Backpacking Central America Guide [Costs, Route & Tips] • Indie Traveller

Mayan ruins, tropical rainforests, surfer seashores, and colourful cities — Central America has acquired all of it! While there could also be sure challenges to concentrate on, this assortment of bite-size international locations is reasonably priced, (principally) protected, and a rising backpacking hotspot.

Are you dreaming of touring the entire area? Or possibly a selected nation? Either manner, scroll forth for my prime ideas for backpacking Central America based mostly on my six months mixed within the area. 

What’s the Gringo Trail?

If you’re seeking to make an epic journey by means of Latin America, you’ll little question quickly hear in regards to the “gringo trail”.

Named after the Spanish slang phrase for foreigners, this loosely outlined journey route runs right through Central- and South America. It is a favourite amongst backpackers and different overland vacationers.

The Central American a part of the Gringo Trail will take you not less than about 2 months, give or take. This casual backpacker path begins in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, then goes down into Belize and Guatemala, after which by means of all the opposite international locations till ending in Panama City.

A key artery is the Pan-American Highway, which runs from the north of Mexico all the best way all the way down to Panama City alongside the Pacific facet.

Although it’s referred to as a ‘highway’ it’s principally only a 2-lane highway. When backpacking by means of Central America you’re more likely to drive alongside many sections of it by bus. Motorbikers and different overland adventurers additionally comply with this highway usually, as could be seen within the highway journey documentary The Long Way Up with Ewan McGregor (a favourite journey present of mine!).

To cowl the area it’s possible you’ll find yourself touring 1000’s of miles or kilometers, however Central America continues to be comparatively compact. You can transfer round pretty shortly and go to quite a lot of international locations in a single journey.

The map under will present you roughly the ‘Gringo Trail’ that many backpackers comply with.

Some spots firmly on the Gringo Trail have developed into backpacker occasion locations. For instance, the Bay Islands in Honduras, San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, or Bocas del Toro in Panama. You’ll discover tons of bars, funky surf hostels, bar crawls, and all method of leisure in these locations. Whether you want to search out or keep away from them is as much as you. They could be actually enjoyable however clearly really feel much less ‘authentic’.

One factor to know is that the Pacific facet is simpler to journey (because of the Pan-American Highway) whereas the Caribbean sides of Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama are typically a bit extra distant and fewer developed. If you need to go off the overwhelmed path, these coasts could be enjoyable to discover. For instance, take into account Bluefields in Nicaragua, which feels rather more distant in comparison with Nicaragua’s Pacific coast.

You want about six weeks minimal to do the Gringo Trail route, however extra is all the time higher. I initially did it in three months however nonetheless needed to skip so much. If you’ve got a number of months, you possibly can take it a bit simpler and possibly linger for every week right here and there, maybe to be taught Spanish, to select up browsing, or to volunteer.

Don’t have time for the complete route? Then you are able to do a shorter one…

Shorter backpacking routes

If the Gringo Trail or an identical route appears a bit an excessive amount of, why not chunk off one thing smaller? Instead of doing the complete monty, simply decide two or three international locations you most need to go to. Here are two good combos:

Southern Mexico + Guatemala 

This is a superb slice of Central America to cowl in case you have a few weeks. These two international locations mix properly in a round route and pack an excellent punch.

Southeast Mexico gives you some nice seashores, Mayan ruins, mountains, and jungles. It’s an incredible and straightforward space to journey and can give a great deal of selection.

Guatemala is a superb adventure-filled addition to your journey. You can go to the epic Mayan temples of Tikal (simply the most effective and largest within the area) and the beautiful volcano lake of Atitlan.

To do that route by means of Mexico and Guatemala, you’ll want about 2 to three weeks at a minimal, however extra is all the time higher.

Nicaragua + Costa Rica

Another nice thought for a brief journey of every week or two is to deal with Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Famed for its wildlife and ecotourism, Costa Rica can ship many epic moments even should you’re on a tighter schedule. In Nicaragua, lots of the finest locations are within the southwest, very near the Costa Rican border. This makes these two international locations an ideal combo.

By the best way, Nicaragua is manner cheaper than Costa Rica, so it may possibly decrease your general prices so much. Don’t miss my finances journey ideas for Costa Rica — you’re going to wish them! It’s not an inexpensive nation, however for a lot of causes many travellers take into account it a bucketlist vacation spot.

Best backpacking in Central America?

Since I had rather more to say about every nation in Central America, I break up off my impressions into its personal article. Have a have a look at these finest international locations and locations to go to in Central America.

What are the hostels like?

There are a great deal of hostels in Central America and there are various totally different sorts. Don’t miss my information to how hostels work to keep away from surprising conditions.

Many hostels in Central America are like true traveler or surfer hostels; the type of locations with a lot of hammocks, a barbeque, in all probability some dude with a guitar, a hostel canine, and plenty of journey tales flowing each night. These are for certain my favorites.

The backpacking crowd in Central America is on common considerably older than in Europe, Australia, or international locations like Thailand. As a outcome, most hostels are ‘all ages’ kind of locations.

A handful of hostels are positively occasion hostels — and since that is Central America, a few of them occasion very exhausting. This is the place I whisper “I’ve seen things…” and possibly lose myself in a dramatic flashback. I’m positively too outdated and sleepy for occasion hostels now, however I loved the scene at instances when touring Central America once I was youthful. The events in e.g. Nicaragua are somewhat legendary (hello there “Sunday Funday”, my outdated good friend).

Some hostels in Central America are distinctive and should be booked upfront. When I used to be final in Panama, I used to be kicking myself for not getting a spot in Bambuda Lodge hostel, which has a 150 ft water slide going into the ocean, or Lost & Found, an epic hostel hidden within the jungle. 

Besides hostels, there may be all the time some kind of low-cost native lodging to search out. Look for hospedajes or guesthouses. While backpacking Central America, I break up my time about 50/50 between hostels and guesthouses, to have a mixture of socializing and quieter time. The value distinction between a dorm mattress and a finances room is often not that huge.

Getting to Central America

If you’re flying to Central America, then the most typical entry factors (with essentially the most direct flights) are Mexico City, Cancun, San Jose (the capital of Costa Rica), and Panama City.

There are good connections with the US, however should you’re flying in from Europe or some place else additional away, it’s possible you’ll discover there are comparatively few (good or low-cost) direct flights to Central America. If so, you may need to examine if there are connecting flights by means of Miami International Airport or Fort Lauderdale Airport. 

There aren’t many finances airways working inside Central America. Sometimes the most affordable flight connection from, say, Guatemala City to San Jose may really go through the United States! Once you’re in Central America, it usually makes essentially the most sense to journey overland by bus.

How to get round

There aren’t as many (finances) airline connections in Central America as there are in different components of the world. Luckily the area is kind of compact, making overlanding the smart option to journey.

The most cost-effective — and arguably most enjoyable — option to journey round is utilizing native transportation. Various types of bus providers exist, letting you get from A to B at various ranges of consolation and velocity.

Collectivos are short-distance minivan providers. You can discover them at bus terminals or you possibly can often flag them down on the highway. While not that snug (I as soon as needed to trip one whereas hanging partly out of an open sliding door), they are often extremely low-cost. Riding a collectivo for one hour in a single will set you again about $0.50 – $1. 

Chicken buses are transformed former US faculty buses, apparently named so as a result of numerous items together with stay chickens will typically be transported on them. They cowl considerably longer distances than the collectivos. Drivers will often be shouting out locations on the bus terminal, so simply hop on board one which’s heading the best course. For costs, assume single-digit {dollars}. Typically you simply get on board and pay later; an assistant often comes to gather the cash from you through the journey. 

When utilizing hen buses, bear in mind to maintain a detailed eye in your baggage. Some vacationers don’t use hen buses in any respect on account of studies of crime. It’s true that typically it’s not suggested to make use of inner-city buses in capitals similar to Guatemala City or Managua as these are a lot much less protected. But exterior the principle cities and through the daytime, hen buses are usually tremendous (however inquire regionally should you’re not sure).

Long-distance coaches (often fashionable two-deck buses) join the capitals and different main hubs. Some international locations even have shuttle providers catering particularly to vacationers. These are sometimes just a little extra handy, although they’ll value as a lot as ten instances greater than the native alternate options. In Panama, I ended up utilizing such shuttles so much as they went straight between sure vacationer locations with none have to switch.

Is Central America low-cost?

It vastly relies upon the place you go! Costa Rica and Belize are tremendous costly and plenty of travellers would examine the costs there to Western international locations. Resort-filled areas on the Mexican Yucatan coast similar to Tulum and Cancun may also be very costly. Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador are general very cheap. 

To offer you an thought, a hostel dorm mattress in Belize units you again not less than about $25 there, with non-public rooms beginning at round $50. This is not less than twice (possibly even thrice) as a lot as in Guatemala or Honduras.

For extra particulars, take a look at my article on journey budgets in Central America.

How to journey on a finances 

By and enormous, Central America is straightforward to do on a finances. You can preserve prices down by specializing in the cheaper international locations, in addition to simply preserving your day-to-day prices underneath management.

For the most effective offers, resist shopping for native excursions or experiences on-line, particularly by means of worldwide platforms. This is as a result of there could also be fairly a markup utilized by these platforms and different third events. It’s usually less expensive to arrange actions regionally. Most vacationer cities have little journey companies providing all types of actions, or you possibly can guide these by means of a hostel or guesthouse.

Besides lodging and excursions, meals is one other key expense. Honestly, Central American meals generally is a little samey and uninteresting, however consuming the native staples like rice, beans, plantains, and so forth will certainly preserve your prices down. A filling set lunch at a market eatery in Nicaragua may set you again about $3.00. Not unhealthy! Picky eaters might must spend extra, however should you simply have to gasoline up on a finances, you certain can do it. 

Learning some Spanish may also help you haggle in addition to getting instructions to extra native locations with low-cost eats. 

Is Central America protected?

Central America is somewhat protected in most international locations and more often than not. In some locations or international locations, it’s actually not so protected in any respect, although you possibly can nonetheless transit safely by means of it. I hope that is smart.

I was simply all like “yaaaay, travel is amazing and you’ll never face any danger! Go with the wind!”. But as I’ve gotten extra skilled, I’ve acknowledged the should be a bit extra nuanced. Situations can change and everybody has various tolerance for (perceived) questions of safety as properly.

The backside line is that Honduras is actually very tough across the edges. The huge cities in Belize and Guatemala even have excessive crime charges and it’s price being only a bit extra warning in these international locations usually. You can fear much less in, for instance, Costa Rica and southern Mexico. El Salvador, as soon as the world’s homicide capital, has been among the many most secure locations lately as a result of many adjustments going down there.

Just don’t soar in with none self-awareness or an entire lack of awareness of the native state of affairs. You can learn a number of particular security ideas for Central America. It can also assist to have traveled in different components of the world first; Europe, Asia, and even many components of South America are simpler should you’re going in your first-ever backpacking journey.

For further peace of thoughts, you’ll want to have some complete journey insurance coverage. This will make sure you’re coated within the case of any accident or theft. You can get journey insurance coverage at Heymondo, which I take advantage of myself and advocate for any backpacking journeys.

What’s the most effective time to go?

The finest time to journey Central America is through the dry season. The precise timing of that is totally different in every nation, however broadly talking the dry season is between November and April.

That doesn’t imply the ‘wet season’ is all that unhealthy. I used to be in Guatemala in September, which is supposedly the worst month, however I wouldn’t actually have guessed it on the time. Maybe I acquired fortunate, however I had an excellent expertise.

Sure, it rained a few instances. Annoyingly, it rained whereas visiting the unbelievable ruins of Tikal. Yet the vacationer sights had been additionally freed from crowds and the jungles had been particularly lush and inexperienced. I visited Panajachel on Lake Atitlan throughout September and it was tremendous chill; once I got here again in December it was a cacophony of memento sellers, tour operators, and so forth. Quite a surprising distinction!

Still, the frequent recommendation is to keep away from the months of July to September. Come to consider it, I did additionally witness the ravages of a tropical storm in Mexico throughout this time. I assume the dry season does supply extra assurances of fine climate and good vibes. If pressured to journey through the wet season, you continue to can although.

Keep in thoughts that Mexico and Costa Rica, in style as they’re with American holidaymakers, will refill so much throughout US holidays similar to 4th of July. 

Do it’s worthwhile to know Spanish?

No necesitas saber español para viajar por Centroamérica, pero definitivamente te ayuda!

Sorry.

What I imply to say is that Spanish information is certainly useful. Few folks in Latin America are multi-lingual and English will not be extensively spoken, so any Spanish you possibly can muster will definitely be a plus.

Can you continue to survive with out Spanish? Well, certain! Most hostels have employees members that talk totally different languages. Local hospedajes or guesthouses may not, however the issues it’s worthwhile to talk (cost, wifi passwords, meals, and many others.) aren’t precisely exhausting to guess.

I used to be with a journey buddy who knew completely zero Spanish. All he knew to say was ‘necesito’ (‘I need’) adopted by some gesture, pointing, or displaying an image of what he wanted. He acquired by means of South- and Central America with out a hitch. Of course, Google Translate may also be of nice assist.

Nevertheless, realizing some Spanish can pay dividends all through your journey. One factor I love about backpacking in Latin America is which you can get a lot nearer to the native tradition. In Asia, for example, I usually felt a bit trapped within the vacationer bubble, often unable to speak with anybody native (studying Thai or Vietnamese is a bit past my skills). In Latin America I might chit-chat with passengers on the bus and even date locals, including a distinct dimension to the expertise. 

A visit by means of Central America is an effective excuse to take not less than a number of Spanish courses someplace. Chances are these courses can be cheaper than you’ll ever have the ability to get them at dwelling. In one other put up I share my experiences with studying Spanish whereas touring in Central America.

Top experiences in Central America

The area is dotted with volcanoes all through, so when you’re right here, you need to climb a volcano not less than as soon as!

In Guatemala, I climbed up Tajamulco volcano at evening to catch the dawn, which was simply out of this world. In Nicaragua, I hiked as much as Telica volcano, which was energetic on the time, and you can peek over the sting and see the lava down under. Simply unforgettable. Many backpackers additionally communicate extremely of the volcanoes close to Antigua, Guatemala. In Nicaragua, you may as well go volcano boarding (sliding down a volcano like a sled). 

The jungles and cloud forests of Costa Rica are to not miss. Do a day hike or, higher but, get a jungle tour at evening with information. I used to be amazed at how a lot wildlife you can see at shut vary.

The epic Mayan ruins of Tikal in Guatemala are one other unbelievable spotlight. It’s a preferred vacationer vacation spot however not as crowded because the totally different ruins in Mexico, and it’s surrounded by jungle in a distant location, including to its mystique. Consider getting up early to catch the dawn from one of many temples. Lake Atitlan and Semuc Champey are two different must-go locations in Guatemala.

While backpacking Central America you’ll have some nice alternatives to be taught to surf. I completely suck at browsing however nonetheless get pleasure from making an attempt. Lots of low-cost classes could be had particularly in El Salvador, Panama, or Nicaragua.

In Mexico, it’s price being there round Day of the Dead and different native festivities. The nation as a complete is an actual cultural and culinary spotlight. The cenotes (river caves) within the Yucatan are wonderful. You can snorkel by means of them and even scuba dive.

Finally, I liked the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. I noticed these on my option to Colombia and it was one of many actual highlights. My recollections of staying on almost uninhabited islands and snorkeling with big manta rays are just about burned into my neurons perpetually.

Keep in thoughts that ought to you want to proceed your journey to South America, it’s not doable overland!

There’s an enormous stretch of impenetrable and harmful jungle within the east of Panama referred to as the Darien Gap. There aren’t any roads in any respect by means of the Darien Gap so you’ll both must fly or sail round. I can a lot advocate crusing between Panama and Colombia. Many captains function non-public providers taking vacationers to and from Cartagena. It’s an unbelievable 5-day journey that takes you previous the San Blas Islands.

If you’re nonetheless on the fence about backpacking Central America, I hope I’ve impressed you to get off that rattling fence and to start out planning your journey! You positively gained’t remorse backpacking Central America.

P.S. Did you discover this put up helpful however you can use extra detailed assist? Then take a look at my guide, Travel the World Without Worries. Readers have referred to as it their “single best pre-trip purchase” and “comprehensive, informational, funny and inspiring”. I assure it is going to higher put together you for all of the challenges (and enjoyable) of backpacking Central America.

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