Im a (21, guy) college student from Québec (Canada).
im planning a 2 months trip in central america this summer...i need help for the organization...like what to visit in what contries...im mostly interested in the culture, natural sites, cheap traveling and of course some places to party!
any help will be highly appreciated!
(by the way! sorry for my english...french is more common for me!)
Ill maybe take a spanish class this winter to at least get the basic of it...
To make it short, during my trip i would like to:
do some scuba diving
to have the possibility to stay on a farm...(gives the possibility to )
see some cities
see natural sites (volcano, forest, mountains...)
to party!
travel as cheap as possible (student!!)
an important thing for me is not necessarily go to places known to be really touristic...
so...no i havent decided the countries(2 or 3) yet...in part because i lack information! and only searchiung on the net will not give me the knowledge that i think is the most important...well yours!
thx a lot!
Reply to this I can give one country that matches your requests: Guatemala
It is cheaper than Costa Rica and Panama, and has almost all that you require. But, you have to stay out of tourist places like Atitlan, Antigua and Peten. I did it three years ago.
Best place for you can be town of Xela (Quetzaltenango) - student town in the north. Many hostels, lot of places to have fun and party, cheap, and many natural sites around (volcanoes and lagunas). Good climate, and probably a possibility to arrange a stay on the farm.
Not far from there is Retalhuleu, with some Mayan ruins around, coffee plantations and thematic waterpark. Very nice and clean, yet traditional.
Not so far is Champerico on Pacific ocean, very quiet little place.
From Guatemala it is not so far to visit Nicaragua, Honduras and San Salvador.
I just do not know anything about scuba diving, but obviously you'll run accross that.
Yes, Guatemala would be my first choice. And, some people will try to scare you with crime rates there, but outside the touristy places you'll have no problems.
Have fun,
Mike65
PS - They had a law in Guate that all public places must close until 1 a.m. But, with very little effort you can find many "secret places" - ask the locals. Party till you drop, but recover.
Reply to this thx for the tips...really appreciated!
Could you give me an estimation of the $ i would need for my trip, taking in account the things i wrote about planing to do...
i do not need luxury! just a place to sleep...i dont really know yet how i will do but ill start looking!
the guatamela idea seems very good for me...if i can, i would start there and go down to 1 or 2 coutries south...
i know im not really objective...yet! but with school i didnt have much time to start effective searchs, but i intend to....when my semester ends this winter!
thx for everything...take care
Pierre-Luc
Reply to this Pierre-Luc,
you can do a budget trip there. I.e., I had spent there some three weeks and spent less than 1000 USD of pocket money.
Average night in a hostel is 7-14 USD, Guate City is more expensive, Xela is cheaper as well as Reu. That is why you should not go to Antigua - even modest room is 15 USD and more.
Eating? There are cheaper restaurants and possibility to cook and eat in hostels, buying your own food.
Supermarkets in bigger cities are not so cheap. But, even organized tours are not so expensive, and they give you some food there...
Generally, Guate is far cheaper than Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica and Panama. Honduras is more or less there, but Nicaragua is far more cheaper.
Avoid tourist agencies. In your search you can also do this: go to Guate City, there are budget hostels like Xamanek (google it), then just take a bus to Xela, and upon arrival start searching for accomodation. Do tzhe same wherever you go. People there are helpful. This technique takes some time and effort, but can not be replaced by any internet search. Your good hepler can be a new eddition of Lonely Planet guide to Guatemala. And many pubs visited by backpackers who can give you useful info on the road.
If you want two countries more, take a map and plan Nicaragua and Honduras, as a circle, going back again to Guate City. Having the same arrival/departure point makes your air fare lower (not to mention that you shoold book a flight months in advance to lower the cost).
If you get stuck, just write.
Mike65
Reply to this Hi Master Hobit,
Just wanted to add my two bits about Guatemala. I recommend it too. I didn't like the advice to steer clear of Antigua and Atitlan. They are touristy but absolutely not to be missed. There's a reason they are touristy. They are gorgeous. I like the small towns around Xela(Quetzaltenango) but don't think much of Xela itself. It's the second largest city and it's polluted, and well... It's a city. Near Atitlan you can visit Chichicastenango for the market on Sunday or Tuesday if you want a lively market experience. The lake itself is gorgeous. San Pedro and Panajachel are definitely gringo/hippie central but you can have a good time there and the lake is really cheap. If you want low key more pleasant towns San Juan and San Marcos are really cute and quaint. Basically, everywhere you go in Guatemala you can plan on spending between 35 and 65 Quetxals, 5-10 U.S. dollars a night for cheap lodging, hostels. Even in Antigua which is more expensive than most places you can stay at Ummagumma hostel for 35Q. However, Jungle Party, The Black Cat, or El Hostal are all around 60-70Q per night and will give you free breakfast as well as a good time, maybe a free drink too.
As to Scuba Diving, Roatan Honduras is the place to go, as far as I know. It's the cheapest place in the world to Scuba Dive. The recent hurricane may have changed some conditions there but it' worth looking into.
Cheers, Tim
Reply to this Guatemala is amazing, definitely, but don't miss out Nicaragua either if you get the chance! It's even cheaper, and still off the tourist trail...
Reply to this Hey thx again for the tips...
i think your travelblog will be helpful in my planning! still havent read all...
could you tell me about beachs! i would like to end my trip on the beach, for at least a week, somewhere not too expensive, surf (maybe if a friend of mine comes!) so a nice beach with nice people!!(Guate or Honduras)
anyway! thx again
take care
masterhobbit
Pierre-Luc
Reply to this Well let me say that All of C.A is beautiful and there are way too many places to see... Guatemala is wonderful, altho Guate City is a lil bit dangerous there are many places in the country that are wonderful and all the C.A countries are cheap places for travel.
For beaches i would definately recomend Belize, I'm from Nicaragua, live in Belize all my life and am now studying back in nicaragua.. so i know first hand that the cayes in belize are some of the greates beaches you'll ever visit and they have really great aquatic activities. Belize also has really great nature reserves for hiking and cave exploring mayan site visits and many other inland activities... It however might be a little more expensive than any other central american country due to it's exchange rate of 2 belize $ for 1 US$.
For culture and breathtakin history and places i recommend Guatemala and Nicaragua...there is a lot to see and do in these countries... Nicaragua has Volcanoes, Historical Sites, Beaches on both it's pacific( where the surf is great) and atlantic coast and there are cities like Leon, where i live, that are touristy places but are also the not to be missed type places, the tour operators and not expensive and the hostels are cheap and very decent.
If you're in Central America these are the places you can't miss.
Reply to this Hey there,
Don't leave out El Salvador, the smallest CA country but very worth visiting. Although El Salvador is a little more expensive than Guate its worth every penny. Check out
Suchitoto Travel Information to see what Suchitoto has to offer and where I live also take a look at
The Other El Salvador a good site with lots of links in English and Spanish. If you decide to come to Suchitoto, look me up or just ask for Roberto El Gringo.
Saludos and have a great trip
Reply to this Salut Pierre-Luc,
Est-ce que tu as l'intetion d'aller backpacking tout seul ou avec des amis? Quand est-ce que tu y vas en fait?
Moi, jvais au Guatemala et à Belize tout seule au mois de mai, donc si jamais ça t'intéressais de se rencontrer, fais moi signe!J'ai pas mal les mêmes intérêts que toi par rapport au voyage comme tel.
J'attends de tes nouvelles.
Julie Andrée
Reply to this Allo Julie Andrée,
je t'ai envoyé un message en privé, laisse moi savoir si tu ne l'a pas reçu!
Pierre-Luc Roux
(je pense même avoir mal écris mon email!!) Reply to this Whoa nice dude so am i,
ive been doing to research and the ruins in tikal and yaxja look really cool
also for a beach, check out tulum beach, its got ruins and caves and its just the dankest thing ive seen
hope we meet on our travels
Reply to this 
