I've done a lot of travelling through the developing world before - but mainly in Asia and North Africa. For some reason central america seems to have ended up with a more "dangerous" rap though - reading the travel advisories of Western Government like the UK and Australia make it sound like a very dangrous place to visit.
What are the experiences of people here who have travlled through Central America - was anyone mugged, or had their bus held up?
I'm sure that in places like Guatemala City there would be some problems, but to be honest when I travel I'm not so fond of the big cities anyway..., especially not in developing countries. I get the feeling a lot of the crime is in the big cities and between gangs - and I'm not planning on joining one of the gangs!!!
Any insights appreciated ;-)
Reply to this good luck finding out...lol
i am traveling for a whole month to Honduras and i am currently trying to get info from others. I will defenitly keep up with your posts here so that i can get as much info as i can =)
again, good luck.
Reply to this Hi there,
From my experiences so far, I think there's a fair bit of hype regarding safety out here! Obviously there are incidents (we keep hearing anecdotes of people getting robbed while hiking in Guatemala), but if you take a few precautions you should be cool!
Guatemala city did seem a bit hectic (people carrying shotguns in their cars seems a bit excessive!), but I think that's the exception not the rule.
I've felt pretty safe so far for the last couple of months, but that's probably setting myself up to get mugged!
Cheers
Si
Reply to this hola!
i have been living in guatemala for 6 months now and have not felt unsafe ever.
guatemala city in the night is proably a place to avoid but guatemala city is not beautifull in any way so if i were you i would fly into guatemala city and that same night get a taxi from the airport (you can tell very easily if it is safe or not) then go to one of the more beautifull places like Antigua. here in antigua it is very save but just like every other developing country, keep ypur money in your front pocket. from antigua there are lots of great things to do and oppertinities to go to other places with travel agencies.
good luck
that kid in guate
Reply to this I just returned from a trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
My travel experience has mostly been Asia and some islands, but I found Central America the safest and easiest to travel around in. I honestly felt safer in some places, like San Jose, even at night - than I do in Toronto.
That said, I was only there for a week, but I did not once feel uncomfortable or hear any horror stories.
Reply to this Hello Steve Marks 😊
I have not been in Central America for 10 years. I did not feel safe when I was there, but I heard things have changed a lot since then.
When I was there I met a lot of people who had been robbed at knife point. Some even had knife wounds.
Mel
Reply to this Hi Steve, i just spent a few weeks traveling alone in Central America and the only place that really made me feel uncomfortable was southern honduras and the capital, in notherne honduras it feels very safe and people are so friendly. I missed out Guatemala city, but around flores el remate and tikal i felt very safe, Nica seemed very nice and the folk were really friendly, i was not impressed with costa rica but it seemed safe enough and panama seemed safe, i heard a few storys about belize but i was not there long enough to comment but id dint see any trouble.
Hope that helps
Thx Mike😊
Reply to this Cheers Mike, yeah I been here 6 weeks now and have been on the recieving end of a bit of petty theft but nothing too serious. Just curious though, when you say "southern honduras" where exactly do you mean?
Thanks
S
Reply to this Hey - Im currently travelling in Central America - started in Mexico back in January, then been to Cuba, Belize and Guatemala now - travelling alone and have had no problems. Like everyone else I skirted Guatemala City, also found Livingston Guatemala a little suspect ... but follow your gut feel. I have not met anyone travelling in Central America that's been held at knifepoint or even been robbed. To be honest, think its all way overplayed. Let me know if you want any more info. I highly recommend this part of the world. Cheers, E
Reply to this Hey Steve i mean between the borders of Nica and El Salvador up to the capital, it gets beeter as you head north to san pedro sula nd over to the bay islands or copan.
Thx MIke😊
Reply to this hi all
just to let you all know Guatemala is very safe as long as you dont go to certen places like the capital at night. the only reason it has a bad rep is because it just came out of a 30 year civil war 10 years ago. they have really come a long way sence then so as long as your not stupid you will be fire and have a great time.
Reply to this Yes when i was in Guate i heard that most places were good and the city was a little dodgy and to steer clear of it and so i did and well its plain to see that im in one piece, so it cant be bad....lol
Thx Mike 😉
Reply to this I sure feel encouraged by all these reports about how safe it is.
Now I want to go to Central America again. 😊
Reply to this Well Mell get your ticket booked rapido....lol
Thx Mike😊
Reply to this Not this year unfortunately.
I am going to Kyrgyxstan and India.
Next year hopefully I can go to Central America. 😊
Reply to this Hey Steve & everyone,
I think as a guy travelling you won't have as many probs, & it depends on the country. I've travelled alone in CRica, Guatemala & Honduras, and safety in the latter two is sometimes dicey. In Honduras there are places to avoid even in the off-track towns (near Copan there's a highly dodgy waterfall hike where tourists have been attacked with machetes, female tourists raped etc.) but the local folk are in my experience really happy to help you out and warn you off; in the larger cities esp. san pedro sula you want to be very careful, esp. after dark, & also might pay for a more upscale place to stay since a lot of the lower rent places have a lot of crack use. Guatemala there's a lot of robbery, knife/gunpoint, in the cities but also tourist areas like volcano hikes etc., get local info first and not just from tour operators. Travelling there I hooked up with other travellers, one of the few times I've done that. CRica I felt very safe, just the same precautions in big cities anyone would use.
Reply to this TKK, It is those knife and gun robberies that make me apprehensive about travelling in C. America. What u describe is exactly what it was like 10 years ago when I was there. At least in Asia robberies generally dont involve knives and guns. How long ago was it that u were travelling in C. America?
Mel
Reply to this Three summers ago; and I agree. I lived in SE Asia for about 5 yrs and never dealt with anything worse than pickpockets; machetes are a whole 'nother level.
Reply to this hola
just to give you an idea about how safe i feel heer i just walked back to my house from a party at 8:00 on a friday and i am only 13 so either i am really stupid or there is justnot much to worry about.
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