Península de Nicoya
One block away from the beach, these seven cozy cabinas have whitewashed rooms with metal furnishings and hot-water bathrooms. Two newer apartments are…
Must-see hotels in Central America
Northwestern Costa Rica
Make reservations in advance to stay in basic to grim eight-bed dorms with electricity but cold showers. Researchers get priority, but there’s…
Northern Highlands
This simple restaurant (open 10am to 8pm) has a three-room cabaña across the road that it rents out. It's one of the few places to stay by the lake and…
Playa Tamarindo
A hip hostel with an international crowd. The main building has clean rooms, funky art on the walls and groovy furniture in the common area (plus a bar…
Playa Sámara
This sprawling place has a wide variety of rooms and apartments with widely varying standards. In the best of them, look for mango-painted walls, high…
Southern Caribbean
Opposite Playa Cocles are these 12 clean, simple cabinas with tile floors and queen beds; some have air-con (phone in advance to check prices and…
Highlands
This friendly hotel on the main road offers a row of 10 concrete rooms that accommodate three people. They are a bit tired and beaten up, but they…
The Río San Juan & Islas Solentiname
This two-story wooden house feels like a Swiss chalet abandoned in the tropics. Worn hardwood rooms have open ceilings that let in the noise from next…
Chichicastenango
On the road to the cemetery, the family-run Mashito is built around a plant-filled patio. Though a bit frayed, at least it's colorful, with green paint…
Southern Belize
Most visitors come to Glover's Guest House on Saturday night prior to catching the boat to Glover's Atoll Resort, but the riverside guesthouse is a…
Southern Belize
Lisa runs this offbeat farm and butterfly house just out of San Pedro Columbia. The four dorm-style rooms are in a large wooden bunkhouse with clean beds…
Darién Province
The closest 'non-traditional' place to stay is this very basic hotel with four rooms in Santa Fé, about 12km to the north. It's nothing to write home…
Southern Belize
The cheapest of the Tobacco Caye guesthouses, Fairweather has four basic rooms in a rickety wooden building, each with one double bed and fan. There's a…
Guatemala City
Zona 1 is the key reason (and the only reason) to stay here, but keep expectations low because this place is in need of major TLC. Spotty wi-fi, long…
Caye Caulker
Basic but centrally located and well suited to hardy backpackers, this low-key place has a ramshackle, pastel collection of semi-open huts and dorms…
Honduras
This hut on stilts is by far the best low-budget option in Brus Laguna, but that's not saying much. Rooms are dirty but sheets are clean and the owner is…
Matagalpa
Set on a hillside with great views, this family-run hotel is only three blocks from the cathedral. Rooms at the front of the building have small private…
Southwestern Nicaragua
Shoestringing surfers choose this rasta-vibe bar/restaurant and hostel purely for its location, just steps away from one of the country’s best breaks. The…
Semuc Champey & Around
It's possible to camp at Semuc Champey, but be sure to pitch a tent only in the upper areas, as flash floods are common down below. It's also risky to…
Eastern El Salvador
This rough hotel with a half-decent facade has something of a port town feel. The rooms have high ceilings and all the basics – plus air-con – but wooden…
Mal País & Santa Teresa
Simple and sweet, Rumbo has four clean, tile apartments with kitchenettes and balconies with hammocks. They're not fancy, but they have everything you…
Santiago Atitlán
This budget option, near the center of town, is a family-run establishment with nice wood-beam ceilings and large, modern bathrooms. Only three of the…
Punta Gorda
With 25 clean rooms with air-con and cable TV, not to mention a good location at the north end of town, Charlton's is a decent choice for those looking…
Northern Belize
The cheapest of the bunch, the Akihito has a collection of very plain rooms with small bathrooms in a large concrete building on the main road. Most of…
Arenal & Northern Lowlands
The newer rooms here are set in a somewhat strange, ghost-town motel that’s right down the road from the boat dock. There are older but still comfortable…
Quetzaltenango
This low-budget refuge stands at a high-traffic intersection, though things are thankfully calmer beyond the glassed-in reception area. A series of…
Caribbean Coast
This well-tended motel-like structure near the center of town offers 22 clean rooms with hot water, and a small attached restaurant serving breakfast and…
Panama City
In a worn-out colonial near Vía Brasil, this longtime lodging has a relaxed family feel but it's also dated and cluttered. Rooms have safe boxes and high…
San Salvador
Ximena's has been serving the travel community for nearly two decades, and it is starting to show in some of the more tired rooms. On our last visit the…
Belize City
This family-run guesthouse is basic in the extreme with small rooms spread around an old house that could do with a hardcore tidy up. But if you don't…
Northern Highlands
A reliable budget bet in the center, this place rents plain, cell-like rooms with hot water and cable, but no natural light in most cases. The rooms on…
Bocas del Toro Province
These rustic cabins in El Guabo on the Río Yorkin are run by indigenous women who form a group called Alakolpa (Association of Women Protecting the Forest…
Cahuita
The hotel-style rooms here are large and bare, with dowdy brown curtains and industrial tile floors, but you still might be tempted by the prime location…
Northern Belize
This no-frills guesthouse has the only cheap beds near the Lamanai site. Don't expect luxury, but rest easy knowing you'll have the archaeological site…
Península de Nicoya
This place is not the worst place to spend the night, especially if you arrive on a late ferry. There's a swimming pool for a cooling dip, a decent…
San Marcos La Laguna
The basic Panabaj stands behind the school that's immediately above the main plaza. Elevated rooms get plenty of light and though the wooden beds are…
Ambergris Caye
This place may be too motel-like for some tastes and could certainly do with some cosmetic work, but while it is not elegant, it's reasonable value…
Belize District
A mile south of the tip of Gales Point, this B&B is run by friendly Ionie Samuels (also a justice of the peace, if you've got matrimony in mind). This…
Southern Costa Rica & Península de Osa
This Zancudo cheapie proves that Costa Rica is still a friend to backpackers, while providing a fun gathering spot for travelers from the far reaches of…
Boquete
Overlooking the Río Caldera, Hostal Boquete provides a budget option for couples. Though clean and offering all the essentials, its 10 rooms with cable TV…
