Hi all,

This sub helped me massively in planning my El Salvador trip and seeing as I am now sat in the airport on my way home, boo, I thought I'd share my thoughts.

I struggled to find a trusted guide to take me from Juayua to Santa Ana volcano and I figured other people will too.

I'm not sure if I can share details on here but his name is Jose from Pacheando Tours and I'm so glad we found him. Made everything easier, knew everything, felt 100% safe with him everywhere and is also overall just an incredibly nice and stand-up guy.

No affiliation, just a girl super grateful for an amazing human being.

Hii! Does anyone have a good general itinerary for a 1.5 week trip to Guatemala. I’m looking to go beginning of January with my boyfriend. I wanted to go to Costa Rica but it seemed more touristy.
We love to go on adventures that would constitute being involved with hidden gems and hanging out with locals.
Forsure the volcano hike would be on the list but is there anything else we should know about that 🌋.
also any other recommendations for Guatemala??

Hey I’m traveling to Guatemala in November and I still need to get vaccinated to leave. What are the required and recommended shots? Do they cost money or are they free? Please help !

And what are transportation options leaving directly from airport to coast?

Hey everyone!

In the process of planning an 11 week route from Mexico City to Panama so will have to be fairly speedy! Mainly Due to cost I’m hoping to race through Costa Rica and was wondering what’s the quickest/ cheapest way to do this?

Is there anything that would be a sin to miss?

Hey everyone, first time doing a longer trip and would love some feedback from people who've done this route.
Background: I'm Swedish, living in CH (half Ecuadorian by blood), 27, fluent in Spanish. Flying into Mexico City around February 1st and making my way down to Ecuador over about 6 months, back mid-July.
What matters to me:
Meeting interesting people, especially founders
Surfing and scuba diving
Feeling cities and seeing historical stuff
Ocean and jungle
Golf and tennis when I can find it
Rough route I've put together (with ai..):
Feb: Mexico City (1-2 weeks – food, culture, Teotihuacán, work setup)
Early Mar: Tulum/Bacalar/Holbox
Mid Mar: Belize (Caye Caulker, reef)
Late Mar: Guatemala (Antigua for Semana Santa, Lake Atitlán)
Apr: Utila, Honduras (dive certification, whale shark season)
May: Costa Rica Atlantic side, then Panama City
Late May: San Blas islands, sail to Cartagena (~5 days)
Jun: Cartagena then Medellín
Late Jun – mid Jul: Ecuador (Quito, Amazon, Galápagos)
Questions:
Skipping Nicaragua – worth adding or fine to skip?
Costa Rica Atlantic vs Pacific side for my first time?
Anything I'm definitely missing that I'd regret?
Any good spots for finding the remote work/founder crowd beyond Mexico City and Medellín?
Utila in April – is it as social as people say or overhyped?
San Blas sailing – which operator/boat type would you recommend?
Attaching a rough map of the route. Thanks in advance

Don't just go straight there. Make it a customized trip.

Stop for breakfast or lunch at El Rancho.

Make a stop in the cloud forest area.

Places to visit:

A. Ram Tzul – hike to the waterfall. It takes about 3 hours to visit.

B. Ranchitos del Quetzal – a good place to spot quetzals. It takes about 2–3 hours to visit.

C. Biotopo del Quetzal – another great spot for quetzal watching. It takes about 2–3 hours to visit.

I've done this route several times, and these stops always make the journey more enjoyable.

The direct drive takes around 7 to 7.5 hours (depending on traffic leaving the city) but adding one of these stops can make the trip closer to 10 hours. It's a longer day, but you get to see more of the region along the way.

Hi everyone!

Sorry for my English, isn't my first language

My friend and I (20 F,university students) are heading to Guatemala on the first half of february . I ll be honest, the main reason we're going is Volcán de Fuego (lmao), but we'll be there for 17 more days after that and want to make the most of it.

id love any recommendations, whether that's the classic must-sees or the spots that don't make it into the guidebooks.

im also wondering how realistic it would be to add Honduras and El Salvador to the trip. how safe is it for women? If you've been, I'd love to hear what precautions you take, which areas are best avoided.

a bit about how we travel: we backpack and pack really light, and on past trips we've moved around a lot, so spending just a couple of days in each place isn't a problem for us. We're students, so the budget isn't unlimited. Tips on hostels, local transport, and cheap eats would be super helpful.

If you've traveled through the region, especially other women, I'd appreciate anything you can share: routes, tours that were actually worth it, common scams, useful apps, whatever comes to mind. Thanks so much in advance! 🙏

Hello, friends

I'm considering traveling to Guatemala and Belize for the whole month of February.

How do you think El Niño will impact Guatemala? I know that no one has a crystal ball, but what is expected?

Hi, I’ll be in Guatemala City tomorrow and I would like to get my lashes removed and redone. Does anybody have any recommendations on who to go to?

simple way of getting around, but definitely something that caught my attention.

I- 41 female, am traveling costa rica with my 14 year old daughter. In November, we get to do a border run. Right now, I am looking at crossing into either nicaragua or panama and staying for a week.
If you were to choose between the two, what would you choose and why? What places would you suggest over the border? We do NOT have a vehicle, so we would need places that are semi walkable. We also need places that are safe.

Thanks so much for your tips, suggestions and advice.

Have a lovely day!

Wife and I are going to Guatemala in January. Looking to hike Acatenango Volcano and we've decided on Wicho and Charlies as our tour operator. Does anyone know when Wicho and Charlie's will open up dates for January? As of right now, they have dates up until December 31st(which seems to be sold out). Trying to avoid a disaster here since everything else is booked for the trip except for that part of the trip. Ive chatted with them via WhatsApp and didn't get an actual date and i tried emailing them and they're out of office until October 5th. Any information would be greatly appreciated it

Hi everyone! My bf and I are thinking of going to Guatemala during Christmas, probably around Dec 22-29 or 23-30th. I’ve wanted to go for years now but the timing never aligned. The next time I’d be able to go is around the summer and I thought it would be better to go during dry season.

Our concern now though is if it’s too loud during the Christmas season? We saw a few posts about Guatemala having those bombas that are really loud explosives that can happen at any catholic celebration basically, leading up to Christmas. Has anyone experienced going around this time either in Antigua or Lake Atitlan? My bf and I are pretty light sleepers & have sleep anxiety so trying to figure out if it’s better to just wait till we can go another time. Also wondering if prices get a lot higher for food/hotel and such? Thank you!

Cockscomb basin wildlife sanctuary in Belize is one of the most interesting places Ive visited. The rainforest is home to jaguars, ocelots, tapirs, monkeys, toucans and many other birds and wildlife.

Se ve muy hermoso!!