Travel around Central America

As the connecting land mass between North and South America, Central America is home to a fertile, volcanic range and rugged landscape, with several small nations and islands dividing it. Around 41.1 million people live in Central America, and it extends from the southern border of Mexico to the northern border of Columbia.
This small bit of land is actually a very unstable portion of the earth’s crust, and contains active volcanos. The western edge of the Caribbean plate sits right in the middle of it, and subduction of the oceanic crust is even responsible for the formation of the Yukatan peninsula and many island archipelagos. Around three million years ago, the scattered islands joined above sea level to form Central America. Frequent earthquakes result from the fourteen active volcanoes on the land, and in 1972 Managua, Nicaragua was nearly destroyed forever by a massive earthquake. Again in 1976, a similar shake occurred at 7.5 on the Richter scale, resulting in twenty-five thousand deaths in Guatemala. Afterwards, over twenty-five percent of the surviving population was left homeless.
The majority of the inhabitants of Central America live on the Pacific side of the land, and the wet Caribbean slope is more sparsely populated. Most of the nations of this area have relatively undeveloped economies, but there is growth on the horizon, as some nations reach out to the world. Agriculture is the major domestic sector, and processing raw materials is the main industrial focus of the region.

Travel around Mexico

Va Mexico! An area known to be huge and has a lot to offer, there are many popular places here. From Cancun to Oaxaca and Porto Escondido, you’ll find true beauty in this area. Mexico’s size has two different effects on travelers, one good, the other not so good. The good aspect is that because of the size of this area, you can find many gem areas that you’ll have completely to yourself, in addition to the fact that they are many great things to do and see without having to look very far. The downside is that you’ll have to spend many hours on buses to get to the spot you’d like to be, and this cost can seriously mount up. For example, it is a six hour journey from Mexico City, to Oaxaca. On a premier bus it would blow your daily budget for almost any traveler. You can also travel on local buses, although the accommodations aren’t as nice, it is much cheaper. You’ll often hear backpackers from the USA complain about how expensive Mexico is, although it’s really not quite as expensive compared to the super power to the north. You’ll find that it is much more expensive than the rest of Central America. There are many hot spots that draw a great amount of tourists, like Cancun, which is nearer to Miami than Mexico City is, and has many daily direct charter flights from Europe.

Costs: US $25-$35 daily

Travel around Costa Rica

Well known as a travel and tourist destination, Costa Rica is actually translated in to Rich Coast. Travelers often find more often that not that it is over rated as a country. This is not to say that it isn’t an interesting destination, but refers more to the fact that it is over crowded, extremely pricey, and the sights that are offered there can also be seen at other spots in the world. Costa Rica has been found to be so popular for many different reasons. They have a democracy, which means that it is a peaceful and calm place to travel. Also, the spot is highly marketed which helps more and more tourists want to visit every year. Many who want to see this region take advantage of it because many other areas nearby may seem too dangerous. Because of this, many tourists come from North America, and bring lots of money with them. This affects the inflating prices and also increasing tourist crime. There are some who actually think that they will see a large amount of wildlife when they visit, but really the best place to see large amounts is just the same as anywhere else, in the zoo. All that aside, there are real reasons that you may still want to go to Costa Rica. The country is definitely beautiful, and has easy access to both coasts which can’t often be found in Central America. Although the costs can be high, it is because the area has quality places to stay and eat, and like many places there are always supermarkets so that you’re able to reduce the cost of eating on your trip.

Costs US $30- $40 per day, excluding tours and activities

Travel around Nicaragua

More than just a lake? Nicaragua gets more than its fair share of travelers compared with what is has to offer due to its proximity to Costa Rica. It is home to towns like Granada, which is quite pleasant although nothing too special happens there. They happen to be hives of activity is always full of budget travelers. Granada for example picks up on the Central American trail, where the Bay Islands in Honduras leaves off. He main sights in this area are towns like Granada and Leon, along with several volcanoes that can be found nearby. Lago De Nicaragua, or the lake, is another big tourist attraction. Geographically and biologically speaking the lakes contents are very interesting, but Ometepe, the larges and by far most visited island can’t hold anyone’s attention for very long aside from it being very beautiful. The lake is often found to be rough, and on the island itself mountain biking is the biggest activity, although many find it much too hot to even do this. Public transport is quite time consuming, so make sure that you have a few days to really take in Ometepe. The route through Leon, Granada and Ometepe is the post popular and is worth stopping in at. Elsewhere in the area there are many other destinations that can be difficult to reach since they are off the tourist trail. The Corn Islands are a great example of this. They are off the beaten track, and there is not much to see once you get there unless you just want to relax. At that rate, there are much easier spots to find that are far more impressive to relax in, like Costa Rica and Honduras. In the end, you’ll find that the people are nice, and the region is still very pretty.

Cost: US $20- $20 per day

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