Hi,
I'm travelling around Central America in April & May and would love a bit of advice. I've only got 2 mths and want to see so much, so I don't want to waste time on crappy places.
My plan so far is tofly into San Jose (evening time). I'll be arriving at Easter time so it will be really busy so I figure I'll have to book a hostel somewhere in advance. I'm a bit wary of having to travel in the evening on my own. Do you reckon a taxi from the airport is ok?
From there my plan was to head to Jaco and do surf school for a week or so, but from reading a few posts, it looks like that may not be the best place to go. Basically I want to spend as much time as possible on beaches, nothing too touristy, but still safe for a girl on her own so not off the beaten track (yeah I know, I want it all!). Any suggestions of where would be better than Jaco?
Then I'm heading to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua. I need to learn some Spanish so I'll do that here I reckon. I've also heard the Corn Islands are brilliant, as well as some island in the lake (need to look into that more...)
Next over to La Libertad in El Salvador for some more hanging out and surfing, and I think I was thinking of Antigua in Guatamala next, before heading to Utila in Honduras to get my PADI licence.
Finally I was thinking of Belize, maybe Caye Caulker, not sure... I'm flying out of here so need to finish up close to the capital.
I plan on Tica Bus getting me everywhere I need to go, and while I want to have a few plans, I figure that a good chunk of the trip will just... evolve!
Any suggestions of places to see (or avoid) would be brilliant!
Edited to add that I was told when I was booking flights that I'd need to book a cheap flight out of Costa Rica to get out of the airport. Apparently a bus ticket won't work. This true?
Reply to this Are you trying to bypass customs? I can't see anything in tourism info that states that you can't leave the Airport via bus?
Easter is a busy time but not too nuts, weather should be ok too..
I'm headed for punta cana this year, but I want to bring the kids and the pug so I'll be looking at an all inclusive or something a bit less "roughing it" than you. 😉
Heck it might be easter before I get there with all the options I'm finding on this bookit
punta cana resorts page. So many deals to choose from! 😊
Reply to this hi Lexy,
yeah I'm just trying to clear customs. Well a bus ticket would suit me much better- way cheaper! I just didn't want to get caught out and forced to buy something in the airport. Great news!
your hol looks a lot more luxurious than mine- some of those places are amazing, enjoy!
Reply to this we travelled from rio to mexicfo all overland and were never asked for proof of onward journey - should be fine!
the island in nicaragua is Isla Ometepe - great for a day or two and you can climb a volcanoe too - check out our blogs, we went to some nice beaches around the region too
Reply to this Thanks for the tip- will check out your blog for some ideas
Great news about the tickets- just was a bit wary of clearing airport customs in San Jose. Fingers crossed it should be ok.
Reply to this We also arrived in San Juan at night and we pre-booked a room at Hostel Pangea just outside San Jose. They have a shuttle service I think for $9 a person. They were super communicative and only had to wait about 10 minutes for them to arrive. There is also airport personnal that will ask you if you are alright and walk you to where you need to meet the shuttle without all the hassle of the taxi drivers. Money well spent!
The only place where we saw people having trouble at the border without an onward reservation was Panama. A bus ticket will do though.
We found some really cheap flights locally...it was nice to take the long scenic way down on the bus and the short trip back from the sky.
Sounds like you'll have a blast!!!
Reply to this Thanks for the info- that hostel looks like brilliant fun!
I'm taking a few flights too to save time- I can't get over how cheap they are. Thanks a million for the tips!
Reply to this Hi Kate!
just wondering how your travels around central america went? Im going over there alone in october for 3 months heading from mexico to panama and would like to hear about any difficulties you had whilst over there.
Cheers
Reply to this Hi Anni,
So sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I had the most amazing time away, trip of a lifetime!! Got kidnapped (!) in Managua for a couple of hours and beaten, but aside from that, it went without a hitch. I absolutely loved it!
Hope you had as much of a ball as I did!
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