Howdy everyone, I am a university student (22 years old) and am going to go backpacking in Central America for a month (January 2007). It will be me and one other buddy. I am looking for advice on what to do, and what to avoid as we have never been to this area of the world before. We are interested in seeing some sites, cultural/historical with some amounts of beach time.

We plan to fly into Cancun, and will have rooms booked for Cancun only (no other portion of the trip, as we plan to hit up hostiles/B&B's or local cheap hotels.
In the Yucatan we want to stay for maybe 3 days, chill on the beach and go to Chichen Itza. After Yucatan, we hope to travel by bus to Puebla and Oaxaca, and at all costs hope to avoid Mexico City. We are thinking maybe 7 days in Mexico.

Next we plan to bus to Belize, and stay in Belize City. We plan to stay 4 days in Belize and want to make 1 day excursions to Ambergris & Long Caye for the beaches and reefs. On our way out of Belize we want to stop at Caracol and take in the ruins.

We plan to travel next just over the border and stay 1 night/1 day in Tikal to see the ruins there. That is all we have planned for Guatemala.

From Tikal we want to bus to Copan (Honduras)and see the ruins there. Where in Honduras can we set up camp that isn't too scary. Will Tegucigalpa be alright? We plan on staying 4-5 days in Honduras. Maybe Making a trip up to Utila.

From Honduras we want to travel to Nicaragua and spend 4-5 days there and base out of Granada or Leon. Which one is better to base out of? We want to see some of there beaches and of course culture.

Lastly, we want to head to Costa Rica, for 5 or 6 days, split between staying in San Jose and Arenal, is there lots to do around San Jose? What else could we see in Costa Rica other than Arenal?

If anyone knows how good the transportation system is throughout central america, as we plan to bus it everywhere, i don't want to have to worry about driving. I know travel times are a little longer because of the road conditions, but is this trip plan possible? Thanks for all the help.

LOL, hostels, not hostiles

You will be literally spending all your time on a bus. Have you checked the costs, time, distance of each of your proposed bus rides?

I suggest you get the bus schedules ASAP before you do any more planning. I don't think it is reasonable the distances you are trying to cover in the time you have.

Seriously: Mexico, Belize, Guatamala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica all by bus in 4 weeks... I'm not sure it is possible. Are you working from a guidebook?

Are you planning to fly home from Costa Rica, or need to return to Cancun?

Another excellent resource for this type of travel is the Thorn Tree forum on the Lonely Planet's website.

Sorry, don't mean to sound discouraging but I think either the 1st 3 countries, or the last 3 countries you mention, would either one make a great trip!

Wow, I envy you! This trip is very do-able, in fact I have been dreaming of doing almost the same thing except I want to go all the way to Panama. The first item to buy is a good guide book to Central America, perhaps Lonely Planet, there are several to choose from. This will answer a lot of your basic questions. Good luck and have fun!

Hey, I was using the Fodor's guide book, we wanted to see lots of the cultural/historical centers of each country, thats why we kept it to around 5 days in each country (Mexico more, and barely in Guatemala), the book said most of the bus trip between the places we wanted to go had decent roads and travel time wouldn't be too bad because of the many places we wanted to go, but i wasn't sure with always changing conditions. Anyone know good sites for bus schedules?
Q-Flying home from Cancun or CR?
A-We are flying home from San Jose, CR.

Ya, we wanted to go to Panama too, but we were already pushing the time limit, so we had to cut back somewhere, and I start work on Feb 1, so couldn't push it any further.

I stand corrected (maybe-LOL). But would still get actual bus times for each leg and apply them to your itinerary. For this type of trip would add Lonely Planet along with your Fodors guidebook. Flying out of Costa Rica definitely helps. Keep us posted!

Check Tica Bus. We thought about traveling to Costa Rica from Guatemala last Feb but it was going to take way too long. You had to overnight in El Salvador and Nicaragua on the way. Granted, the bus is only $50 but you have two bus station hotels and all meals to pay for and you loose so much time.

On the other hand, you could consider it part of your trip and be happy you are seeing/staying in those places.

El Salvador is not the safest place in the world.

Good luck

Obviously I have not done this myself but was using a map of Mexico. It appeared Cancun to Oaxaca was maybe 850 miles, Puebla a couple hundred more. So 1000 miles by bus and that's only your first few stops. Listen to Suzie2 and hopefully other folks who have actually done these trips will chime in too.

Sorry, but unless you have money for an internal flight or 2 this plan seems crazy to me - 6 countries in 4 weeks is only 4-5 days per country! As Suze said, you will be spending nearly every day on the bus - is that really what you want?! I read somewhere years ago to plan to travel about 15 miles/hour, on average, through CA so plan for many or your travel legs to take multiple days just to get from point A to point B.

(Somehow hit "send" before I meant to.) Here are a few other notes:

:: It's really unusual for visitors to choose to stay in Belize City - most of us can't leave fast enough. You could consider a few days on Ambergris or Caulker, then head to San Ignacio for a few since you're heading that way, anyway.

:: Really long haul from Tikal to Copán Ruinas, Honduras, and you're racing through (IMHO) the most incredible country in CA. I've spent a month in Guatemala alone more than once and have barely scratched the surface!

:: Tegus is one of the 2 most dangerous cities in Honduras, but Copán Ruinas is a great base. To bus to La Ceiba will take 6-7 hours and you may have to overnight there in order to get the ferry to Utila.

:: San José is another big city that I would avoid, but I'm not much of a city person.

PLEASE consider scaling back or forking out for a flight somewhere along the line. Or leave out most of your Mexico part at least (and save it for another trip). I can't imagine you want to go to all those countries simply to say you've been there, or to have most of your photos (and memories!) be blurred images taken through bus windows. Slow down and pack light (small backpack each) and you'll thank yourself for the rest of your lives.

Just my 2 cents worth.....

Thanks for all the info so far every1. Really been helpful, making me re-think and possibly cutting out Costa Rica and Nicaragua for a later trip.

I'm sure you noticed the one person who said this trip was "very do-able" is someone dreaming of it, not who has actually done it themselves.

I don't mean to be catty, but when I was checking the maps for the places you were ticking off... well I've already had my say.

Many people spend a month only in the Mexico portion... Cancun, the Yucatan peninsula, Puebla, Oaxaca, maybe down to San Cristobal.

I would switch your guidebook to one aimed at a 'rough' traveling backpacker guide instead of Fodors. Information like 15 miles/hour average travel time is crucial to have.

Suze, yes I meant very do-able if you had all the time and money in the world! If you are going to have a budget or time limit, forget it!
Actually my idea was to start at Cancun, head south to Belize and Guatemala and finish in Panama. I'll send everyone a trip report.....

but they only have 1 month, and said there were going to bus everywhere... that's where my comments came from -LOL!

Ok, so I am about to spend a month in El Salvador with a group of people who went last year. Someone on this thread said that El Salvador "isn't safe" - but it's just as safe as any other Central American country and has some wonderful things to see (check out www.perquin.org for an example). A stop-over in a bus station there should be just fine provided you excercise caution.And remember areas around bus stations are always the crapiest a city has to offer.

But most importantly, go out and buy Lonely Planet's "Central America on a Shoestring" IMMEDIATELY. It will tell you pretty much everything you will need to know, including all bus fares and lengths of journies.

Have a great trip!

i would consider flying from tikal to copan. that bus ride would be heinous, about 20 rocky hours at least.

tikal deserves more than 1 day. copan is a groovy town. on top of the ruins.

also getting around on buses in belize is not super easy. i would suggest working hard and saving some more money, so you have a little bit more room in your budget.

good luck.

Don't mean to repeat what others have already stated but, CA is too big to try to do it all in 1 month. Best to select one area and see it in detail.
Thus, would suggest you stay in Mexico with an itinerary as follows:
- Fly into Merida rather than Cancun and see a charming colonial city.
- Bus to Chicken Itza and spend 2 days at the archeological villas.
- Bus (but better yet fly) to Tuxtla Gutierrez and make your way to the Palenque ruins.
- Bus to San Cristobal de las Casas; a lovely native town.
- Bus to Oaxaca for more colonial atmosphere and see the ruins at Monte Alban.
- Everyone may say to avoid Mexico City but there are many things to do and see there; foremost is the Anthropological Museum - one of the best in the world, then the Aztec Templo Mayor, the Diego Rivera murals, and a performance by the Ballet Folklorico. And yes, the DF is a big city but you wouldn't miss London or Paris just because they are "big cities".
- Go up to Teotihuacan for an unbelievable sight.
- Then bus or train to Morelia and see the various indian villages like Patzcuaro, Santa Clara del Cobre, etc.
- You can either return to the states directly from Morelia or, if you still feel a need for "beach time" make your way to Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlan for your beach fix and return from there.
Good luck!

I'm sure you've gotten the point by now, but I'll add my voice to the chorus: you really, really, really don't want to pack this all into one month-long trip. I'd save the southern half of Central America for next time; there's more than enough to keep you occupied further north.

While I love Mexico dearly - and agree that in spite of all the warnings, Mexico City is an amazing city - you might want to focus on Yucatan/Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Chiapas. Bear in mind the distances you have to travel. San Cristobal de las Casas - a gorgeous indigenous city in the Chiapas highlands - is a 12-hour bus-ride from Oaxaca. As great as the city is, that's a long way to go, if you're only going to high-tail it back after a few days.

I'd stick to eastern Mexico/Guatemala/Belize - do-able in a month, though you can't really soak it all up. Some highlights from my own time there: a few days in and around San Cristobal (with a potential over-night to the ruins at Palenque); a bumpy, nerve-wracking ride on Guatemalan buses to Xela (Quetzaltenango), a popular city for backpackers; a three-day trek through the Highlands to get to Lago de Atitlan, a beautiful lake surrounded by volcanic peaks and laid-back villages; another overnight bus to Tikal - the region's absolute must-see ruins; a few days in a hammock on Caye Caulker.

If I were trying to do a similar route in a month, I'd probably give two weeks to Mexico, one to Guatemala, one to Belize. Although on second thought, I'd probably just do the full month in Mexico.

Either way, buen viaje! Keep us posted on your plans!

Chris
Travel better. Travel Gator.
www.travelgator.com

Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback, me and my friend have adjusted our scraped thin itinerary to allow us to see more and do less travel, here is the new outlined itinerary:

1)2 1/2 weeks in Mexico
2)1 week in Guatemala
3)4-5 days in Belize

If anything comes up we can adjust accordingly.
We are going to hit up Mexico City, as my friend will allow us to stay at her house and we can hit Teotihuacan and other sites in Mexico City, from there we will go to Puebla and again stay with a friend. From Puebla we will go to Oaxaca and its nearby beaches. From Oaxaca we will fly into Cancun and spend time in Chichen Itza, Tulum, Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel.

From Yucatan we will head to Belize, in belize we will stay in San Pedro and would like to dive the Blue Hole, after this we will bus to Flores/Tikal in Guatemala, spend 3 days there, and fly into Guatemala City, bus to Antigua and explore the Lake Atitlan area. To end the trip we will bus back to Guatemala City and fly into Mexico City, again staying the night at my friends, and then head home. By cutting out Honduras, Costa Rica etc. we won't see as many countries, but cutting down the travel will allow us to see more, i think, any comments?

Also, any recommendations for crazy, wild, niteclubs to hit up in any of the places we are going?