YLN Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Can it be done? A group of us are headed to Central America this summer. Some are interested in seeing the sights, but others are more concerned about beaches and getting a tan. I am in the former group. The end of the trip was originally Panama via all the countries in between. 7 weeks of that. From there we would fly to mexico and on to Dublin. My suggestion is that we spend 4 weeks in central america and then fly to quito, traveling down to Lima for the final 19 days of the trip, seeing things in between. Fly Lima to Mexico and then to Dublin. The flights from Panama to Quito and Lima to Mexico cost the same as the flight from panama to mexico. I think it sounds good, but I don't want to feel like we're rushing through places either. Doable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I used Lan Peru when I did that region back in 2007 they did some great flight pass options Flew Mexico city to Lima to peurto Maldonado to cusco to Quito to caracus to Miami for about £420 .. Though I'd imagine prices have gone up since then ( we were helped by it being $2 to the £1 Few places of interest if you are looking for guidance Mexico city .. Go see Teotihuacan .. About a 30 min cab ride outside Mexico city if I recall .. Don't think you can climb up the main pyramid anymore but still worth a look Then visit xochimilco which is a canal area full of boats where the locals go to party We just booked a cab for the day and he took us wherever we asked him Didn't spend much time in Lima but get a coach to Nasca from the main bus station and go see the Nasca lines ( fly over them in a cesna ) but also leave time to see the Nasca mummies From Lima fly to peurto Maldonado where you can visit the amazon rainforest... You will see quite a bit from here but if you want to see panthers in the wild you will have to go deeper into the bush and also be prepared to spend days at it... We saw giant otters , cayman , toucans , cabybara etc The plane flies a circle route and next stop is Cusco From Cusco You can hike to macchu Piccho ( last i heard the path washed away in the floods so check this before you book anything ) or take a train there( it gets busy so book in advance) .. The train offers great views not to mention the fun of zig zaggin out of Cusco at the start of the journey .... You can overnight nr Machu Piccho as well just mind the altitude if you aren't used to it From Lima we flew to Quito Middle earth for the Equator stuff and get someone to drive you over to Coatapoxi .. The taxi will drop you at a car park and you can climb the last few hundred meters , again watch the altitude , the walk is hard work Quito head on over to the galapagos isles .. Won't be cheap but worth every penny, $100 permit fee on arrival do make sure you have it in cash on you as no credit cards or ATM when you arrive After quito we flew onto Venezula and over to angel falls .. If you can then try and persuade your friends to go there ... You sleep in hammocks and then have a 3 hour motorised canoe ride through the rapids before a short hike upto see the falls ... You then sleep in hammocks again just across the river from the falls , it's just awesome It really is worth the trip Few pics here to give you a feel of the places I've mentioned , if I can give more info then just ask pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLN Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Thanks a lot for that Tony. I was hoping you'd see this thread. I've suggested all of this to the gang, aside from the Venezuela bit. Flights there were just too expensive, but I'm trying to get them to go to Peru and Ecuador. Here is my proposed itinerary. There's a lot of room for manoevre in it. What do you think of the amount of time I've allotted for each place? 12th July - Dublin to Mexico (€805 Flight group A) 17th July - Mexico City to Cancun (€100 stand alone flight) Cancun 18 - 20 (3 days) Belize, Guatemala 21- 28 (8 days) El Salvador, Honduras 29 - 2 (5 days) Nicaragua, Costa Rica 3 - 10 (8 days) Panama 11 - 13 (3 days) Panama to Quito (€440 Flight group Quito to Lima 14 - 19 (6 days) Lima to Cuzco (€150-400 Flight group C) Cuzco 20 - 22 (3 days) Cuzco to Puerto Maldonado © PM 23 - 25 (3 days) Puerto Maldonado to Lima © Lima 26 - 27 (2 days) 28th Lima to Mexico ( 30th Mexico to Dublin (A) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 If I were you, I'd skip Mexico and start in Costa Rica. Then Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua have less to offer...unless you want to experience more gritty less tourist-friendly countries, which those are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 tbh i only spent one night in Lima so can't offer any advice there but I'd still take a look at Nasca and the lines / mummies ... you can be there and back in 2 days , the flights over the lines are usually done early Am and then you walk down to the coach station for the trip back to Lima I've not done central America though have started on the planning stage .. you may want to consider more than 3 days in Panama as from what I found there was quite a bit to see and do there .. saying that a lot was nature and swimming type stuff which you will do in spades in Costa Rica anyway .. i also looked at Honduras and El Salvador and figured 1/2 a day in each would be enough ( unless you plan to go out and explore a bit ) Drop a few things and go see the Galapagos Isles , best money you will ever spend .. some reasonable night life on the island as well I was looking at Panama as part of my US fly drive later this year ( yeah I'm aware it's not in America before any points that out :-) ) my gut feel is that Panama needs more than 3 days ...there lloked to be a lot to do there , assuming people like the swimming and hiking type stuff .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Simon Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Forgive me if im being ignorant, but, is the weather over in Central America not absolutey dire during the summer months? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndFos Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I'm going over to Central America in Oktober, but unfortunately only have 3 weeks. I think i would skip El Salvador, as I have heard that is the most unsafe country in Central America, and do not have that much to offer compared to the other countries. I have started to make plans for our journey, but like you there lots of room to change the route. So far we have this route: Reiseforslag 4 Day 1 Bergen -Panama City Day 2 Panama Day 3 Panama - Bocas del Toro Day 4 Bocas del Toro Day 5 Bocas del Toro Day 6 Bocas del Toro- San Jose Day 7 San Jose Day 8 San Jose -Granada Day 9 Granada Day 10 Granada - Managua Day 11 Managua- Roatan Day 12 Roatan Day 13 Roatan Day 14 Roatan-Guatemala City-Antigua Day 15 Antigua Day 16 Antigua-Guatemala city Day 17 Guatemala city - Tikal Day 18 Tikal Day 19 Spare day Day 20 Tikal - Flores - Cancun Day 21 Cancun Day 22 Cancun - Bergen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humanoid Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 (edited) Seriously, dont waste time in Guatemala City, it's horrid and crime is horrendous. I lived there for 2 months. Antigua is nice. Try to fit Mexico City in you can and Teotihuacan If you're in Lima, keep out of Rimac. Mira Flores is probably the best place to stay. Edited August 19, 2013 by Humanoid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 How are you getting around may I ask? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayls Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 I'm going over to Central America in Oktober, but unfortunately only have 3 weeks. I think i would skip El Salvador, as I have heard that is the most unsafe country in Central America, and do not have that much to offer compared to the other countries. El Salvador is up there but Honduras is the one to avoid.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayls Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 I'm going over to Central America in Oktober, but unfortunately only have 3 weeks. I think i would skip El Salvador, as I have heard that is the most unsafe country in Central America, and do not have that much to offer compared to the other countries. El Salvador is up there but Honduras is the one to avoid.... Yillan - I think you have too many days for El Salvador and Hondurus - day in each max I recon. The other 3 days could be used for something more spectacular elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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