - 1 week
• San Jose Del Pacifico - 2 nights
• Salina Cruz - 1 night
• San Cristobal - 4 nights
• Palenque - 2 nights
• Merida - 4 nights

Belize -

• Caye Caulker - 5 nights
• San Ignacio - 2 nights

Guatemala - 2-3 weeks

• Flores - 3 nights
• Stop in Tikal
• Lanquin - 5 nights
• Lake Atitlan - 5 nights
• Antigua - 5 nights

Honduras (to see the ruins)??

• Copan - 2 nights

El Salvador - 1 week

• Santa Ana - 4 nights
• Playa El Tunco - 4 nights

Nicaragua - 1.5 - 2 weeks

• Leon - 4 nights
• Granada - 4 nights
• Isla De Ometepe - 3 nights
• San Juan Del Sur - 2 nights

Costa Rica - 1 week (I am really needing help with this)

• Monteverde - 2 nights
• La Fortuna - 2 nights
• Manuel Antonio - 2 nights
• Puerto Viejo de Talamanca - 2 nights

Panama - 2 weeks

• Bocas del Toro - 3 nights
• Hornito - 3 nights
• Panama City - 1 night?
• San Blas Islands - 3 nights
• Panama City - 3 nights?

Fly Home

I am hoping to spend roughly $100 CAD ($72 USD) a day. Here is a breakdown:

$25 CAD ($18 USD) for accommodation per day, staying in hostel dorms

$50 CAD ($35 USD) for food, a combination of street food, restaurants, hostel breakfast & cooking

$15 CAD ($11 USD) for transportation - this seems low with all of the bus travel.

Alcohol may take up the remainder of budget, as I do like the occasional party.

I do not have tours included in this mess of a budget, as I know each country will fluctuate in cost. This is where any input and advice from you will be helpful.

Am I absolutely crazy for thinking this is feasible? Please let me hear your experiences!

I was looking into flights from Cancun to Guatemala City and thought I decided on a Volaris flight. But the Volaris website just wasn't operational (get stuck after picking a flight fare option) and I always prefer not to use 3rd party websites like Kiwi.com. Is there any trick to using the Volaris website like use of a VPN? The other option is Tag but it flies from Merida, requiring a change of my itinerary. Land travel via Belize and flores is too time consuming. Any advice?

Hi, I have a family member who is in a very serious situation. They are currently in Guatemala and their life is in danger. They are trying to get back to Honduras but they can only go by bus, the problem is the person following them is also going by bus. Does anyone know or can anyone recommend a good bus company or if there’s any private transportation ? This has been an ongoing situation and I’ve runs out of options up here in America

My parents (healthy and adventurous, but in their mid-70s) are heading to Central America early February 2025 and could use some travel recommendations to make the most of their trip! They’ll be spending a few weeks in Costa Rica and then heading over to Guatemala. Here’s what I’m hoping to get your insights on:

Costa Rica Leg (Quepos Area) - 2 weeks

Ask #1: They’ll be based in Quepos, Costa Rica, and are looking for reliable travel/tour companies in the area that can set up day or 2-day trips. They’d prefer not to worry about driving and would love a guide to handle the logistics. Any recommendations for reputable tour companies with experience catering to older travelers would be amazing!

Guatemala Leg (Antigua Area) - 3 weeks

Ask #2: After Costa Rica, they’ll fly from San Jose to Guatemala City and stay in Antigua. This is their first time in Guatemala. Do you have any recommendations for first-timers in the area? Looking for sights, tips, or hidden gems that might be good for them. They can do easy/moderate hikes but super high altitude is no good for them.

Ask #3: Any tips on good tour companies, private drivers, or English-speaking guides around Antigua or Guatemala in general? They know a bit of Spanish but would be most comfortable with an English-speaking service.

Thanks in advance for any help, recommendations, or tips you can provide! It would mean a lot to help make their trip memorable and smooth!

Day 1: arrive Panajachel around 11am, walk nature reserve trails (sleep in Pana)

Day 2: boat to San Pedro, ATV tour of SP, SJ, SM (sleep in SP)

Day 3: Indian nose sunrise hike, afternoon cooking class in Santa Cruz (sleep in SC)

Day 4: morning shuttle to Antigua, explore town

Day 5: Acetenango overnight hike

Day 6: return to Antigua around 12

Day 7: afternoon shuttle to El Paredon

Day 8: pool/beach day

Day 9: kayak mangroves, pool/beach

Day 10: morning shuttle to Antigua, maybe coffee farm tour, if not just finish exploring town

Day 11: fly home in early morning

Does this sound like a good itinerary? Is there any specific activities you would/wouldn’t recommend?

My time in Antigua is basically split up into 4 half days (so ~2 days), I am just planning to spend my time by walking around to see the Architecture. Will this fill my time or is there any specific activities I should do in Antigua?

Also, any good restaurant recs in Panajachel?

Thanks!!

Is April - August a good time to visit guatemala, Or is it best to wait until December - March?

Acatenango is high in my list so want to avoid miserable conditions for this 😆

I've read May is rainy season and should be avoided.

I am solo traveling to Central America from November 14^(th) to December 14^(th), and am looking for some tips/suggestions for my itinerary. My main focus is meeting other travelers, finding good party hostels, and getting some good hikes in. I am planning on taking 2-3000 USD and exchanging it for local currency as I go. I’m reading that a Yellow Fever vaccine seems to be necessary and others are only suggested? My current plan is as follows:

Nov14-18: Nicaragua- San Juan del Sur- Hola Ola Hostel?

Nov 19-23: Nicaragua- Ometepe- No hostel yet

Nov 23-29: ? This is where I need help. I am considering Leon in Nicaragua, El Tunco in El Salvador, and Santa Ana in El Salvador. None of these destinations are jumping off the screen at me and am looking for some intel. I know a bus from Ometepe to Antigua would be too long for one day so will stop in one or two of these destinations on the way.

Nov 30-Dec 2: Guatemala- Antigua- No hostel yet

Dec 3-5: Guatemala- Lanquin- Zephyr Lodge?

Dec 6-13 Guatemala- Lake Atitlan -No hostel yet

Dec 14: Flight out of Antigua

Please drop some recommendations for hostels, anything in my itinerary that could be an issue, things I may have missed, or any general tips. Thank you!

Hi, I am looking for flights around in Central America, especially to find a way to get to Managua, Nicaragua from Cancun.

Been searching to and from a lot of different destinations, but it seems to be difficult to find any good and cheap connections in general in CA.

How come they are so expensive and are there other ways to enter the country? I know there is bus routes, but arent they a hassle sometimes with border control ect?

Any tips on how to find good and cheap flight connections in CA in general?

Hey, I'm planning on solo travelling to guatemala from UK. My main concern is safety. My plan is to fly into guatemala and head straight to Antigua. I plan to stay in Antigua, Lake Atitlan and potentially Flores.

Is there anything to be worried about? I've heard mixed reviews. Would love to hear from other solo travellers!

Do you see a monetary union stablishing in Central America? Should it be the USD or a local currency? Where should the central Bank be located.

I'm interested since I come from Ecuador and we use the same currency as Panamá and El Salvador. Guatemala also let's people use other currencies AFAIK.

Managua airport to Ometepe

Hi,

What would be the best way to go from Managua airport to Ometepe..

I was doing some research and found that I need to head to the bus terminal in Roberto Huembas..

How do I reach there from the airport? Taxis? What will be the approx fare..

Thanks in advance.

I am traveling on a one way ticket in central america. Currently hanging out in El Salvador for the month of Oct, then my plan is to go to Guatemala for 2 weeks to visit a friend. From Guate I am thinking about flying to Panama city for about 3 weeks before flying to Puerto Rico to visit another friend before returning home mid december.

From what ive seen, most flights from San Salvador, Guatemala City and San Pedro Sula, Honduras, stop in Panama city anyway. So I was thinking why not just spend extra time in Panama before PR?

I am looking for some spots that are tranquilo, & not super touristy or party oriented where I can feel more immersed in local culture and further mi español.

Thanks in advance!