Planning A Backpacking Route Through Central America

After wanting to travel the world and do many adventurous activities on my travels, there just wasn’t the budget to travel the world and do all the adventurous activities in lots of different countries across the world. Instead I investigated the destinations that offered all the activities I wanted to do together in one place.

Central America became the destination of my choice to visit and backpack around. There are seven Nations of Central America, all offering something a little bit different in the way of culture and activities. The Nations are: Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

Central America is rising in popularity of being a great backpacking route. With lots of activities and different things to go and see for cheap costs, this is an ideal country to explore if you’re on a budget.

Source: Horseback riding in Central America

My Recommended Places to visit across Central America:

The Volcan Baru in Panama

There are many volcanoes within Central America available to go hiking trips on. I heard much about the amazing views from the Volcan Baru in Panama. It is the highest volcano in Panama and you can see both the pacific and the Atlantic oceans in view. Although this was a difficult climb taking a full day, it was a great experience that I will never forget. One thing I found amusing was when we spotted TV aerial’s, electricity poles and satellite dishes as we went up the mountain. Even when you’re near the top of the mountain, you can though you can get a great signal on your mobile!

The Coffee Plantations in Costa Rica

I have never been a massive coffee drinker until I went and tried some coffee made and produced in Central America. The whole region is famed for the coffee that they make, and you can tell why, the coffee is so fresh and tasty. Seeing how they planted and harvested the coffee was something that really opened my eyes into the farming industry out there.

Source: Squirrel Monkey

Wildlife Watching in Costa Rica

I travelled to a place called Monteverde in Costa Rica. This is well known as a great bird watchers paradise with over 400 species in the area. One of the birds I saw was the Resplendent Quetzal, which is one of the most beautiful red and green birds I had ever seen. Seeing such animals that you will never see in England except behind bars in zoos was extraordinary to be able to see them in the wild.

La Ceiba Carnival in Honduras

Held on either the second or third week of May, this bright and colourful festival is one of the most amazing shows to go and see. There are a lot of fun costumes and great dancing at this carnival. If you are able to go at this time of year, this is defiantly something not to miss out on.

Source: Squirrel Monkey (Panama)

Costs of travel

Accommodation, food and transport was all reasonable prices and all quite affordable for a backpacker on a budget!

Food in Central America is very cheap if you are willing to try the local dishes and not eat pizza’s and burgers all the time. If you are a fussy eater, you may find you pay three times the amount than you have to if you were to eat the more local dishes. On average I spent about $4 – 6 USD for a meal.

Transportation in Central America

Within the cities, you will find a lot of the public buses to be the cheapest way to travel, and the most convenient as there were buses running frequently. Buses were also the best way to travel to the different regions. I tried to do as much travelling at night to cut some of the cost of staying in hotels and hostels as possible when travelling to and from Central America.

Planning your route? Here are some questions to ask yourself as you plan your journey.

How much do you want to see, and what activities are a must-do on your journey?

Remember that travelling is not always easy, it can be hard work and tiring. I would suggest that when you are planning your journey and adventurous trips that you leave a couple of rest days to chill out and relax.

·         How long do you have to plan into your journey?

·         Are you limited to the amount of time you have?

·         Can you go for as long as you like?

·         How much money do you have to plan into the cost of your journey?

·         Would you be prepared for volunteering and helping with preserving wild life parks and teaching?

I would recommend that when you plan your journey, you plan where you will be staying each night, or at least most nights. There is nothing worse than not having anywhere to stay when you have been out the whole day, or you arrive at your destination at night. If you have accommodation, you are then able to leave all your things at the place your staying and take only a small backpack out with you.

There is cheap accommodation across Central America in the way of hostels. Most hostels that I stayed in were clean and tidy and provided some great facilities. I spent a lot of my time in Boquete, Panama due to the extensive amount of activities offered in that area. Another reason to book before you go is that on my journey, I found a lot of the hostels in Boquete and Panama in general to be quite busy, so I would suggest booking before you go, or ringing up before you arrive to make sure they have room for you.

Make the most out of your journey by having at least a rough guide to what you want to do and see as there is so much to explore. You will also find you will not waste all your time if you plan well.