I may have the opportunity to take a vacation in Central America later in the year. I’m looking at Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, or Costa Rica, though I may consider going as far south as Brazil. I’m interested in Mayan ruins and outdoor activities more than suntanning, and my budget is tight.
Can those of you who live in or have been to said countries offer opinions as to which are safe, cheap, and interesting?
Costa Rica is certainly safe, clean, and American friendly. I don’t think there are too many Mayan ruins around but the tourism based on flora and fauna are world-class. Most people speak some English and things are really cheap. My wife and I went on our honeymoon there and loved it. The country is small enough that you can drive or even hire a cab to take you from cost-to-cost in a few hours. If you go, I recommend that you travel around to keep things interesting. The active Arenal volcano and the resort at the bottom with hot water streams are awesome.
I vote for Costa Rica too (although that’s the only country you listed that I’ve been to!)…for the reasons Shagnasty listed. They have an extensive police force - hard to miss, dressed in surplus US Army fatigues - and the people are generally very friendly and LOVE to practice their English with visitors. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that Costa Rica is actually classified as “second-world” because it’s developing so well and has a stable government…
It’s pretty cheap. We spent seven days in Cartago/San Jose - you can find a bed and breakfast there for about 30 US dollars a night. There are public buses so you can sightsee all over the twin cities. With a rental car you can get to free activites like the volcanos (I went to Irazu) and the beach (Playa Jaco).
We also spent three days at the Selva Verde Lodge which is also fairly inexpensive considering that you get a fairly nice (considering you are in the middle of the rainforest) cabin with bath, meals, and all sorts of activities included in the price. If you are looking for "vacation’ instead of “trip” I would suggest that.
If you want any more info just email me. I’m restraining myself from telling you EVERY little detail about my trip 
I went to Belize for the first time in January, we stayed in the most popular area: Ambergris Cay. It was expensive in the tourist areas, but very reasonable-to-cheap if you ventured to shop where the locals shop, eat where they eat and so forth. I’ve heard the country part (Ambergris is the largest island off the coast) is not tourist friendly, according to the locals I met on the island. You did not mention scuba diving, but if you are interested in that, “the Hole,” as it is called, is supposed to be one of the best places in the world and it is just off the coast of the continent. Just passing along all the info I know.
My boyfriend’s brother honeymooned in Honduras (after his wedding on Ambergris Cay). They hiked through the mountains, saw a bunch of fabulous ruins, and basically bought all of their liquor with Ziploc baggies. Apperently Ziploc doesn’t export to such places and the locals are crazy for them. They were cautious as there had been some sort of political/terrorist/drug dealer activity there, but you are talking about Central America. They really enjoyed their outdoor activities and spent minimal amount of money on that part of the trip. They also said that the locals were very accommodating and friendly and they never once felt they were in danger.
Okay… for Mayan sites you really have to focus on Belize, Honduras and Guatemala. Belize would generally suit the “explorer” vibe better, it’s where new sites are being found and excavated, plus it has good outdoor-activity opportunities (mostly sea-oriented). Honduras also has the seaward activities plus the very well-developed, major Mayan sites at Copán.
Have been in Guatemala, myself. Definitely VERY, VERY “interesting”, physically, historically and culturally. The major Maya sites are in the northern jungles near the Belize border, are well-developed and can be tied in with some Eco-tourism. “Live” Maya culture can be found in the highland, where the main population centers are. I’d say the safety vibe is good, but specially in cities the measures taken were at times more visible than you really would care for; prices are good, though some locations have very much discovered the tourist dollar and will seek to extract it from you. Hard to not schedule a day you’ll see something new if you try (Not being an “outdoorsman” I can’t really discuss that aspect) But the visitor should get out of Guatemala City ASAP, the overall urban-quality-of-life is disheartening and it just “feels” more stressed out and less safe.
I’d stay in Mexico for Mayan. All the best sites are there.
I currently live in Guatemala but I have visited El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua for short periods of time.
There are some Mayan ruins in Guatemala (Tikal among others) which are basically only found in Guatemala and Mexico. But what’s more “interesting”, as JRDelirious put it, is the culture because the social economic division is unbelievably visible and there are genuine indigenous peoples to be found where western (European rooted) culture has yet to really influence them. Also if you’re interested, pot is very very cheap, unless you make it painfully obvious you’re a tourist. On the down side, Guatemala is not the safest place in the world. There are plenty of traffic accidents and in unsafe parts of the country, bandits.
As far as I can tell, Costa Rica is safe, more of a “tropical paradise” type place. Lots of beautiful beaches with good surfing opportunities. Very tourist friendly. Also, word is that Costa Rica has the most beautiful women in Central American, and I tend to agree.
Thanks, everyone, for the ideas. Belize is looking the most promising right now, and presumably it wouldn’t be too hard to cross the border into Guatemala, or even go as far as Hoduras by land, to see some of the ruins and other ‘attractions’ in that area.
Anyone else have recommendations?
I’ve been to Guatemala. Trust me, you don’t want to spend more than one half of one second in Guatemala City, but Antigua (which has practically turned into a suburb of Guatemala City as the City keeps growing) is a tranquil little city with a definite international flavour. It’s an inexpensive country, and lots of hotels and other places take American dollars. The countryside is amazingly beautiful, as long as you don’t pay too much attention to the garbage that gets pitched out of buses and accumulates on the roadside.
And riding the chicken buses is always good for a story or two when you get home.
The inlaws retired to Belize last year, Placencia to be exact. They are very happy. Mayan ruins are quite close too.
I was just in Belize for two weeks in November and highly reccomend it. When I went I was also looking for a mix of Mayan exploration and outdoor adventuring. If you want to save money avoid spending more than about a day in Belize City, it’s pretty unremarkable and not that clean. I flew into Belize City and stayed the night there before heading out to Caye Caulker, which is a $10 water taxi ride away from Belize City, since I was on a budget I stayed in Tina’s Hostel on Caulker which cost m e 7.50/night (giving figures in US dollars btw) Caulker is less devloped than Ambergris, less touristy and less exspenive by far. There you have scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing and sailing trips all for pretty cheap if you're spending US (or better yet Pounds Sterling, lucky Brits )
For a really good guided snorkeling tour I’d suggest tracking down an outfit called Ras Creek tours, hang around the Sandbox Bar and Grill and ask about snorkeling, you’ll find him. This guy runs an awesome tour, he loves the island and knows ** a lot** about the ecology and wildlife. We were actually able to hold manta rays where he took us, saw a couple of sharks and then he took us to the mangroves and showed us iguanas and seahorses out there. For sailing I’d suggest uh I think they were called Ragamuffin Tours, run by a British lady and her husband, a local. They operate out of a little shack right on the main “road”* along the beach, look for the signs that advertise a sunset cruise or something like that, that’s them. If you have about $250 and a week to spend you can also get your open water dive certificate (scuba) from a number of places on the island. I had neither the time nor the money on my trip for that but a couple guys I met the hostel were doing that and had a great time.
Caulker has a number of good restaurants and bars too, if that’s your thing. Rasta Pasta’s Rainforest Cafe has the best food IMO (get the grilled lobster burrito, $5 and i always had to split it with someone) and the best happy hour (starts at 3 or 4pm!) after finishing up at rasta’s you need to make your way to the I&I, another bar - looks like a giant tree fort, with booze!
After you’re done playing on Caulker you’ll need to head inland too check out the Mayan ruins. I went inland to the village of San Jose Succotz and stayed at a place called www.thetrekstop.com The Trek Stop which is on a tropical nature preserve and run by a pair of retired American biologists. Good place to go for nature lovers and you can rent a cabin for $10/night. It’s also a 10 minute walk from Xunaptunich (sp) the largest Mayan site in Belize, IIRC. You’ll also be really close to Guatamala, close enough in fact to take a day trip into Tikal, the largest Mayan site in the whole region, very very cool. You’ll wanna book your tour out of Eva’s pub, in San Ignatio (the larger town near Succotz) it’s $70 for the ride out, the tour and lunch, plus they’ll pick you up the Trek Stop. There’s a lot other stuff to do at and around the Trek Stop, John and Judy can help you find things to do once you get there.
For getting around the country bus is the cheapest and easiest way to travel. They run on time and don’t cost much. If you decide to head out to the Trek Stop I’d suggest getting an express bus from Belize City to San Ignatio, then from Ignatio buy a ticket to San Jose Succotz, tell the conducter on the bus where your staying and they’ll let you off right out front. If you get a regular bus direct to Succotz it’ll take about 3x as long because they stop for everyone and everything along the way, the express busses don’t and again if your spending US$ the cost difference is negligable.
Oh yea a few other things. The official language of Belize is English, so you’ll do fine if that’s all you speak, Spanish is really common too. The Belize dollar has a fixed exchange rate of 2 to 1 against the USD, though you’ll want to be careful and make sure what currency is being discussed if you’re trying to bargain. Take travelers cheques! There are dozens of places everywhere you go that will cash them for no fee, and i didn’t run into a business that didn’t accept them either. Your ATM card likely will not work, so they’ll be your only source of cash during your visit. Uhh, oh yea for a two week stay I spent a total of about $500 USD for everything (transport, food, beer, rum, beer, tours, lodging and beer) but my airline tickets.
I would also suggest getting either a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide to Belize if you go, will come in handy, esp the maps.
Have fun and be sure to let us know how your trip goes when you get back!
TheFunkySpaceCowboy, that’s absolutely awesome! Thanks so much for excellent information. Belize is looking really really sweet now. Have Lonely Planet, will travel.
** stypicus **, yea Belize is pretty sweet, I very much want to go back for a much longer visit. In fact the next time I move I’ll probably take about six months off to travel around central and south america, starting with a nice long stay in Belize.
To add further to the appeal of Belize here’s my online photo gallery from the trip: http://gallery.acerbic.org/Belize
Well actually I’ve only gotten so far as scanning the pics from Tikal but you get the idea, Mayan ruins galore