Central America Branch FAQ

Here are some tips to help you find the information you want and need about Central America:

1. Have a good look around the Thorn Tree before asking your question - quite often your question (or one very similar to it) will have been asked and answered before. Some of the most frequently asked questions are included in this thread below.

2. Research before asking a question and make your question as specific to your situation as possible. It will help you get better, more detailed and useful answers from the community. Invest some preliminary time and our knowledgeable community will help you fill in the gaps.

3. Explore Lonely Planet's Destinations, an online resource which has a wealth of key info and tips.

4. When you're ready to ask a question, choose the relevant country from the drop down menu to ensure the most rel... more »

Going on a trip somewhere in Central America in mid-July, worried abt rain

My sister and I are going on a trip somewhere in Central America in the third week of July, but we trying to figure out where exactly to go. This of course is the rainy season in the region, but it's a convenient time and place for both of us to travel, because she'll be going from Nicaragua to Florida around this time, so it'd be an easy stopover.

Right now we're thinking of some combination of the Yucatan, Belize and Guatemala. It'd be a short trip - 9-12 days. I've read some about these places and they sound great - we'd want to snorkel or scuba the reefs, swim in the cenotes/underground rivers, and visit ruins.

Besides time, the biggest thing I'm worried about right now is the rain and mosquitoes. Does anyone have an idea of what we can expect in the region at that time of year? Are we talking about all day rain, or a short downpour in the afternoon, or is it really a crapsh... more »

3 weeks in Guatemala & Belize

Hi

We have just come back from a 3-week trip to Guatemala and Belize, and thought we would share our route and some of the main things we did as we found other people's posts really useful before we went:

Day 1: Arrive Guatemala City, headed straight to Antigua (shuttle buses to your right as you leave the airport)
Day 2: Volcano trek up Pacaya (booked through hostel - Hostel Antigua)
Day 3: Shuttle bus to Panajachel - recommend staying at Mario's Rooms, great location but quiet inside, you would never know you were by the main street
Day 4: Visit to nature reserve (a tuk-tuk will take you there for cheap)
Day 5: Day trip to Chichicastenango (booked through Adrenalina tours)
Travelled back to Pana, and then on to Xela (but think it's possible to arrange to go straight to Xela from Chichi, we didn't realise this though!)
Day 6: Day trip to visit indigenous villages and Fuen... more »

Car rental at the airport hours of operation question

Can anyone tell me if the car rental companies are open after midnight at the airport? My flight arrives at 1am (Spirit) from Orlando FL, and I would like to rent a car when I arrive to San Salvador on August 1.... Thanks. - Julio

Transit through Newark Airport

Has anyone had experience of flying from UK to Costa Rica and having to change planes at Newark? We are flying with Lufthansa to Newark and then onwards with American Airlines.

Have read that some people nearly missed, or nearly missed onward flights because of transit problems in JFK. We only have 1hr 30 mins for transit. This will be next February. Will we have a problem with transit through Newark and do we need any documents to transit through USA?

Have done transit through Bangkok, Asia with no problems but now becoming worried about transit through USA.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Costa Rica in september 2-3 weeks.

Hello my friend and I are planning a trip in september, possible to CR, we are both 25 years old, into nature, hiking, swimming, would love to learn to surf.. so my question is, is september a good time to travel costa rica?

I've been reading online that the weather is CR varies depending on the region and that the caribbean side is rather dry and a good area to check out? Although it would be rainy, I would still like to check out tamarindo and that region.

Flights that I have looked up indicate that it's more affordable to fly into san jose than liberia

Please let me know what you think?
Any seasoned costa rican travelers out there that could give me the 411 on CR in september would be extremely helpful!

Thank you!

Electricity in Nicaragua

I wonder can somebody let me know the situation with electrical stuff in Nicaragua? I've googled it and I see they use the same two pronged plugs as in the US. However, I've also seen some references to bringing a surge protector- is this necessary? I will only want to charge an iPhone and digital camera. I don't especially want to have to hunt down a surge protector (never used one before), but i would hate to damage my phone in particular. Any advice appreciated!

Many thanks in advance.

Choosing honeymoon destination

Hello fellow travellers,
I'm trying to figure out the best destination for our honeymoon next year in February. I get to choose where we go and prepare the whole shabang, but she imposed the conditions ( to which I agreed). The criteria are few but very precise.:

• see vulcanoes and heavy vulcanic activity (lots of fumaroles, mud pots, volcanoes etc);
• clear skies and good temperatures to have beach time;
• no need to take malaria pills;
• good diving spots
• if possible: see whales (but this is the least important one)

Windsurfing in Nicaragua

Just wondering if anyone has gone windsurfing in Nicaragua, and if so where and were they able to rent the equipment etc. I tried searching online but wasn't able to come up with anything useful.

Cheers