13 Travel Tips For Central America

1. Practice Your Spanish: Part of the fun of traveling is trying to communicate with the local people and learning their traditions. In Central America you will always find nice people willing to let you know something interesting about their culture. So whatever Spanish you know, use it! In these beautiful countries you will always find a smile and warm people willing to give you a hand.

2. How to Learn More About Local Culture: It would be better to get a local, private guide. I mean the best way to get to know the local culture from the country or town you’re visiting is not to go with a big tour group. That’s because they will know more about what goes on in the town.

3. Eat Safely When Traveling To Central America: So you are traveling to Central America and concerned about what foods are safe to eat?

a. I’ll start by saying that any foods that have been boiled are generally safe, as well as fruits and vegetables that have to be peeled before eating.

b. You should also stay away from foods that require a lot of handling before serving.

c. You’ve probably heard that you shouldn’t drink the water in some countries overseas. This is why: Water supplies in developing countries are not treated in the same way as water supplies in developed countries. I would suggest you drink only bottled water when traveling.

4. Airport taxis: Central America, along with every other country in the world, has its share of crime. The majority of them start at the airport with pirate cabs, that offer a much lower fare, await the newcomer. Airport cabs are registered, each trip is logged in and accounted for. They will never rob you because the whole company has to answer for the misdoing. So spend the extra few bucks.

5. Check out the Countryside: Central America is home to some of the world’s most fascinating ancient sites that include Mayan ruins, church ruins, old buildings form its colonial days, incredible forests and much more. So where’s the point in staying in the in the urban areas? So go out, explore, there are tons of new things to do waiting for you out there.

6. Enjoying Foreign Food: When we travel to a different country we tend to look for what is familiar like Mc Donald’s. In this case the advice would be to try the local dishes and not comparing them to the ones at home. Instead enjoy every new flavor. I know that some dishes might look a bit weird but you will be pleasantly surprised in most of the cases. So go for it!

7. How Not to Gain Weight on Your Vacation: Many people gain weight when they travel and I can’t blame them because who wants to cook when on vacation? Here are some ideas on what you can do to avoid it:

a. Don’t wait until you are starving to go to a restaurant.

b. Ask for healthier options in whatever restaurant you visit.

c. If you still want to have what’s in the menu you can always ask for a smaller portion.

d. Another good thing to do is to personalize your order, for example you can ask for a salad instead of smashed potatoes.

8. Useful Advice For Gifts When Traveling: Some of us like to take presents when traveling specially if we are traveling for a special occasion. If that is the case I would recommend putting it with the rest of your luggage. But there will eventually be some delicate things that you might want to take with you as a gift. So a good thing to do before you even buy the present is to check hand luggage restrictions of the country you are leaving and the one you will be entering because those must definitely go in your hand luggage.

9. Overcoming Jet Lag: During the first day the most important thing to do is to STAY AWAKE. The secret is, once you arrive to your hotel, don’t stay there. Central America has tons of fun activities so Go out! Go for a walk. Go to eat out. Whatever you decide to do that isn’t in your hotel room or television induced, will help you make it through the day and you can hit the sack at a decent hour. This way, when you wake up the next day you’ll be more or less on local time!

10. Get a Guide: I highly recommend at least one day with a guided tour driver of your own. I did it and found the guide’s knowledge and love of his country to be excellent. He also translated for me everywhere we went. It was 5-star treatment. Do it! I recommend this to most of my clients too. Even though you’re going to get a driver, they are not just a driver, but a loving citizen of the Central American country you are visiting.

11. Long Road Trip Boredom Solved: Let’s face it, long road trips or long airplane flights can drive a kid and everyone around them crazy! There is only so much coloring, destroying, play doo-ing one can do. My solution: Portable DVD player. Yeap, that’s right! I know that traveling is about the bonding, plus they get enough TV at home. But after you’ve bonded for an hour or so on a five hour trip, you’ll be bonded out and ready for a bit of calmness.

12. Obvious Stuff We Sometimes Overlook: The first one is to wear comfortable shoes but sometimes shoes that may have been comfortable at home are not comfortable for traveling so wear them for long walks before you travel. Another good idea is to do some research but skimming through a travel book doesn’t count! The trip will be a lot more smooth of you can map out a specific itinerary in advance. Plus you don’t want to spend your vacations being bored.

13. A Couple of Things to Consider When Flying While Pregnant: I know that sometimes women who are pregnant for the first time want to go on a final adventure before they have to go crazy with diapers and feeding. That’s why I came up with a list of tips that will help pregnant travelers have a better trip.

a. A seat near the bathroom will facilitate more frequent bladder emptying.

b. An aisle seat will make it easier to get up for those trips to the bathroom.

c. Bulkhead seats have the most legroom.

d. Get up and take a short walk down the aisle once every half hour.

e. Don’t travel alone. You never know when you are going to need some help.

f. Don’t forget to get a medical certificate from your doctor.

g. It is also a good idea to carry your emergency contact number and your doctor’s contact number.

h. Do some research about clinics of the country you are traveling to in case of an emergency.

Marina K. Villatoro, has lived in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. With her first hand experience, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

Travel Tips For Traveling In Guatemala

a. How Much Is It? Even though prices aren’t always the same in each region of Guatemala you might want to have some reference:

A short taxi ride inside Guatemala City can cost you between 25 and 50 Quetzals that is between $3 and $7.

A soda can be between $2 or $3. A Beer is between $1 and $5.

A traditional breakfast that includes: Coffee, beans eggs and juice can cost anywhere from 20 to 50 Quetzals ($2 and $7).

A lunch special can be $4 to $8.

A lunch or dinner in a more exclusive place (recommended) can be between $7 and $38.

The internet hour costs an average of 8 Quetzals (U$1).

The hotel accommodations may cost:

5 Stars: U$100 to U$200

4 Stars: U$80 to U$100

3 Stars U$50 to $80

2 Or fewer: U$10 to u$50

b. Chicken Buses – Go At Your Own Risk! Buses are by far the cheapest and most efficient way to get around the Central American Region but let me tell you not all of them.

There are some great bus companies where you can buy your ticket in advance; they are very comfortable really cheap. So there is no real reason to take a chicken bus, and here I have some more reasons to avoid them:

You are pushed and pulled the whole way

They tend to stop very frequently

Because of all the stops it takes forever to get anywhere

The door is always opened so thieves take them very often

They are usually so crowded that they don’t smell very good

c. Ask Before Taking Pictures: When I first came to Guatemala all I did was take pictures of everything and everyone. One day I was at the local market and I overheard a couple of local ladies talking about them not wanting people from other countries to take pictures of their kids.

So if you want to stay out of trouble avoid contact with local’s kids as much as you can or if you speak Spanish ask for their parent’s permission first.

d. Best Season To Visit Guatemala: April to October is Guatemala’s Green season, this is when you can get the best prices. But there’s a catch, it’s also the time of the year when you can do almost nothing because it rains almost every afternoon and sometimes all day long. That’s why the months between November and May (the dry season) are highly recommended. There are many things to do in the country during this time, but the highlights are:

That’s why the months between November and May (the dry season) are highly recommended. There are many things to do in the country during this time, but the highlights are: In November you will be witness of the celebrations of the day of the death, in December you are welcome to join the Christmas festivities and April will let you see Semana Santa, the Holy Week before Easter where the country opens up with parades and celebrations all over the country, most notably, in Antigua.

e. Parking in Antigua Guatemala: Driving in Antigua Guatemala is not a wise thing to do. It is a small place with lots of great hotels, restaurants and way too many cars, so take my advice and don’t.

But if you are driving in Antigua anyway, do not park on the red or white line of the street. The red line is on the edge of the sidewalk 10 feet away from each corner and in some streets, mainly the ones closer to the park, you will see white lines, they are for motorcycles ONLY! The reason? There are transit policemen on almost every corner and will give you a $25 fine if you do. Also be aware because sometimes you will find little ads on the light poles announcing that you cannot park there. Usually it’s because a procession is going to pass through that street at any moment. If you do your car will be towed and the fine for that is $60 if you want your car back.

f. Safety Tips When Traveling In Guatemala: Guatemala as the rest of Central American countries has a bad reputation, and you do need to be on your guard but it’s really no more dangerous than any other large city in a developing country, so don’t get paranoid.

Any way you might want to avoid being preyed upon by pickpockets and other unsavory characters, so here are a couple things you can do:

Leave expensive jewelry and watches at home,

Don’t carry purses, camera bags and phones or carry them close to your body,

Take along only as much cash as you need,

Carry a photocopy of your passport, leaving the original in your hotel safe,

At night stick to well-lighted and transited areas.

g. Register Your Trip in Guatemala – And Feel Safe! The US Gov’t recommends you secure your trip to Guatemala City by hiring, for a super super low price, the Tourist Police. You can arrange all of this before heading to Guatemala.

Security escorts for tourist groups and security information are available from the Tourist Assistance Office (ASISTUR) of INGUAT (the Guatemalan Tourism Institute) at 7a Avenida 1-17, Zona 4, Centro Cvico, Guatemala City. INGUAT’s ASISTUR division has 24-hour/seven days per week direct telephone numbers for tourist assistance and emergencies. These are (502) 2421-2810 and (502) 5578-9836. The fax is (502) 2421-2891. ASISTUR also maintains regional offices in all major tourist destinations in Guatemala, and the regional delegates provide rapid and appropriate assistance to crime and accident victims. You can also contact them by mail asistur@inguat.gob.gt. The request should be submitted by mail, fax or e-mail and should arrive at INGUAT at least three business days in advance of the proposed travel. Requests should provide the itinerary, names of travelers, and model and color of the vehicle in which they will be traveling.

Requests should provide the itinerary, names of travelers, and model and color of the vehicle in which they will be traveling. Travelers should also be aware that INGUAT might not be able to accommodate all requests. The normal fee is 50 quetzales ($6) for a few hours, 200 quetzales ($26) if you have them for longer and they need to be fed. 400 quetzales ($50) if you have to keep them overnight. Plus you have to pay their gas.

Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, lives in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. Having first hand experience of all the places with her family, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

5 Tips You Can’t Travel Without In Central America

Is a purse necessary? I’ve noticed most of you women travelers have a hard time parting with your purses. So why not take a good hard look through your purse, I’m sure you will discover it is not necessary. I understand that when you go out at night to a restaurant or a bar, you will need a few vanity objects, and that’s perfectly fine. But when it comes to sightseeing or going on tours while on a trip you have to ask yourself:

What do you really need?

Money

Credit Cards

Camera

Sunglasses

All of these can easily fit in comfortable clothes with pockets, which I guess you will be wearing. So why not use them? So leave your purse at home you’ll find it to be such a stress reliever!

Wear comfortable shoes: Perhaps this seems obvious and it should, but sometimes shoes that may have been comfortable at home are not comfortable for traveling. A good idea is to use the shoes you plan on taking on vacation for a long walk before you leave in order to see if they can handle the wear they will get, if you like to get as much sight-seeing as possible in one day.

Research: This is another tip that may seem like an obvious one, but this way you will avoid being stressed on vacation, it can also happen if you plan too many things. But at the same time it sucks being bored on a vacation with nothing to do so believe me: Putting in a bit of extra work before leaving to figure out what it is you want will make your trip a lot more enjoyable. I suggest mapping out a specific itinerary in advance.

Blend with the Crowd: In other words, leave the Hawaiian shirt, crop top and fanny pack at home. If not just to avoid becoming a target for scams and theft, but to show respect in certain places where exposing too much skin can be offensive. I understand that not everyone is a fan of modesty, but if you don’t want to be robbed, you will have to.

Always Have a Copy: This may be paranoia speaking, but I feel safer knowing I have copies of my passport, identification, and contacts in different bags and back at the hotel. If you think about it what would you do to go back home if you lose your passport. I have heard some horror stories, so this extra step gives me peace.

Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, has been living in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. Traveling with her family to all parts of Costa Rica and Guatemala, she now loves organizing vacations for people and offers first hand experience. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!