Central America and Colombia

LG1234

I have 8 weeks to do some travel from mid January and I'm thinking about going to Central America and Colombia.

My interests are diving, partying, chilling on beaches, photography, local food and general adventure such as hikes etc. not hugely into history but will obviously visit the Mayan ruins etc. I like to keep on the go and don't really like to waste to many days lazing about.

The plan would be to go fly into Cancun as its fairly cheap to fly to. From there head down to Playa del Carmen straight away for a couple of days and visit Chichen Itza.

From there head to Caye Caulker and chill for 3-4 days. On to San Ignacio from a few days, then to Rio Dulce and then to Antigua where Ill hang out for 4-5 days. Lets say that takes about 3 weeks or so, I was thinking of flying down to Colombia for 4-5 weeks and fly home from Bogota.

Is that to much time in Colombia, is there a better route or a must sees i'm skipping? Any other advice?

silja

Mod Note: Moving from USA forum to Travel forum

obrano

Hey. Just back a few months from a world backpack tour. Finished in Mexico.

Mexico, huge place but very Americanised in the Yucatan. There's some incredible islands around there: Holbox and Isla Muheres.

I went to Holbox, real paraside. Quiet. One of the few places in Yucatan that's not high rise. Didn't make Isla Muheres - this is the real party island but equally great from what I hear.

Guatemala has to be one of the highlights of my entire trip:
- Antigua - didn't enjoy it that much. Lovely town with stunning volcanos surrounding. However, there was one hike I did to a volcano called Acatanango. It's almost 4,000m high. Camp overnight. While you camp, you watch Volcan Fuego erupt every 10minutes. Morning hike for sunrise. UNREAL!!
- Lake Atitlan - Party. Loads to do there too. Easy to get stuck.
- Livingston: Raggae vibe, best boat ride you'll take to a town. THere's no road access, only boats. You can take day trips to Belize. Great diving etc. Cheap as chips/
- Semuc Champey: Real middle of nowhere. Lots of tourists but in a good way. One or two days here will be brilliant. Class river/waterfall/lake national park here where you spend the days diving from one lake to the next. Go tubing were kids throw beer cans at you. Go caving in the evening with candles. Then jump off a huge swing into the river. Class act of a place.

The rest of central America is perfect for partying. You'll figure it all out.

Nicaragua: You'll go to San Juan del Sur. The number one hostel I've stayed in is there. It's a 5 min walk from the action but please book in. It's called "Buena Onda". It's up on a hill overlooking the town and the beach. Sunset every night on HUGE hammocks. Honour policy on drinking the beer (you mark how many you drink as you go). Lovely owner. Great people.

Panama - Go to the San Blas islands. 25 quid return to the island. 15 a night accom and all your meals. Day trips to other island free of charge. Lovely people. Stunning islands. I mean it's a paradise. There's no electricity and the sand is white. What more do you need. Photos abound!!!

Colombia: Amazing country with too much to do. Please do:
- The lost city trek. One of the best treks I've done. Second only to Torres del Paine in Chile. Get a good group and you're sorted. The Macchu Pichu of Colombia with around 20 people leaving per day.
- Check out an island called "Old Providence" or Providencia. A really, really interesting place. Used to be an old British colony. Now it belongs to Colombia. Really weird because it lies off Nicaragua. They speak english as their native tongue. DIving on the island, hardly any tourists (maybe 100 at a time). You need to fly from Bogota to San Andreas (party island). From there there's a ferry leaving 3 times a week to Providence. Really, try not to miss here. The Irish, Welsh, English and African slaves mixed in one melting pot. Raggae vibe and pristine beaches. Nobody on them. If you go, give me a shout and I can let you know a cheap place to stay (the island isn't that cheap).

Anyway, so many things to do. Colombia really deserves time but it really doesn't matter where you stay!! Enjoy. I'm not at all jealous.

LG1234

Thanks a million for all that info, exactly what I wanted to hear! The lost city trek looks awesome, didnt know about that.

With the time I have its looking like Guatamala, Belieze and Mexico before hitting Colombia.

Did you ever get to Mexico City? I have a free week after Guatamala before I need to be in Colombia and I was thinking of flying up to Mexico City to spend it there. Flights are cheap and then the flights down to Colombia are cheap. Its either I go to Mexico City or take a bus down to El Salvador and spend it there. What you think?

obrano

Yeah, the lost city trek is incredible! I hope you make it.

Unfortunately I never made it to Mexico City. I would have gone if it was on the way, however, it wasn't. One thing to bear in mind is it's got a population of 25 million people. It's 3 X London. If you can imagine, it's going to be incredibly difficult to get to see even a portion of it. If you don't like it, you're stuck in the city (can't imagine you won't like it though).

I was running low on time and thought El Salvador was a tad dodgy from locals advice, so I missed it. Big mistake! Everyone I talked to who went there loved it. People are driven away because of it's name. The people there are meant to be incredibly friendly, surfing is amazing etc. Just avoid the hot spots of violence. All without a lot of tourists. If I had the choice personally, I would go for El Salvador. You have a whole country to contend with rather than a city...

The Pacific coast of Mexico is meant to be head and shoulders better than all other destinations in the country, but no one goes. If you do go to Mexico city, this could also be an option.

Just a little word of caution. Accom in mexico is much more expensive than other places in central america. Something that could clinch the deal.

A few other gems I forgot to list:

Utila (Bay Islands Honduras). English speaking. Cheap as chips diving. Fantastic night life. Lack of locals here is the only detraction.

Tikal in Guatemala is a must. This would have the scale of Chichen Iza but with a fraction of the people. Wildlife everywhere. If you're gonna choose from one, make it Tikal.

I've forgotten quite a lot of the cool small things that I did but I'm sure it will come back. I can put you in touch with a few friends who spent even more time in Colombia than I did. They can give you some seriously good tips.

One thing that's come back there is the Medellin - do the free walking tour. Never thought I'd enjoy it but it's brilliant. Also, make sure you go to a football game in Medellin. Perfecly safe, don't even consider not going. Party on the street after guaranteed.