caribbean / central america?

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caribbean / central america?

Postby bearanddragon » Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:53 am

looking for a fairly cheap getaway late march or so - and i'm thinking central america or Caribbean, possibly parts of south america if the airfare is suitable

i got some pretty sound advice on a trip to costa rica a couple years back. was wondering if anyone had some favorite and off-beat spots in the area they could share. i am pretty into culture, poverty, and anything where i won't be hounded by touts, a couple days of beach thrown in would be great ... my budget's pretty limited, preferably $50 a day to include everything (minus airfare, visa, etc. of course).
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby Osiris » Sun Feb 03, 2013 1:00 am

Xela, Guatemala. I'll say more when I'm not on my ipad.
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby AztecDave » Sun Feb 03, 2013 8:01 am

i did 10 days in belize 20 yrs ago before it got too popular & spring breaky. awesome. 5 days driving to all the mayan sites & into guatemala & 5 days on a dive boat. dunno what it's turned into now.
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby rdkll » Sun Feb 03, 2013 11:51 am

honduras , take a flight to san pedro sula , go islas de la bahia, copàn, tikal if you have the time.
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby Osiris » Mon Feb 04, 2013 5:27 pm

I absolutely love Xela, Guatemala. There's a great language school there called Proyecto Linguistico and they have a school up in the mountains that does homestays in a poor rural community. I spent a couple weeks there back in 2007 (coincidentally where I first read Most Dangerous Places).

http://www.plqe.org/

Champerico, Guatemala is probably the best beach I've ever been to. Black sand. Not a gringo in sight. Lonely Planeteers hate it for some reason, which meant that it was just my friends and I with some Guatemalan surfers. Fucking amazing.

I hate El Salvador, but Friendlyskies seems to love it. Maybe she can tell you more about that.

San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua is also pretty sweet, but I've heard it's become pretty expensive and developed since I was last there. If you want to live the dream on a beach in Nica, this is the place for you.

San Jose, Costa Rica is also a good place to stop in. All I really remember is getting a hot shower in my apartment and geeking out a little too much at the gold museum.

Other than that, stay the hell away from Antigua. It's gringo heaven. I literally saw a man there in full safari gear stepping off a tour bus. Everything is priced at US prices while a couple miles out in the campo kids have worms. I avoid that city like the plague.
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby bearanddragon » Tue Feb 05, 2013 12:03 am

seems like an overwhelming preference for central america. no Caribbean islands anyone? i'm going to do my research on honduras and guatemala over the next couple weeks - thanks!
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby Athena » Tue Feb 05, 2013 2:05 am

One of my favorite super cheap trips ever was overland travel around Chiapas into Guatemala. San Cristobal is alpine and colonial and makes for good flow mixed in with beaches and ruins. The howler monkeys in the region are a little obnoxious; they can be maddening if you are desperate for sleep after hard travel.
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby Osiris » Wed Feb 06, 2013 12:14 pm

bearanddragon wrote:seems like an overwhelming preference for central america. no Caribbean islands anyone? i'm going to do my research on honduras and guatemala over the next couple weeks - thanks!


I'm headed down to the Bahamas for my bachelor party this summer. Never been there but I'm betting that it's gonna be more expensive than CA.
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby Kurt » Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:29 pm

bearanddragon wrote:seems like an overwhelming preference for central america. no Caribbean islands anyone? i'm going to do my research on honduras and guatemala over the next couple weeks - thanks!


The Dominican Republic is awesome if you stay away from the beach towns like Puerta Plata. La Vega is cool. I like Santo Domingo as well. One of my favorite towns, full of peace, calm and excellent chicken is Dajabon. Right accross the river is the living hell known as Quanaminthe Haiti. Now one ever visits Dajabon because it is near Ouanaminthe, but it is worth seeing, especially the chaos of the market when the haitians come over. Never cross into Haiti on foot if possible but you can take a two day trip from there to the Citadel at Milot. The Haitian town of Cap Hatien is worthwhile but don't take a tap tap there from Ouanaminthe.
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby bearanddragon » Sat Feb 09, 2013 3:04 pm

Kurt wrote:
bearanddragon wrote:seems like an overwhelming preference for central america. no Caribbean islands anyone? i'm going to do my research on honduras and guatemala over the next couple weeks - thanks!


The Dominican Republic is awesome if you stay away from the beach towns like Puerta Plata. La Vega is cool. I like Santo Domingo as well. One of my favorite towns, full of peace, calm and excellent chicken is Dajabon. Right accross the river is the living hell known as Quanaminthe Haiti. Now one ever visits Dajabon because it is near Ouanaminthe, but it is worth seeing, especially the chaos of the market when the haitians come over. Never cross into Haiti on foot if possible but you can take a two day trip from there to the Citadel at Milot. The Haitian town of Cap Hatien is worthwhile but don't take a tap tap there from Ouanaminthe.


how chaotic are we talking here? like egyptian mob chaotic or thanksgiving day-after at a mall? is the chaos a daily thing?
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby c12nate.w » Wed Feb 20, 2013 12:04 am

If you're interested in the backpacker scene Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica and Bocas Del Torro Panama are two great places to check out. They are both real cheap, Bocas is definitely a bit of a backpacker tourist hang out and Puerto Viejo is a bit of an ex pat/surfer hangout, but there is plenty of cultural experiences to be had just outside of town and on your travels en route.
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby friendlyskies » Thu Feb 21, 2013 2:34 pm

What do you mean by "cheap"? Costa Rica can still be cheap by international standards, but if you're shoestringing it, you might want to give it a miss. On the other hand, if you like your vacations relatively easy and developed, it might be for you. I agree with Puerto Viejo (with a side trip across the border to Bocas del Toro, Panama), or you might try Santa Teresa/Malpais (gorgeous beach, laid-back vibe) or the Osa Peninsula (the most biodiverse place on the planet, with a famous two-day hike across Corcovado National Park, perfect for outdoorsy types). I lived in San José for years and like it, but tourists generally hate it (Osiris is a rare case) because it's dirty and boring. Sort of like Atlanta or Albuquerque - great place to live but you wouldn't want to visit there.

Nicaragua is a lot cheaper, and yes, San Juan del Sur is getting very developed. However, the beaches north and south of town are still really nice and mellow, and then you can go into SJDS to party or grocery shop or get some decent espresso.... it works. My favorite beach in SW Nicaragua is Playa Pie de Gigante, it gets crowded in April or so for peak surf season. Granada and Leon are the gorgeous old Spanish Colonial towns - like Antigua, but broiling hot and not so touristy, though Granada is getting there. I often recommend doing the SJDS and/or Playa Gigante - Granada/Laguna de Apoyo - Isla Ometepe loop, that could be a 7 -12 day trip and is fairly cheap and easy to get around even without much Spanish.

I love El Salvador, it's true, but it's still pretty untouristed - you'll have more fun if you're looking for something off the Lonely Planet Trail and speak a bit of Spanish. If that's you, I can give you LOTS of recommendations.

Actually, if Costa Rica, Nicaragua, or El Salvador sound good, I can give you more recommendations. Let me know your per diem budget, your comfort level, and any special activities (surfing, handicrafts, mountains, beaches, etc) that you like and I can offer specifics. I'll check back here or ping me.
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby friendlyskies » Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:47 pm

Der... $50 per day. Yeah, Costa Rica would be cutting it close. Don't get me wrong, it can certainly be done, but activities are so expensive that you'd either miss out or blow out your budget. Nicaragua is a much better bet (or El Salvador, if you're up for an adventure.) Just FYI, flying into San Salvador is usually a solid $100 more expensive than Guatemala City. You could combine the two countries very easily - El Sal has better beaches, Guatemala is easier to get around and has way better shopping and ruins. Both are cheap, not as cheap as Nicaragua, but a lot less expensive than CR or Mexico. My friend says there's a shuttle between Antigua and Playa El Tunco in ES now, cheap and easy.

Nicaragua's awesome, though. Look up Isla Ometepe and Playa Pie de Gigante. Anyway, like I said, if you're seriously considering any of the three countries, i can give you more specifics.
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby bearanddragon » Sun Mar 03, 2013 11:25 pm

friendlyskies wrote:Der... $50 per day. Yeah, Costa Rica would be cutting it close. Don't get me wrong, it can certainly be done, but activities are so expensive that you'd either miss out or blow out your budget. Nicaragua is a much better bet (or El Salvador, if you're up for an adventure.) Just FYI, flying into San Salvador is usually a solid $100 more expensive than Guatemala City. You could combine the two countries very easily - El Sal has better beaches, Guatemala is easier to get around and has way better shopping and ruins. Both are cheap, not as cheap as Nicaragua, but a lot less expensive than CR or Mexico. My friend says there's a shuttle between Antigua and Playa El Tunco in ES now, cheap and easy.

Nicaragua's awesome, though. Look up Isla Ometepe and Playa Pie de Gigante. Anyway, like I said, if you're seriously considering any of the three countries, i can give you more specifics.


Thanks friendlyskies! You had some great advice on a previous trip I took to Costa Rica. Well, I'll be travelling with a couple others and they pressured me into Jamaica - not that I'm complaining.

So would love any advice on Jamaica now. A good beach, a good bar. And something off-beat! and of course, affordable
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Re: caribbean / central america?

Postby Woodsman » Mon Mar 04, 2013 2:38 am

Look up Jamaica caving organization & get back in the cockpits.
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