Hidden Gems of Central America

Ask most travelers if they ’ve made it to Central America , and they ’ll shoot back , " Sure , I ’ve been to Costa Rica ! " Which is ok , Costa Rica is adorable , but there is so much more to the subcontinent than seduce like anEndless Summer IIextra in Playa Tamarindo .

And to assist you bypass the gringo clichés , we recommend these lesser - search , budget - friendly cities , villages , and island .

Granada, Nicaragua

Why you need to go : The 16th - C compound city , nestled on the bank of the vast Lake Nicaragua , feel like it ’s five years away from an American tourist infestation – so go now . The metropolis ’s architectural centrepiece is the butter - yellow duomo of Granada leave out the Central Plaza , but saunter the city ’s side street to get a feel for the pace of a local ’s twenty-four hour period . The primary tourer retarding force of Calle Calzada offers becoming dining and terrific happy hour batch , but staff appendage at your hotel – our vote go to the stunningTribal Hotel– can point you in the direction of insider spots off the beaten path and help arrange a boat tour of the lake’slas isletas . The one must - do thing : A hike of the nearby Mombacho volcano web you history , lifelike beauty , splendid views , and felicitous - time of day - justifying utilization in one daylight trip .

Flores, Guatemala

Why you need to go : The island village of Flores attracts impatient masses who bewilder their bag down before steer off to tour the Mayan ruins of Tikal . But the townspeople itself is all architectural appealingness , a mash - up of cobble streets , sixteenth - C cathedrals , and colorful , cherry-red - roofed homes that lend up to an almost Mediterranean feel . lease a kayak to get a water ’s eye persuasion of the settlement from Lake Petén Itzá ( which is also swimmable ) , then dine on impudent seafood in one of the hamlet ’s low comedors . The one must - do affair : The ARCAS Wildlife Rescue Center , accessible only by boat , works to rehabilitate and release captured creature into the wilderness .

Caye Caulker, Belize

Why you need to go : aliveness ’s a Beach ; No Shirt , No Shoes , No Problem ; On Island Time … the bumper sticker trope talk truth here . There are no cars , only wheel and golf cart ; no traffic signal save one ; and no flurry , only unhurried local and visitor deciding when next to hit the blanched - sand beaches . A longtime fave among the backpacking stage set , it ’s 80 percentage about the water supply sports here , from snorkel to fishing to windsurfing . When you ’re feeling sufficiently waterlogged , hit up one of the island ’s budget - well-disposed beach restaurants for a feast of lobster and conch . The one must - do thing : plunger should visit Blue Hole and Turneffe , while those who shun armored combat vehicle breathing can opt for a manatee enlistment .

Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Why you need to go : This is where you go to see the untouched Costa Rica . Nature versus man is n’t even a contest here ; the rainforest and its inhabitants win in a ( nonliteral ) landslide long ago . Stay at eco lodge Bosque del Cabo for its epic purview and hyper - close propinquity to howler monkey before booking your trip to Corcovado National Park , an old - increase rain forest that ’s home to scores of endangered wildlife and beach that redefine “ pristine . ”The one must - do affair : Pan for Au – badly . The arena was once awash in mineworker , and the gold - excavation settlement of Dos Brazos still exist on an ore - only economy .

La Ceiba, Honduras

Why you need to go : The city has two apparently dueling nickname : the “ Eco - Tourism Capital of Honduras " and the " Entertainment Capital of Honduras . " But that ’s its allurement : entree to nature stockpile by day , walkability to a vibrant company scene by dark . Book a day stumble to the Bay Islands for Witwatersrand that might even open you a whale shark sighting or two , then head back to town and the zona viva ( night life district ) for some beachside disco music military action . The one must - do thing : A Clarence Shepard Day Jr. trip to Cayos Cochinos , access by mechanise canoe , for snorkeling above the protected coral ( there is also a pocket-size - woodworking plane wreck and a whirlybird wreck ) .

Santa Catalina, Panama

Why you want to go : A remote sportfishing village on the Chiriquí Gulf glide , Santa Catalina is where you go for straight isolation ( the nearest ATM and grocery fund are about an hour away ) . But it also happens to be an elect surf paradise long known to insider ; surf camps now invite neophytes to divulge the village ’s on the Q.T. keep swells . The one must - do thing : Coiba National Park is a outback island marine reserve and former punishable settlement where sharks , alligators , and rarified hoot have thrived undisturbed for millennia .

Suchitoto, El Salvador

Why you require to go : Attention collectors : Known as the ethnic capital of El Salvador , “ Suchi ” host fine art festivals every weekend and devote the entire calendar month of February to the town ’s veranda scene . When you ’ve overeat your inner docent , placate your architectural leaning with a gape at the white - on - white Iglesia Santa Lucía church and a wander past the township ’s colonial home . Hiking is also on the agenda ; the tourist police force ( less forbidding than they sound ) can escort you to the nearby Los Tercios falls . The one must - do affair : A boat tour of Lake Suchitlan ( Lago Suchitlán ) , El Salvador ’s largest body of refreshing piddle , for some lofty birdie observance .

San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala

Why you need to go : Want to drop off the gridiron to learn Spanish or African drumming ? The lakeside townsfolk of San Pedro La Laguna host a on a regular basis rotate appeal of prospicient - terminus backpackers who see no reason to straggle their temperate , cost - effective digs . sit at the base of an eponymous vent , San Pedro abounds in unsubdivided joy , from thermic pools to Lake Atitlan kayaking to a ball-shaped dining scene . When you rouse yourself from your hummock , search the modest Mayan villages that hug the lake ’s seacoast . The one must - do affair : Basketball is staggeringly popular among both missy and male child here ; prove to catch a game at one of the many roadside courts .

León, Nicaragua

Why you take to go : The country ’s second - largest urban center , León , gives you the full urban Nicaraguan experience with a side of vent . Colonial construction both crumbling and repair speak to the city ’s rich architectural bequest ( climb the Cathedral of León , Central America ’s largest cathedral , for a panoramic prospect ) . The massive scholarly person universe means that small cafes and galleries abound , as well as museums that ostensibly cater more to locals than tourists ( refreshfully so ) . Eight craters skirt the part , several of them hikable , and the nearby beaches of Poneloya and Las Peñitas lease you cool off from León ’s blazing heat . The one must - do matter : vent surfing . This is a thing . Careening down the slope of Cerro Negro , an active volcano , at 30 miles per hour on small more than a wooden slab . Insane and necessary .

Uvita, Costa Rica

Why you involve to go : unspoiled beach , migrating humpbacks , waterfall hikes , wildlife refuges cliffside rappelling … the pleasure of this southern Pacific locale are deliciously analog . If you ’ve hear of Uvita , it ’s likely because of the four - day Envision Festival that takes over in belated February and toy out like a Rainforest Burning Man . We say , hop the forced enlightenment and rather direct down to where nature is the centrepiece . The one must - do affair : A boat slip to Cano Island for more phenomenal snorkeling .

View of the Lake from Suchitoto