First time Central America traveller, need advice w/time frame!

Hola, im from Honduras (Guatemala's neighbor country) and i would highly recommend you to come here, we have the world's second largest coral reef barrier, we have amazing rainyforests and beaches, mayan ruins etc (no, security its not a big deal, Guatemala is actually "more "dangerous than my country, so if you go there, you will have no problem here.) A great place for you to visit would be our Bay Islands (Útila island is really cheap for backpackers), if you want to visit the mayan ruins in Copán city as well, cities with beaches like La Ceiba, Tela, etc are highly recommended, i'm from the capital, Tegucigalpa. Among my favorite places so far in Honduras are.. "Gracias" in Lempira and Cayos cochinos... you can contact me if any questions (=

You should base your plan on your interest, not ours, or a some people on internet with a bias.

1 Month, depends whether you doing a loop, or flying into one country and out another..

But when you say places to relax, do you mean for a 4-5 days?

Unless you plan on scuba diving or getting PADSI Certified, no need to go to Bay Islands, not easy to reach and not easy to get anywhere from there, all via San Pedro Sula.

You can skip Honduras then and head from Guatemala to El Salvador via Antigua shuttle to El Tunco areas surf beaches, then head from there to La Union and a boat to Potosi Nicaragua, then Leon, Granada and Ometepe.

Then head to CR for the best beaches, most National Parks and a ton of fun surf towns, two coast, and a lot of fun in between....fly out of SJO...

you are rude, and by the wayCosta rica doesnt have the best beaches, get a grip. you can go to bay islands in direct flights or ferry from different cities, get your facts well. for instance, Cayos cochinos are rated among the top 10 beaches of the world. Honduras has so much more to offer than Salvador,otherwise salvadorians wouldn't come here for their annual vacations. Nicaragua's and costa rica's beaches are only good to surf. note: we have over 95 national parks. saluditos.

So you have the month of June to explore after your tour group in Guatemala. Probably the most important question is, are you already committed to fly back home from Guatemala City? Or can you fly back home from some other place? If you haven't booked your air travel, you have a lot more options.

One month could get you all the way north to Mexico City, seeing a lot of great places along the way. Or one month could get you all the way north in Mexico to Cancun, using a different route seeing different places.

Or if you want to go south, a month could take you to places in Honduras and Nicaragua, where you fly out of Managua at the end. Or you could go south via El Salvador to Nicaragua. In one month, you shouldn't plan to add more than 2 countries to your trip, and if you go south, Nicaragua is the place you should try to get to.

If you must fly out of Guatemala City, describe your tour group itinerary in Guatemala. Then people here can tell you what other extra places you could visit in Guatemala, and maybe in adjacent countries.

mstep has it: We need more information from you in order to be of much help. Please tell us about your Guatemala tour itinerary (including how many nights at each stop), what your budget per night is for the following month, and the dates and times of your flights if you've already booked them.

If you haven't, my advice would be to hit a few off the beaten track spots in Guatemala, maybe Copán Ruinas in Honduras, hit Rio Dulce/Livingston en route to Tikal (and maybe Yaxhá), then head east into Belize for some caving and blue water time before heading north to the gorgeous beaches of Yucatán before flying out of Cancún.

I'd try to average at least 3 nights per stop, otherwise you'll be spending so much time sitting on buses and shuttles you'll actually be diluting your time instead of cramming more in. Also, travel as light as you can. I recommend starting with a loosely-filled carryon-sized travel pack, typically <45 liters. My packing list is #14 in the FAQ thread of this forum and here's a great resource: www.onebag.com. All my recommendations are embedded in the link below in case you're interested.
Happy trails!

Yes,where you are going in Guate and where you can fly home from would be useful information.

Plus more on your interests of course!

Your basic options with that timeframe might be....more time in Guate (depends what you see on your tour,and what kind of stuff you are interested in)...heading over to Belize and then up into the Yucatan.....Straight up to Mexico (eg Chiapas area)....down to Honduras and maybe as far as Nica.

All good trips for me,all different....

Yep, just a few questions......
Where do you fly out of? Very Important.

What are your interests, what do YOU want to see and do? Would you like to get certified in diving, learn to surf?

Might help if you give a link to your "tour" trip or a basic outline, would help as we don't want to recommend what you've already done or seen. Also where does the trip end?
Yes, Central America travel is very slow, nothing like Europe.

You can find plenty of places in Guatemala to get pampered.

Thank you all for the replies they're all really helpful!

I have yet to book my tickets so it's very open! Although, I just caught wind that my plans may need to change - I'll have to be home a lot earlier than anticipated. I have to be home 2 weeks after my program therefore do not have enough time to do 2 more countries so one other country is my only option.

I'd like to go to a place that has a lively and fun night life, beautiful scenery and most importantly, real relaxation time. I will be doing strenuous activities in Guatemala (of which I'm not really used to in the first place) so I just want to have chill fun for my other country. Walking around markets, laying by the beach, could learn to surf, getting pampered, that kind of thing.

I'd like to avoid Mexico - I'd like to reserve that trip for when I can go with my whole family.

You still haven't told us where you'll be touring in the 1st 2 weeks. Staying in Guatemala and getting a bit off the beaten track would be my 1st suggestion but it's hard to suggest great places to do that since we lack that info.

If you're wanting to surf you'll probably want to head south - El Salvador, maybe? If superb snorkeling would fit the bill, seems as though Belize would be a good choice and is easily accessed; you could fly into Guatemala and out of whichever country you choose to save time on the road.