Me and a small group of friends are going to travel around Central America this summer, July/August kind of time. Group is mostly guys, we’ll be backpacking and we’d like to go out most evenings to have a few drinks. In terms of safety, what advice do people have about Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Belize? I’ve heard those last four in particular are a bit testy. The UK foreign office advises travellers to not even walk around Honduran towns or cities, even during the day (!!), let alone going out for drinks at night. Is it really that bad? Any other advice is welcome. Will the rainy season be a problem for instance?
I’ve backpacked round most of South East Asia before so if anyone can compare CA to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia or Indonesia that would be helpful.
Costa Rica isn’t dangerous in general. Tourism is its major industry and the whole country is set up for it. The locals are friendly and are generally accommodating. I am sure it is possible to get into trouble there but it is a nice little country. Lots of people go to Panama as well without incident and Honduras is an up-and-coming tourist destination. I have never been to Honduras but I have heard it recommended as a place to go and nobody suggested you were taking your life in your own hands just by walking around unless you are the oblivious type. I have heard good things about Belize as well and English is an official language there.
El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua have real problems and safety issues in places. People still visit but it often for things like charity work rather than pure tourism. If it is just a pleasure trip, we may want to reconsider some of those. With the exception of Costa Rica and maybe Panama, you are going to encounter true third world conditions especially in the last group I mentioned.
Panama is very safe, with the exception of a few remote areas near the Colombian border and the grittier parts of the major cites including Panama City and (especially) Colon. I’ve traveled throughout Panama for 20 years and have never had any trouble. Backpacking in rural areas and staying in small towns should be fine.
I’ve visited Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize in the past few years. Costa Rica is quite safe. I’ve been to Belize twice, and have had no trouble traveling outside of Belize City. The city itself is pretty run down and I’d be cautious walking around some areas, but I think a group would be ok.
In Honduras I’ve been to La Ceiba and the mountains around Tegucigalpa. Honduras has a very high violent crime rate, but I think this is mainly a problem in the major cities. I didn’t think there was any problem in the places I visited.
Guatemala these days unfortunately has a severe problem with violent crime. Many of the residents I talked to, including those in rural areas, were quite concerned about holdups or kidnappings. If you go to the main tourist areas, like Antigua, you’ll probably be OK. However, this is the most problematic of the countries I’ve been to.
Nashiitashii and I spent out honeymoon last november in Guatemala and Honduras. All the towns we visited seemed quite safe, but poor. I was never afraid even the least walking around Copan, Honduras at night. Guatemala was a bit sketchier, but if you’ve ever been in the poorer parts of a us city, then you are all set. Just keep your money hidden, don’t go up alleys etc… General situational awareness and common sense will take you far. If you don’t speak any Spanish, take the time to learn some before you go. English is not widely spoken at all.
Oh yeah. Make certain to bring plenty of the local currency with you. In our experience, very few places accepted dollars or euros. Be ready to pay strange fees, taxes, and the occasional obvious bribe. TO leave Honduras we had to pay roughly 39.00 US each. In cash. Credit is accepted at the tourist spots and better hotels and bars.
A friend of mine was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala and Guatemala City was totally off-limits. These were people who lived in the country, spoke Spanish, and were generally familiar with how things worked in Guatemala, and it was still considered too dangerous to visit. They even moved the Peace Corps office to another city, which is really, really unusual. (I’ve never heard of a Peace Corps office being outside of the capital, except in China, where their Peace Corps program is exceptional in a lot of ways.) She told me that in their Safety & Security sessions, they had lessons on what to do if your bus is held up at gunpoint, which I don’t think they covered in my Safety & Security training when I was a PCV in Eastern Europe.
I’ve only heard good things about Costa Rica. A friend went there last year for spring break and had a nice time.
Belize sounds good. Another friend was a PCV in Nicaragua and has moaned to me about how fancy everything in Belize is and how good the Volunteers have it, at least in comparison to Nicaragua.
They had those leaving fees in south east asia, I think they’re quite commonplace. Can’t remember what they were for but I don’t think they were just bribes! I’d assumed as much about currency and credit but I hadn’t realized there was as much of a language barrier as you suggest. Is it actually common for people to speak almost no English whatsoever, Europe-style?
Overall it sounds like Guatemala is off the list, but Panama, Costa and Belize will stay on. Still undecided on Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, so more advice would be appreciated. Anyone been during the rainy season in July? Any problems with flash floods, etc?
I was in Nicaragua last summer, it was a “volunteer vacation”-type trip so we were mostly up in the mountains by the Honduran border, but we spent a day in Granada and had a wonderful time. The non-profit that organized our trip did not seem particularly worried about our safely walking around Granada during the day, which is probably a good indicator that its tourist friendly. I would assume that the big draws for you in Nicaragua would be hiking and ecotourism stuff, but while you’re there I would say Granada is worth a stop. Managua, which is where the int’l airport is, didn’t seem to be on anyone’s must-see list.
If you just want a strong personal opinion on how to get a good trip, I can give you mine but everyone has their own goals. Costa Rica is a gem and Panama isn’t too shabby either. I would personally just stick to those with maybe Belize included. They make good vacation destinations.
Some of the others are going to be pushing the limits of adventure travel. It sounds like you have experience with that type of thing but I don’t know if that is what you actually want for this trip. I have been to Nicaragua briefly and I am certainly not planning a family vacation there anytime soon or even a personal one for that matter. Guatemala is not some place I want to step foot in right now. I would go to Honduras but only to one of their resort areas and not as a backpacker. I had a close friend from El Salvador and she says it isn’t generally a nice place either and can be quite dangerous and she never wants to go back.
Don’t take this in a condescending way because you obviously have similar experiences under your belt and want to see the world which is great, but, you do realize this isn’t Europe right? It is an impoverished and unstable area of the world in general and doesn’t have the best infrastructure or transportation options. It isn’t that easy to navigate in lots of ways logistically. How long do you have for this trip? You are talking about wandering around many different countries in a very short time-frame and it seems completely unworkable.
Pick Costa Rica first and add on some of Panama if you want to make a reasonable and memorable trip and that would work. They are set up for the type of tourism you are describing.
I was in Guatemala and Honduras several years ago. It is indeed sketchy- but not quite as terrifying as people here make it out to be! It’s not like you are headed out to Sudan or anything. My fairly suburban mother lived three months in Guatemala and had an amazing time. Except for the crime, it really is a beautiful country full of interesting cultures and generally welcoming people (when they are not robbing you, that is.)
Guatemala City is intense, and not someplace you want to hang around (though personally I liked the vibe of the place.) Never, ever, ever even for a moment think about getting on a bus at night. Don’t hike around alone. I think in general the guides have paid off the bandits, so group hikes are probably okay. In Guatemala I’d probably skip the "few drinks at night’ unless your drinking venue is pretty much in the same place you will be sleeping.
If you do make it out to the Rio Dulce area, check out Hotel Backpackers, a hostel that benefits a non-profit orphanage.
Honduras, at the time, seemed a step down from Guatemala. I remember the lobby of my hotel in San Pedro Sula had a “please leave your guns at the front desk” sign, and my mom said there were armed guards roving the aisles at the local McDonalds. But Copan seemed comfortable.
Many countries, including Costa Rica and Panama, have departure taxes at the airports. Basically it’s a fee to help support the airport (though in Costa Rica I think part of it goes to the national parks.
In Panama many people speak English, and it’s taught in schools. However, in rural areas few people will actually speak more than a few words. It can be a problem getting around if you don’t speak basic Spanish. However, English is very generally spoken in Bocas del Toro province on the western Caribbean coast, which was settled by West Indians. (Though the English can be difficult to understand itself!)
El Salvador doesn’t have much forest remaining, and has some crime problems. I would consider that a low priority. I found Honduras interesting, and it’s different than the other countries on your list. However, as Shagnasty says, it seems you have limited time to get to see much of so many countries. There would be plenty to see and do in Belize, CR, and Panama, with perhaps a side trip to Copan in Honduras.
In Belize, you should try to get out to the barrier reef. In Costa Rica, some of the volcanoes would be interesting. In Panama, Bocas del Toro (which also has coral reefs and a Caribbean flavor) and the Chiriqui highlands around Cerro Punta and Boquete would be high points. If you come to Panama and have time, definitely try to get out to the San Blas islands, where the Kuna Indians preserve a unique culture.
There is sometimes flooding during the rainy season. However, it usually doesn’t cause much of a problem. It rains mostly in the afternoon, and then usually only for a few hours at a time.
I was in Costa Rica late last year. I highly recommend it. The people are (general statement i know) very friendly and the place is beautiful. I would recommend the Hotel Amistad if you are looking for a hotel in San Jose.
Honduras is great! go if you get the chance. The language barrier was quite solid in my experience. The hotels and tourist spots can muddle through sort of, but forget about it with anyone else. I speak broken spanglish and managed to get by just fine. Nearly all of them were impressed that I even bothered to try and were extremely friendly. If in doubt. learn a bunch of nouns and the few phrases you’ll need to get around. “where is, I need, I want, etc”, Add your noun to the end and everybody will understand your request and help. Don’t worry about the grammar or sounding good.
One nice thing I noticed in Guatemala was that they speak the slowest, clearest Spanish I’ve ever heard. I don’t speak a lick of Spanish and they didn’t speak any English, but I had no problems and actually picked up quite a bit in two short weeks!