AmaliaPrinsloo

We are travelling to Mexico and Central America in December 2017 and have 4 weeks to see and enjoy as much as possible. At this stage it seems like travelling between countries and distinations will take up too much time.

Can you point us in the right direction as to which countries is a must and what not to be missed. Mexico, Guatamala and Costa Rica is at the top of our list (will we be able squash more in)?

Any affordable Accomdation, Tour Guides and JEWELS AND GEMS you would like to share that made your trip unforgetabble?
Many thanks

Amalia
(travelling - pax 02)

hopefulist

When I'm planning my trips I take a good, hard look at what my travel priorities are. What do I want to be doing with most of my time? Generally the last thing on my list would be 'sitting on my backside looking through grimy bus windows'. If you're averaging less than 3 nights per spot, that's what you'll be doing for ~half of the days of your trip. In other words, you'll be doing that more than all your other travel interests combined. That is bad trip math in my opinion, especially since the transition days can be surprisingly long and tiring in that part of the world.

Lots of folks feel like they want to cram in as much as possible in the time they have. By trying to see too many places and moving on every few days, or by choosing places that are geographically distant and require long bus times, you'd actually be diluting your time to explore and enjoy. If you really want to pack nearly every day full of cool adventures, in my opinion you need to pick a smaller geographic area and/or fewer stops.

Have you purchased flights? If you haven't, I'd choose 1 or 2 countries on which to focus and consider flying between the 2 if they aren't neighbors. Purchasing 'open jaw' tickets into one country and out of another can save backtracking. Our favorite combinations are Guatemala with Belize and Guatemala with Honduras, although it would be a pleasure to pass the full 4 weeks in any of them. My photos with blog, travelogue, and review links on the main page of each collection are below in case you're interested - all my recommendations are embedded there. Happy trails!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

volcanogirl

Costa Rica is our favorite - check out the Arenal area, Monteverde, Tortuguero, Manuel Antonio, and the Osa Peninsula. If any of these areas interests you, I'd be happy to provide more details. We like Belize as well.