Our first stop in Costa Rica was Playa del Coco. We chose it as Liberia, the first town across the border, looked uneventful, and as the beach is only a 30min bus away we'd much rather be there! We've teamed up with Andy to travel Costa Rica, and Colin and Kristina decided to join us for the beach too, so it's great to have more friends with us. I didn't realise how touristy Playa del Coco was going to be! As soon as we arrived it reminded me of Playa del Carmen with American sports bars and tourist shops everywhere. I knew Costa Rica would be more touristy, but I wasn't expecting such a drastic change after almost 3 months of not overly touristy destinations. Another thing that shocked me about Coco was how cold the ... read more

Nicaragua We arrived in to Leon after a horribly long day of travelling from Honduras (6am-9pm). Once we got settled in to a hostel in Leon we headed straight out for food. Luckily we hit the jackpot here and found some great street food stalls just around the corner from the hostel, near the cathedral. We also met back up with our friend Andy for the third time :). Our first full day in Leon we dedicated to exploring the city and booking volcano boarding! We booked our trip through Quetzaltrekkers, as they are a non profit organisation who give their money to help local schools. They also worked out cheaper than the competition, which was a good bonus! After booking our trip we headed out to the beach for the afternoon, which is only 20mins ... read more

El Salvador has a very bad reputation, so much so that most people I meet on the road skip it, and everyone I tell I'm going, their first response is either 'be careful' or 'it's dangerous'. I'd just like to say now - they're all missing out! Our first impression of El Salvador was fairly Chaotic - in order to get to Santa Ana we were dropped at the side of the road by our shuttle and put on a chicken bus. Once we got to Santa Ana the bus 'terminal' seemed to be the side of the road, with no taxis. Luckily I have offline maps on my phone and knew we were only 800m from the hostel. On embarking from the bus a couple of locals from the bus insisted on walking us to ... read more

After leaving Flores Jess and I stopped at en Eco lodge half way to Lake Izabal called Finca Ixobel. This is a beautiful little place nestled right in the countryside. We opted for a treehouse with gaps in the floorboards and no electricity, but it came with a lot of charm. The eco lodge has its own spring fed swimming hole too. This comes with a slightly surreal abandoned feel at first - there is a non working water slide and a bar that wasn't open as it's mid week low season. This lent a slight abandoned feel to the place. Once we'd assured ourselves we weren't on the set of a horror movie it was very tranquil there. The pool is surrounded by bamboo, trees and mountains. We even spotted two Koi carp swimming in ... read more

San Ignacio is a small town tucked away near the Guatemalan border. It's famous as a base to go and explore the areas caves and waterfalls. On our first day here we met a local who offered to take us to a nearby waterfall in the jungle. This is a very serene waterfall off the beaten track, so we were the only people there to enjoy it. Day 2 we booked a tour to go to the ATM cave. I had heard this is a must do, but I was not expecting anything quite so amazing. After an hours drive, made longer by the minibus having a flat tire and a flat spare, we arrived at a car park in the jungle. We got kitted up with helmets and buoyancy aids before starting our trip to ... read more