Is it worth traveling?
Which country has the best for my interests in terms of:
>beaches; specifically snorkeling or scuba diving with coral reefs
>hiking trails; to atop a hill or mountain with a nice view
>nightlife; rooftop bars with a view of the city skyline
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Belize
Guatemala
Uh you can find this in all of them tbqh, none really impressed me personally
That area is all kinds of backwater in one way or another, but it sounds like El Salvador is for you.
>el salvador is for you
no OP but can you say a bit more about this - or point me in the right direction. I keep hearing about ES but when I got to youtube it kinda looks like a 2nd tier costa rica - whats so good about it?
Don't listen to the hype. Yes the country has cleaned up it's crime dramatically, but it's still not as "robust" as Costa Rica or Guatemala. It's a small economy that is still going to take time to heal from their wounds. There truly isn't anything you just HAVE to go to El Salvador for other than the food.
>Don't listen to the hype. Yes the country has cleaned up it's crime dramatically, but it's still not as "robust" as Costa Rica or Guatemala.
fair enough, thanks for the reply.
>There truly isn't anything you just HAVE to go to El Salvador for other than the food.
papoosas do look good tho.
I'm not sure what you mean by robust but it's kinda true, Guatemala has much more history and nature and more diversity of cultures. El Salvador has had a lot of natural disasters and also, wars lol, so a lot of their shit has been destroyed over time. And its a very small mostly agricultural country without a lot of natural areas though there is a volcano not too far from the capital. Also Salvadorian food kinda sucks. Salvadorian food is bland by latam standards for some reason. IDK what people are thinking, a corn dough ball with cheese inside and cole slaw isn't much to get excited about but salvadorian style tamales are good. Guatemala is dangerous though. Costa Rica is definitely the most touristed country in the region and is good for babbys first latin america. Go there and if you're feeling more adventurous spend a few days in Nicaragua. Could also visit Bocas or the volcan area of Panama.
>babbys first latam - go costa rica
thanks this is great advice. I've been CR, and as part of a RTW 1yr trip I've done most of the 'big' south american countries so I've got some experience.
I'll be in central america for about 3 mths - I have work in Mexico for a month and i'll add travel for 2 - I'm thinking Nicaragua, Honduras and was interested whether to go for El Salvador or Guatamala
>Guatamala is dangerous
really? I mean sure it's not Switzerland...but really dangerous?
He's overplaying it, you won't be in those areas anyway. Go to Guatemala dude. Take the route to Antigua Guatemala, over to Panajachel and onto Lake Atitlan. It's frickin great, you'll love it.
>Nicaragua
Jesus christ I hope you like sweating the salts out of your body the moment you step out the plane and gamma radiated hulk wienerroaches
>Honduras
You'll find out quick why people want to run from there, not come there
>but really dangerous?
Guatemala is dangerous even compared to Mexico. Even rural areas even are plagued with crime and violence that does target backpacker norteamericanos who want to climb a volcano.
This is actually good advice tbh. There are nice parts of the country. You should still go. One issue is its hard to avoid going through shitholes and things like taking intercity buses leave you in a shitty part of town Guate City.
They're really different countries. Panama isn't like the rest of Central America and CR isn't either. Panama is a lot more like DR culturally, its more caribbean and has been influenced a lot by Americans and caribbean blacks. CR is more european and people there have more european attitudes about things like the environment whereas Panama is easily the most Americanized part of latam, imo, they like TGI Fridays and shit like that there. Panama has very bad social inequality, even for latam standards. It's the richest central american country but the wealth flows to the few and its obvious.
Nowhere in Central America isn't humid and hot AF unless you stick to high altitude places. Go near the ocean heat and humidity gets oppressive. It's worse in the rainy season. The wetness isn't relieving at all, it just rains a shit ton then steams you with heat.
If you're going that far why not go to all of them. They're not that big but ground transportation does take forever there. The only one I don't think is worth visiting is Honduras. But you have to go through a tiny part of it to get from El Salvador to Nicaragua but with the border crossings it could all day. I personally liked Panama especially outside the capital and except for a few places like Bocas and Boquete people weren't used to foreign visitors. The canal is interesting infrastructure but Panama City isn't that special, like a dirty Miami though Casco Viejo was cool, like a french quarter with prostitutes.
thanks your responded to a couple of my points, and i thought your post was helpful.
>why not visit all of them
cos money, time, effort. i'm not keen to move to quickly thru places and as I'll be working pretty hard before and then after i'll want to chill for a bit. but i can be flexible so i'll more as things go...
Next Year, from April to June, I'm planing to travel overland through all of them. Is it doable? Are there buses running between the countries?
I'm Brazilian and I speak spanish. Will I be mugged?
>Guatemala is dangerous
No see, this is where one has to be specific.
All the Central American countries, even Honduras which looked like a freakshow, are not dangerous unless you piss the people off, or you look like money. Then they are dangerous.
I saw a huge brick tossing fight in Guatemala at a grocery store between a bunch of women and teen kids, and them people don't fck around. I would shit myself if they had a grudge with me But they're usually far more hostile to their own than to visitors; I was just about ignored in Guatemala.
In Nicaragua, I wasn't though, but that's becuase they really like to speak to whites there but they were cool about it. Don't be a shitstirrer and piss anyone off, and don't draw too much random eyes and attention, and you'l be fine. I've been through all of them and you just have to blend in with the locals as best as you can to get along with them best.
Panama, though not all in the same place. The capital definitely has rooftop bars on top of a banking skyscraper, the highest point in the country can be hiked to and has views of both oceans and islands in Bocas off the Atlantic have the reefs. They're all hours driving away from each other.
Costa Rica.
definitely Costa Rica
Costa Rica is the most developed country in Central America, but lodging and restaurant prices are absurdly high. Plus, crime has been increasing recently.
>what's so good about El Salvador
You get to be one of those people who go to a country before it becomes popular and overrun with tourists. Great prices, good food, gregarious people, unattractive women. San Salvador is at the perfect elevation, where you don't need A/C to sleep comfortably, and you don't need a jacket to be out in the morning.
Guatemala has far more highland topography than El Salvador. Guatemalans and Salvadoreans are among the lowest-IQ peoples in the Americas, not counting Haiti and other Black dumps. The population is mostly native and short AF, so you will stand out as a white man far more than in mestizo nations. However, since you will mog the locals in height and weight, I expect a low risk of robbery for intrepid TravelChads who have a modicum of common sense - e.g. don't let yourself get surrounded by a dozen angry indios with knives in a back alley. Most whites I've met who have gone to Guatemala go on mission trips or other church bullshit. Obviously, you are untouchable when you are there to help villagers build shit they are too lazy to build for themselves. But I would play it safe on the streets of Guatemala, don't stay out well after dark, don't display valuables, yada yada yada
>Costa Rica is the most developed country in Central America
You really think so compared to Panama?
Panama's wealthier but their cities look older and less taken care of than CR's for some reason. CR's social vibe is better too.
If you go i recomend you going with only carry on.
If they plant you drugs in your suitcase in the airport these prisons are no joke.
>mom,I posted it again
are there big carnivals in Central America, like in brazil? what time of year?
Yes. Panama City has a big one though Rio is I think the biggest in the world. Canaval is a catholic tradition of debauchery that leads up to lent, which is the 40 days before easter, so it happens in February, the weekend before "fat tuesday" aka mardi gras. Most of latin america does it in some form though there's also other similar festivals at other times of the year in some towns.
Any recommendations for Bocas? Staying on the main island outside of town and am planning on mostly relaxing around visiting some of the other islands and snorkeling.
>Belize
Just a weird country. It's actually not recognized by Guatemala, hence the dotted borders on Google Maps. I didn't know that. They speak English. It just seems to be a hideout for weirdo fugitives like McAfee and the beaches are mid and full of fleas.
>Guatemala
Interesting country that is one of the more accessible ones. It is mostly indigenous Mayan and has plenty of ruins, and it has a place where you can watch an erupting volcano at sunrise.
>El Salvador
Interesting place that is often forgotten. They use Bitcoin as currency and put anyone who remotely looks like a gangster in a concentration camp, so apparently it's extremely safe now. Seems like an authentic, adventurous place that most people don't bother going to because of it's dangerous reputation, but the people are wonderful and very attractive for some reason compared to the other countries.
>Honduras
Just seems too unsafe to be worth the trip. The few I know who went there had a miserable experience there. There's some interesting sites but really no infrastructure for tourism because they know the violence is so bad that no one really goes there. Apparently good food.
>Nicaragua
Not many tourists go because it is a dictatorship and they are hostile to Americans, but seems like there are some cool interesting places. Just seems like an underrated place (underrated for a reason though)
>Costa Rica
The safest and wealthiest country in the region. They have great eco-tourism and resorts. Great eco-tourism with all kinds of rainforest animals.
>Panama
Kind of a gimmicky place due to the importance of the canal and is mostly just slums and a thick lawless jungle that prevents the two Americas from a proper land connection. Don't really hear anything good about the place but nothing really bad either. Just mid all around.
this is the lowest effort post I've ever seen holy shit. if you haven't been to any of the countries and know nothing about them other than what a YouTuber said in passing, then don't post.