Well helloooo there friends, family, and the one or two people who don’t know me personally!! I’m officially back in the good ol’ US of A (but not for long hehe). I do actually want to apologize for the lack of content to my loyal subscribers that have just been spiraling into a deep dark depression without my travel tips n stories. But no need to fear, because I’m back to writing and humble bragging 🙂 I wanted to write while on my trip but the iPad just didn’t cut it and I found that writing while traveling actually took away from my experience. So now that I’m home with my laptop, I will be posting once a week on Wednesdays.
So, I know you are all just on the edge of your seats wondering what the heck I have been up to these last 7 months; and I can’t wait to share all the amazingness Central America has to offer. When I originally left the country in mid August, I really didn’t have much of a plan. If some of you remember from my “When Nothing Goes Right, Go Left” post, I was supposed to be in Israel and then travel some of Eastern Europe. But when that was canceled due to Covid, I looked up countries with no entry restrictions and found Costa Rica at the top of that list. So I packed my backpack and a week later I was climbing volcanoes with the biggest smile on my face.
At first I thought I would just hang around Costa Rica for a while, maybe volunteer at a hostel and wait for Covid to calm down in the states…but the more I traveled around, the more other backpackers started telling me about Panama. Then once in Panama, everyone told me how great Guatemala is. So I eventually flew there and then heard how I just have to visit Belize. Then Honduras, Nicaragua, and you get the point. All of a sudden, I had been to every country in Central America 7 months later. I wasn’t planning on seeing any country other than Costa Rica because frankly, I didn’t know jack squat about anywhere else. Now having been to all of these insanely gorgeous countries, I’m baffled at the lack of buzz around them. I know a bunch of people from home that have been to Costa Rica, but I had never even heard of one person that has been to El Salvador or Honduras. Therefore I didn’t really have any inclination to go there until I was right next door and figured, why not? And holy crap I’m so glad I did because I had some of the biggest highlights of my trip in those countries.
I also want to say that I didn’t go to Mexico on this trip as I have been there several times growing up. I know there is an amazing backpacking community there too and its where most people start or end their trip. I decided not to go since I’m always looking to knock a new country off my list, but I will deff go one day and see all the spots I haven’t yet!
With that being said…below is my route, a little summary of my time in each country, and the biggest highlights I’d recommend.
1. COSTA RICA
~ROUTE~
Flight// Los Angeles -> Liberia, CR
La Fortuna- Monteverde- Tamarindo- Samara- Santa Teresa- Jaco- Manuel Antonio- Uvita- Drake Bay- Uvita- Dominical- San Isidro- San Jose- Puerto Viejo
I started my trip in Costa Rica and spent around 2 months seeing just about everywhere I could. What I didn’t know then was that Costa Rica is NOT cheap (compared to every other country in Central America). The running joke is that you have to pay to breathe here. But other than the costs and excess of American families on their 2 week vacations, Costa Rica was really beautiful with tons of fascinating wildlife and nature to see. Pura Vida baby 🙂
-Bunjee jumping into a cloud: Monteverde
-Beach days/ nights out: Puerto Viejo
2. PANAMA
~ROUTE~
Land Crossing// Puerto Viejo, CR -> Bocas Del Toro
Bocas Del Toro-Lost n Found- Boquete- Santa Catalina- Valle de Anton- Panama City
I spent 7 week in Panama, which most people who have been there would say that’s far too long. But I volunteered at Palmar Lodge in Bocas del Toro for 5 weeks, so that took up most of my time there (which was absolutely amazing). I loved putting some roots down for a little and really getting to know Bocas (which is arguably the best part of Panama). I knew a lot of people who sailed the San Blas islands which is supposed to be stunning, but a bit out of my price range so I skipped out on that. Panama is also quite pricey and doesn’t really have a big cultural difference to the states so I was excited to get somewhere cheaper and way different than home.
-Scuba diving in Coiba National park: Santa Catalina
-Beach / Boat days: Bocas del Toro
3. GUATEMALA
~ROUTE~
Flight// Panama City -> Guatemala City
Antigua – El Paredon – Lake Atitlan- Lanquin- Flores
Boy oh boy do I love Guatemala. It has easily inserted itself in my top 5 favorite countries list of all time and my #1 favorite country in Central America. I was blown away by the diverse landscape, strong Mayan culture, and range of excursions to do. I spent 6 weeks in this fascinating country and could have easily stayed longer. I spent one whole month just at Lake Atitlan which is so beautiful I’m going to write a whole post later just about this lil magical spot.
~HIGHLIGHTS~
-Overnight hike: Acatenango/Fuego Volcano
-Paragliding: Lake Atitlan
-Mayan Ruins: Tikal
-Semuc Champey: Lanquin
4. BELIZE
~ROUTE~
Land Crossing// Flores, GT-> Caye Caulker
Caye Caulker
I’m going to write a whole post about this but I was actually a bit disappointed with Belize. Now I will preface this by saying that I only went to Caye Caulker, I can’t speak for the other cayes or San Ignacio. I did really enjoy the crystal clear water, snorkeling with stingrays/ nurse sharks, and eating fresh lobster. BUT it was ridiculously overpriced, the local men were unbelievably aggressive and pushy, there were tons of retired drunk Americans, and there were NO beaches. The last bit shocked me. I was expecting Belize to be white sandy beaches in Caribbean paradise but nope, no beaches on Caye Caulker. Just wooden docks over the water which was a big bummer. I only spent 5 days here because it was so pricey compared to Guatemala, but I’m glad I got to see it and cross a country off my list.
~HIGHLIGHTS~
– Snorkeling and kayaking: Caye Caulker
5. HONDURAS
~ROUTE~
Flight// Belize City -> Roatan
Roatan- Utila- Copan
Honduras gets quite a bad rep for being really dangerous. I knew of backpackers that skipped this country altogether because they were too scared to go. I think the main reason being that San Pedro Sula (a big transit city) was named murder capital of the world. Yeesh. But I still wanted to go and see for myself; I had no problems at all. I never once saw an inch of danger and didn’t hear of anyone else having issues. I spent 2.5 weeks in Honduras and a large chunk of that was spent on the island of Utila where I got my advanced scuba PADI at the cheapest dive shop in the world! Utila is a total dive island/ backpacker hub and I loved it.
~HIGHLIGHTS~
-Advanced scuba PADI: Utila
6. EL SALVADOR
~ROUTE~
Land Crossing// Copan, Hond -> Santa Ana
Santa Ana- Ruta de Flores- El Tunco
Don’t skip El Salvador!! That is literally the tourist campaign slogan of the country and I couldn’t agree more. I was so surprised by the beauty of El Salvador and the kindness of the locals. By far the most generous and humble locals I have ever met. They were so grateful I was visiting their country and made sure to let me know it. If that’s already not a selling point, it’s dirt cheap. Like seriously having a full meal for 1 dollar; 50 cent pupusas, I will miss u! I spent 2 weeks here and will 100% be going back one day. Surf towns, volcanos, and mountainous colonial towns is how I’ll remember this lil country that made a big impact.
~HIGHLIGHTS~
-Hiking Santa Ana Volcano: Santa Ana
-Soccer match: San Salvador
-Hitchhiking in a Semi: El Tunco
7. NICARAGUA
~ROUTE~
Land Crossing// El Tunco -> Leon
Leon- Las Penitas – Granada- Ometepe- Popoyo- Las Maderas- San Juan Del Sur
My runner up to Guatemala is definitely Nicaragua. What a country. I had such a fun last month here reconnecting with friends I had met earlier on my trip. There are so many volcanoes to see but by this point I was a bit burnt out so I didn’t climb any more; but I sure loved looking at them! The backpacker route is quite compact in Nicaragua so you end up running into the same people all the time which makes everything more fun. Lots of beautiful beaches, hippie double volcano island in a lake, and Sunday Funday made the perfect ending to my trip.
~HIGHLIGHTS~
-Volcano boarding: Leon
-Insane sunsets: Ometepe
-Sunday Funday: San Juan del Sur
So to wrap it up nicely:
I visited 7 countries and 45 cities, climbed 5 volcanoes, bunjee jumped, ziplined, paraglided, and volcano boarded. I got advance PADI certified / scuba dove 10 times in 2 countries, and volunteered with sea turtles. I did a work exchange at a hostel, read 8 books, got 2 new tattoos, and alsooo had my airpods stolen.
All in all, it was an amazing trip and I’m going to continue to post and go into more details about each place! Stay tuned folks.
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