Nearly half a year of beaches, wildlife, waterfalls, scuba diving, Mayan ruins, and large, explosive murder mountains in varying degrees of “this might actually kill you”. We sweated our way up from Panama to Guatemala, probably gushing more fluid from our faces than we actually drank. I don’t know how we’re not withered husks. It’s been an experience, probably one of the best we’ve had, and I think our only regret is not being able to stay longer.

PAGE CONTENTS

🌎 Generic useful shit to know.
🇵🇦 Panama stories.
🇵🇦 Panama useful shit to know.
🇨🇷 Costa Rica stories.
🇨🇷 Costa Rica useful shit to know.
🇳🇮 Nicaragua stories.
🇳🇮 Nicaragua useful shit to know.
🇸🇻 El Salvador stories.
🇸🇻 El Salvador useful shit to know.
🇭🇳 Honduras stories.
🇭🇳 Honduras useful shit to know.
🇧🇿 Belize stories.
🇧🇿 Belize useful shit to know.
🇬🇹 Guatemala stories (Rio Dulce & Livingston).
🇬🇹 Guatemala stories.
🇬🇹 Guatemala useful shit to know.

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The Stories

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Useful shit to know…

🌎 GENERIC USEFUL SHIT

Santa Semana

• If you’re planning to travel during Santa Semana then plan ahead.
• It’s the whole week leading up to Easter but the Easter weekend is carnage for travel.
• We were advised to avoid the beaches as they can get packed out.
• We just booked a hostel for the week in Boquete, Panama.
• Several people who showed up unprepared had to move from hostel to hostel to wherever had a free bed that night.
• One woman we spoke to waited along with locals for a bus on the Panamerican Highway for two hours on the Saturday which is unheard of as buses are very regular up and down that road, they were just full. She ended up getting a lift with a woman who gave up waiting and called her husband to fetch her.
• Plan ahead, book in advance, and try to base yourself somewhere for at least Thursday to Monday if you can.
• Easter Monday is a public holiday in the UK but here, at least in Panama, it’s a normal day.

Language

• You certainly don’t need to be fluent in Spanish to get by but having some survival Spanish will mean you’ll have a much better time.
• I can get food, transport and accommodation. For everything else I have Google Translate with Spanish downloaded so I can use it offline.
• Many businesses such as hotels and tour companies use WhatsApp so you can easily communicate that way, copying and pasting paragraphs to and from Google Translate.
• A notable exception is Belize which officially uses English and you might only need a bit of Spanish in places like San Ignacio close to the border.
• The Corn Islands in Nicaragua mainly use English too but again, some shop keepers might prefer Spanish.
• English is very widely spoken on Roatan in Honduras and, to a lesser extent, Utila.
• Don’t assume any guides outside of these places will be able to speak English. If you need an English speaking guide, assuming one is available, you might need to pay extra.

Miscellaneous

• Unless it specifically states that you can, don’t flush your bog roll down the toilet. Put it in the bin provided. Yes, even the ones you wipe your arse with. Or you risk blocking the system and everyone will drown in poo water.

• All seven countries use Type A and Type B plug sockets. Both use the parallel, horizontal flat pins. The latter has a third hole. You can put a Type A plug in a Type B socket but not vice versa.

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🇵🇦 PANAMA

BUDGET for one person (based on two sharing) for 35 days.
Accommodation: £462.43
Buses, boats: £85.81
Taxis, Uber: £12.58
Groceries: £111.34
Eating out: £188.46
Tea, coffee, drinks: £33.99
Booze: £109.85
Tours: £162.52
Entrance fees: £62.05
SIM card, phone credit: £26.61
Souvenirs: £6.09
Doctors & medical treatment (ear infection): £110.67
Everything else: £276.39

GRAND TOTAL: £1460.33
Average per person per day: £41.72
Add in my diving at £153.85 and that takes it to £46.12 per person per day.

Entering Panama

• Officially you need proof of an onward flight. We didn’t have one, we used the service provided by Onward Ticket where you rent a genuine reservation for 48 hours for US$14.
• We were never asked for flight details but at check-in we were asked how long we were staying in Panama and where were we going to next.
• At passport control (Tocumen Airport) we were asked how long we were staying but no proof was asked for.
• As we were queuing for immigration, TV screens kept telling us to have our QR code handy. We hastily checked the website given on the airport WiFi but you no longer need to do this.
• There are currently no Covid requirements for entering Panama.
• Once you have your bags you’ll see customs declaration forms around the place. Fill one out because you’ll be asked for it on your way out.

Currency

• Panama uses the balboa (B/.) and the US dollar (US$).
• They’re 1:1 and are interchangeable.
• Prices are listed in balboa but you can pay in dollars. Sometimes you’ll pay in both depending on what you have in your pocket.
• The ATM will give you dollars.
• The only balboas we saw were B/.1 coins or denominations thereof. Notes were always US dollars.
• Cards were quite widely accepted in Panama, including at accommodation, tourist attractions and minimarkets.
• This was handy as the ATMs have hideous charges.
• It costs US$6.50 to withdraw money at an ATM, this is on top of whatever your bank charges you.
• We could only ever withdraw a maximum of US$250.

Public Transport In Panama City

• You need a prepaid card to catch buses and the Metro in Panama City.
• I think there are three different cards; one just does buses, one does buses and the Metro, the third is a RapidPass and will also permit you to pay your terminal fee at Albrook, the main terminal in the city.
• We didn’t have to pay the terminal fee when we were catching local buses.
• We were sold the second kind at Tocumen airport which does buses and the Metro.
• It cost $5 and came loaded with $2.
• We bought it from the person selling SIM cards.
• One card is fine for two people. I’ve read it’s fine for up to six but obviously I’ve not tried this.
• You can load them up at self service kiosks at Albrook and at Metro stations. I’ve read that some supermarkets do it too but I’m not sure which ones.
• Most journeys are 25c. I’d read everywhere that buses using the Corredor Sur (this will be written on the front) would charge $1.25 but we were charged 75c for these buses, including from the airport.
• You get on at the front of the bus, tap your card and go through the turnstile.
• I passed the card back to Tarrant then and she tapped herself through.
• You don’t need to tap off if you’re not going further but if you’re changing buses DO tap off at the back door and you’ll then have 40 minutes to catch another bus for free.
• If two or more people are using one card only ONE person will get a free transfer. You can’t tap twice when you get off.
• Bear this in mind when you buy your card. If you’re spending a while in Panama City and will be getting a lot of  buses it might be worth getting your own card.
• Google has loads of bus routes listed, it was very helpful for getting around the city.
• If you need to check your balance you just need to go HERE and enter the card number.

Getting Around Panama

• Buses were so easy to use, at least for the places we went.
• Even if we had to take three or four buses in a day it was still stress-free. The transport system in Panama just works well.
• We often had to return to the Panamerican Highway or a transport hub from whatever town we were in, pick up one of the many buses travelling between Panama and David, get off at a turn off then catch another bus to our destination.
• You pay the assistant when you get off the bus.
• We usually didn’t have to worry about schedules as there were always buses running between two points.
• A notable exception was Soná to Santa Catalina and back as these buses are infrequent and scheduled.
• When you get to a terminal there will be guys asking you where you’re going. They’ll bring to to the correct bus.

Communication

• We went with Mas Movil (written as +Movil) for our SIM card.
• It cost US$1.35 for the SIM then we bought a US$5 top up card.
• We inserted the SIM and activated everything ourselves, it was very easy. The instructions are printed on the card.
• Once we topped up we could use that US$5 to activate a 7 day unlimited data plan.
• The instructions to do this are printed on the top up card.
• We could also text and call each other.
• We just repeated this every week, buying the top up cards from mini markets and the plan would automatically activate.
• In Panama City the five dollar cards cost $5. In Santa Fe and Boquete they stuck an extra 35c on there. In Santa Catalina the cheeky sods added 50c.
• The quality of WiFi varied quite greatly from hostel to hostel so the unlimited plan came in quite handy.

Miscellaneous

• With the exception of Bocas Del Toro you can drink the tap water in Panama.
• In Bocas you have to buy it or filter it if your accommodation doesn’t provide it.

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🇨🇷 COSTA RICA

BUDGET for one person (based on two sharing) for 11 days.
Accommodation: £112.92
Buses: £57.49
Uber: £2.39
Groceries: £45.53
Eating out: £38.73
Tea, coffee, drinks: £13.67
Booze: £56.04
Tours: £51.63
Entrance fees: £14.66
SIM card, phone credit: £16.50
Souvenirs: £4.02
Everything else: £56.80

GRAND TOTAL: £470.38
Average per person per day: £42.76

Entering Costa Rica

• We had literally the easiest border crossing at Guabito – Sixaola.
• We arrived at Guabito at 9am on a Saturday, Panama Time.
• You have to go to the immigration building, you’ll see signs for it nearby the tourist shuttles to Bocas Del Toro.
• Aim for coordinates 9.498216, -82.61271.
• There was no queue when we arrived. We handed our passports over, had our photos taken and our fingerprints scanned, then were stamped out of Panama.
• You have to walk up the zig-zig to the bridge. Stay to the right of the bridge as you face Costa Rica.
• Your exit stamp will be checked by the officials on the bridge.
• Turn your clocks back an hour!
• As you follow the sign for Sixaola to the right you’ll see the Policía de Frontera building.
• Again, there was no queue on the Saturday morning.
• The woman spoke English. All she asked us was where we were heading that day and our occupations.
• We’d used Onward Ticket where you rent a genuine flight reservation for 48 hours for US$14 as we’d read you absolutely weren’t getting into Costa Rica without proof you intended to leave.
• She didn’t even ask us how long we were staying, let alone ask us for onward travel but let’s assume that’s the exception, not the rule.
• There are no Covid requirements for entering Costa Rica (April 2023).
• She stamped us in and that was it. We were in Costa Rica. It took half an hour including a quick detour for a wee.

Currency

• Costa Rica uses the colón (₡), plural colones.
• Banco Costa Rica will let you withdraw money with no charge on top of whatever your bank charges.
• Card is widely accepted.
• In tourist areas where tours are quoted in US$ it’s actually a better deal to pay in US$ because they make their own fucking exchange rates up and you end up paying more if you want to pay in colones. I’m looking at you, La Fortuna.

Getting Around Costa Rica

• Unlike Panama, buses are scheduled and you pay the driver when you get on.
• You often have to go hunting for bus information at the terminals rather than having about five blokes asking you where you’re going.
• Taxi drivers can be a menace and I’ve read that they’re fond of ripping off tourists.
• In San Jose we saw a sign which said they’re only meant to charge ₡910 per kilometre but we were quoted way over that.
• Uber is technically illegal but everyone uses it where it’s available, just walk a couple of blocks away from the terminal so you don’t incur the wrath of the taxi drivers.
• The driver might ask one of you to sit up front to make them look less like an Uber.

Communication

• We bought our SIM card from a shop in Puerto Viejo. We went with Liberty.
• There’s a Liberty shop but we went to a small shop across the road as we wanted to compare other SIMs.
• They offered Claro or Liberty. Kölbi wasn’t recommended as it’s expensive.
• After the unlimited data of Panama it was a shock to have to go back to four or five GB of data.
• We paid the money and the lady in the shop set it all up for us. No passport needed.
• WiFi is everywhere in cafés, restaurants and hostels and it’s generally been pretty good.

Miscellaneous

• You can drink the tap water in Costa Rica though I believe there may be exceptions to this in some parts of the Caribbean coast.
• Costa Rica imposes an US$8 exit tax which you can pay online. If you pay on the border at Peñas Blancas it will cost US$10.

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🇳🇮 NICARAGUA

BUDGET for one person (based on two sharing) for 39 days.
Accommodation: £347.82
Ferries: £30
Buses, trains: £33.73
Taxis, private vehicles: £12.31
Vehicle rental: £15.08
Petrol: £2.62
Groceries: £63.92
Eating out: £162.43
Tea, coffee, drinks: £39.25
Snacks: £11.55
Booze: £140.28
Tours: £215.48
Entrance fees: £38.68
Activities: £19.77
SIM card, phone credit: £13.54
Souvenirs: £10
Everything else: £127.80

GRAND TOTAL: £1220.34
Average per person per day: £31.29

This doesn’t include my diving as it’s expensive and skews the stats. I spent £147.41 on diving at Little Corn Island, plus another £48.03 on a Try Freediving thing at Laguna Apoyo. This pushes it up to £1415.71 and £36.30 each per day.

Entering Nicaragua

• We entered overland from Costa Rica via the Peñas Blancas border so this section will reflect our experience there.
• Costa Rica has an exit tax of US$8. You can pay online or you pay on the border but I believe it costs US$10 if you do it this way.
• We paid online and printed out our receipts. If you don’t do this you’ll have to find the place to pay or they’ll send you back.
• Head for coordinates 11.210861, -85.610749, you should be able to pay there.
• Once your tax is paid you queue for your exit stamp. They’ll want your exit tax receipt.
• That’s it, you’re out of Costa Rica. It took about 20 minutes.
• Walk over the border. It should only take about five hot, sweaty minutes. You’ll likely be weaving through queuing trucks in search of the building. Officials may check your exit stamp.
• Officially you’re meant to fill out THIS FORM seven days before you enter Nicaragua. We did but, like most other people, the status remained at “no decision”. I’d read that this wouldn’t be a problem and it wasn’t. The form wasn’t even mentioned.
• We did meet a Frenchman who didn’t know he had to fill out a form and had problems entering Nicaragua overland from Honduras. All was fine in the end but they kept him hanging around for two hours.
• The first building you go to is the OSI building where you show your Covid vaccination (or negative test if you’re not vaccinated) through a hatch. They’ll give you a slip of paper.
• We weren’t asked for our yellow fever vaccination but it’s officially required.
• Go into the immigration building. There’ll be a woman asking you to pay US$1 each just inside the door which she gives you a receipt for.
• Join a queue. You’ll need to pay US$13 each in cash to enter Nicaragua. We’d read they can play silly buggers with change so we had the correct amount.
• We were asked for our occupations and where we were staying in Nicaragua, including the hotel.
• I had to write my phone number on a piece of paper.
• It took a while for him to tap a load of info into his computer but then he stamped us in.
• You’ll see bag scanners behind the immigration booths. Put your bags through.
• You’re in Nicaragua, it took about 40 minutes.
• Check the number of days you’ve been given, it should be 90 but this applies to the entire CA4 area which includes Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. You have 90 days to explore all of these countries then you’ll need to extend your visa or do a border bounce.
• As an aside, you’re going to have problems if you’re a journalist or have studied journalism and the scary thing is there’s no point in lying to them because they fucking know! We met a British woman who studied the subject but put her occupation as a barista which was genuinely her last job. They detained her for five hours. As soon as they had her passport details they knew everything about her including her social media and articles she had written. I met an Argentinian who was outright denied entry as he’d studied communication and again, they just knew as soon as they had his passport.
• Nicaragua imposes a US$3 exit tax when crossing land borders.

Currency

• Nicaragua uses the córdoba (C$).
• ATMs let you withdraw córdobas or US dollars.
• Tours, accommodation and expensive restaurants quote prices in US dollars but you can always pay in córdobas.
• When prices were quoted in dollars and we paid in córdobas the exchange rate was always spot or slightly better.
• Dollars seem to be widely accepted. I noticed Nicaraguan people paying in dollars in supermarkets. They were carrying both currencies in their wallets.
• Card was accepted in places like the big hostels or the tourist restaurants that quote in dollars, also in supermarkets. Cash is king though and sometimes they won’t charge you the tax at restaurants if you pay in cash. There’s also often an extra charge to pay by card, sometimes up to 10%.
• BAC charged us C$147.12 to withdraw money regardless of how much we took out.
• We’d read that banks under the BancaRed umbrella (Ficohsa, BDF and Avanz) don’t charge for withdrawals but they only take Visa which we don’t have.

Getting Around Nicaragua

• Chicken buses are old US school buses, either repainted or left yellow.
• They’re cheap but they’re not by any means comfortable.
• There are usually one or two ayudantes, driver’s assistants, who load luggage and take payment. They’ll also make sure you get off at the right stop if you tell them where you’re going.
• Your bags will either go in the back or on the roof. Sometimes there are racks inside which will fit a backpack but this is rarer.
• They will cram humans on to the point of discomfort.
• Don’t pay touts at terminals, only pay the ayudante once the bus is moving. They’ll come around to get the money and they often have change.
• We try to avoid taxis where possible but if you do want to take one be aware that they quote prices per person. Always agree the price before you get in. It’s common to share taxis with strangers.
• Microbúses (minibuses) also ply some routes, they’re a bit more expensive but they’re a lot faster and more comfortable. You pay the driver whenever he asks for payment, usually before you leave.
• Managua has a lot of bus terminals. Microbúses go from UCA (pronounced ooka), chicken buses to/from southern regions such as Granada or Masaya go from Huembes, for Bluefields you’ll need Terminal Costa Caribe which is inside Terminal Costa Atlantica.

For Your Facehole

• Local comedores, literally translated as “dining rooms”, serve filling meals of rice, beans, salad, and chicken or meat for around C$100 to C$200 depending on how touristy an area is.
• Markets are good places to find cheap eats.
• Comedores generally only open for breakfast and lunch. Dinner is catered for by fritangas which are grills. Sometimes it’s just someone outside their house with a barbecue.
• If you find yourself in Balgüe on Ometepe absolutely treat yourself to a meal at Cafe Campestre. Pricey by Nica standards but oh my gosh. Divine.

Communication

• We opted for Claro as we’d read it was the best option. Plus there’s a Claro shop in San Juan Del Sur so it was easy to just go there.
• After reading through the options we went for 7GB of data for 15 days with free use of several apps including WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. It cost C$200 (US$5.47).
• WiFi is pretty good in Nicaragua so we found we didn’t even use a GB given that most the apps we like to use were free.
• When that package ran out we just went to a shop that offers Claro recarga and bought the package we wanted. You just need to know your phone number.
• When it came to remote areas we got H+ on Little Corn Island but we had little to no signal in Miraflor and Somoto Canyon. Apparently Tigo wins out there.

Miscellaneous

• After such hassle free travel through Panama and Costa Rica it was frustrating to suddenly start getting ripped off again but the poorer the country the bigger the scams.
• Try and check with locals how much things like buses should be before you travel.
• I don’t mind paying a little bit more as I do, afterall, have enough money to travel overseas. I do dislike being overcharged whopping amounts, or being outright scammed or lied to.
• The luggage charge on buses isn’t a thing that exists from what I’ve read but they’ll charge you for it anyway and there’s not much you can do about it.
• The Internet can’t seem to agree whether the tap water is safe to drink in Nicaragua or not. I met a guy who was told he could drink the tap water in León and did so with no issues. A couple of places we stayed provided filtered water. We erred on the side of caution and boiled water thoroughly for coffee and cooking, and filtered our drinking water.

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🇸🇻 EL SALVADOR

BUDGET for one person (based on two sharing) for 15 days.
Accommodation: £125.13
Buses: £23.80
Taxis, private vehicles: £9.30
Groceries: £18.17
Eating out: £65.44
Tea, coffee, drinks: £11.45
Booze: £60.91
Tours: £18.36
Entrance fees: £24.38
Activities: £34.54
SIM card, phone credit: £0.80
Souvenirs: £11.80
Banking fees: £9.00
Everything else: £23.90

GRAND TOTAL: £436.98
Average per person per day: £29.13

Entering El Salvador

• We entered overland from Honduras through the El Amatillo border. Piece of piss.
• We had filled out the Honduras prechequeo exit form but no one asked about it.
• Fingerprints were scanned, passport was stamped, there was no exit tax.
• We walked over the border to El Salvador.
• There were no queues, we just went to a window and handed our passports over.
• He asked in English where we were going and which hotel.
• No stamp, but he told us we had 180 days in El Salvador.
• There is no entry tax when travelling over land. Incidentally, there’s no exit tax either.
• If you want to know how to get from Somoto in Nicaragua to San Salvador or San Miguel in El Salvador I wrote the whole journey up HERE.

Currency

• El Salvador uses the US dollar (US$) and, officially, Bitcoin (₿).
• Bitcoin is officially supposed to be accepted everywhere but in reality you rarely see businesses advertising that they accept it and cash is still king.

• Cards are accepted in places like supermarkets and some accommodation. You’ll need cash for pupusarias and comedores etc.
• We were charged a devastating US$5.65 to withdraw money at Banco Panmerica but we could withdraw the daily minimum imposed by our own banks.
• We read that some ATMs are free but they only accept Visa.
• We couldn’t even get any other ATMs to accept our card, only Banco Panmerica.
• If you see a Chivo ATM (and you will, they’re everywhere) that’s a Bitcoin ATM. You can use it to buy or sell Bitcoin.

Communication

• We were going to get a Digicel SIM card but we were told we’d need a DUI which I guess is like a tax or national identity number.
• She recommended Tigo instead because we didn’t need a DUI, it was already activated and we could get 10GB of Internet for 14 days for the princely sum of US$1 each. No brainer really.
• We bought ours from the bus station in San Miguel.
• If you want to check how much data you’re smashing through you can register HERE.
• WiFi was good in most places we stayed with the notable exception of Castello Hostal in Santa Ana.
• Our Nicaraguan Claro SIM cards worked just fine in El Salvador, we could use our data packages as normal.
• Our Salvadorean Tigo SIM cards stopped working as soon as we left the country.

Getting Around

San Salvador Buses We Found Useful (Based On Staying Near The Metrocentro)

• 29 – To Nueva Terminal.
• Jump on at the Metrocentro at 13.704765, -89.211799, get off at the Nueva Terminal at 13.696265, -89.139696.
• Jump on at the Nueva Terminal at 13.69725, -89.140144, get off the same place you get on at the Metrocentro, 13.704765, -89.211799

• 101B – To Santa Tecla.
• Jump on at 13.700403, -89.213667, get off wherever you like in Santa Tecla.
• To get back head for 4a Calle Oriente.

• 103 – Santa Tecla to Parque El Boquerón.
• Jump on at 13.676627, -89.286805, get off at the last stop, 13.731539, -89.274908.
• To get back wait at the same place you got off. You can also jump in the back of a blue truck for the same price.

• 2C – To Centro Historico.
• Jump on at 13.709083, -89.210252, get off wherever you like Downtown.
• To get back head to 1ª Calle Poniente and get on any bus with “Metrocentro” written on the front.

• 108 – To Joya De Cerén.
• Leaves from the Terminal de Buses de Occidente and will drop you right outside the ruins.

• The SITRAMSS mass transit system would have been a glorious, tourist friendly way of getting around San Salvador but the right wing shat on it from a great height, delayed it as much as they could, then a court closed it down all together. The only evidence it existed are the decaying sheltered platforms. The right wing don’t like nice things for the people.

• Local buses within towns and cities range from dilapidated chicken buses to minibuses to small, air-conditioned buses.
• All kinds run on all routes and routes are numbered.
• If the fare isn’t printed on the outside it’ll be written on a piece of paper on the inside.
• Fares vary from route to route but it’s a flat rate regardless of whether you’re going ten blocks or to the end of the line unless you tell the driver where you’re going. He’ll charge you appropriately.
• You pay the driver when you get on, there wasn’t usually an ayudante. Try to have the right coins. I don’t think I saw a single person try to pay with a note on the urban routes.

• Intercity buses might be chicken buses or they might be glorious, air conditioned especial coaches.
• It didn’t happen to us but apparently it’s not unheard of for police to pull a bus over and take all the men off, including foreigners, for frisking. Woman will have their bags checked. It sounds sinister but as long as you’re not in a gang or carrying firearms you’ll be fine.

• Uber exists in San Salvador and Santa Ana, and apparently San Miguel too but we didn’t use it there.

For Your Facehole

• It’s impossible to take a nice photo of a pupusa because they’re not that photogenic, bless them, but within this disc of corn flour lies pork, bean paste and cheese.

• You’re going to see them everywhere. We took to having one in the morning, a lunch of rice, beans and meat in a comedor, then a couple of pupusas of an evening.
• They’re eaten with curtido which is pickled cabbage slaw, and a natural tomato salsa.

• These are so integral to the pupusa experience that when you order them to take away you’re given some in a little bag.
• You buy them from pupusarias which range from a chain with an army of people making them, to one woman with a hot plate.
• I like pupusa revuelta which just means mixed, with bean paste, chicharrón (which is pork), and cheese. Tarrant has hers without the cheese.

• Usually we were asked if we wanted maiz (corn) or arroz (rice) which refers to the flour used. We always went with corn.
• They cost anything up to a dollar each. Sometimes you get three for a dollar.
• You eat them with your hands. No one uses cutlery.
• I don’t know how to readjust to life without pupusas.

Miscellaneous

• El Salvador has a pretty awful reputation thanks to the civil war and the gang culture but the current president, Bukele, instigated a huge crackdown after over seventy people were murdered within 48 hours.
• It did involve the suspension of civil rights but it’s worked and El Salvador is honestly safe to visit.
• Obviously exercise the usual caution. It’s still a poor country and there’s still petty crime.
• Life has improved vastly for the citizens and the majority, apparently, support Bukele and his heavy handed approach.
• You can buy Bukele merch. If you wanted a t-shirt, an apron, a mug or a magnet with the president’s face emblazoned across it, El Salvador has your back.
• The suspension of civil rights clashes heavily with my bleeding heart liberal beliefs but you can’t deny that he’s done the country a whole world of good.
• The gangs affected everyone. They murdered, raped, extorted money, one guy we spoke to described them as terrorists. Over 60000 gang members have been locked up now and the state of emergency continues to be voted in every month.
• The people we’ve met have been wonderful. Everyone wants to help. If you look even a little bit lost someone will step in to point you in the right direction.
• Please visit El Salvador, it’s really fucking nice.

• Don’t drink the tap water though. Filter it if you can, buy it if you can’t.

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🇭🇳 HONDURAS

BUDGET for one person (based on two sharing) for 30 days.
Accommodation: £291.16
Ferries: £90.07
Buses, trains: £55.64
Taxis, private vehicles: £15.96
Supermarket: £45.15
Eating out: £207.06
Tea, coffee, drinks: £30.18
Booze: £164.25
Tours: £40.63
Entrance fees: £25.87
Activities: £65.85
SIM card, phone credit: £18.07
Souvenirs: £0.96
Pharmacy (tampons, DEET, tablets etc): £32.63
Everything else: £72.73

GRAND TOTAL: £1156.21
Average per person per day: £38.54 (Roatan and Rio Cangrejal definitely bumped that up)

That’s not including scuba diving. I spent £427.25 on diving which brings the total to £1583.59, or £52.79 per day.

Entering Honduras

• You need to fill out a prechequeo before entering (and exiting, incidentally) Honduras.
• We just did ours a couple of days before.
• You don’t need to print anything, they’ll know you’ve done it when they scan your passport.
• If you’re travelling by public bus there isn’t an option for this in the drop down. We just chose any bus company and put “NA” when it asked for the registration number. We had no issues with this.
• They’ll take your fingerprints and your photograph when you enter, and they’ll ask you where you’re going. It’s otherwise very straightforward.
• There’s a US$3 entry tax for Honduras. At the El Espino / El Fraternidad border with Nicaragua they accepted USD. At the El Florido border with Guatemala they will only accept quetzales or lempira.

Currency

• Honduras uses the lempira (L).
• Banco Atlántida didn’t charge us to withdraw money (UK Mastercard) but it’d only let us take out L5000 at a time.
• As the withdrawal is free though you can just go ahead and put your card back in and withdraw up to your bank’s maximum.
• No other ATMs would accept our card, even the ones displaying the Mastercard logo.
• Coins don’t seem to be a thing that exist here. Anything less than L1 is generally rounded up.
• We used card to pay for things like the ferries between the Bay Islands. Aside from that we tended to stick with cash.
• They will accept US dollars on Roatan but they have to be perfect with no marks or rips. You’ll get your change in lempiras.

Getting Around Honduras

• The transportation hub we used the most was Gran Central Metropolitana at the southwest corner of San Pedro Sula.
• From here you can take everything from minibuses to chicken buses to AC coaches to various parts of the country.
• If you’re catching a long distance bus from here you’ll buy your ticket in advance from the company’s ticket desk.

• Local buses could be old American school buses, minibuses that could still be described as a bus, or even minier buses which are more vans with seats than buses.
• They have ayudantes, assistants, who will take payment and let you know when you need to get off.
• If it’s a particularly small vehicle with no room for an ayudante you’ll pay the driver.
• Bus travel in Honduras is easy. If you’re catching more than one bus and you’re not sure where you need to change just tell the ayudante where you’re going and he’ll make sure you get off in the right place.
• Unlike in Nicaragua, we were never ripped off on buses in Honduras.

• Taxis might be actual cars or they might be mototaxis (tuk tuks) depending on where you are.
• As always, confirm the price before you get in. You might be quoted per person so do check.

For Your Facehole

• It’s got to be baleadas really hasn’t it? They’re kind of like big tacos except they’re baleadas and they’re Honduran so shush!
• Wraps stuffed with pretty much whatever you want but traditionally it’s bean paste and crumbled cheese.
• Your basic baleada is a sencilla (simple) which is what you ask for when you just want that cheese and bean hit.
• You can shove whatever you want in there. We tend to add chicken to make them even more filling and delicious.

• Apart from baleadas you’re looking at fried chicken as another staple but fuck knows how long some of it sits in a warmer.
• You can just wander into a comedor and ask for desayuno (breakfast), almuerzo (lunch) or cena (dinner) according to the time of day and you’ll be served the típico (typical) meal.

Communication

• We went with Tigo which we bought from a little shop in Copán Ruinas.
• You don’t need ID, they’ll just sell you the SIM card plus whatever data package you want.
• She charged us L50 each for the SIM plus the package.
• We went for a whopping 25GB of data for 15 days as we didn’t yet know what the WiFi was like. That cost L250 (US$10.11).
• It didn’t need activating, it was ready to go as soon as we put it in the phone.
• Once your data package expires you can just go into any shop offering recarga and ask them to put a new one on. You just need to know your phone number.
• If you want to keep on top of how much data you have left you log in HERE.
• WiFi was fine where ever we had it but we often found it didn’t stretch as far as our room so we were grateful for that fuck tonne of data.
• Incidentally, our Nicaraguan Claro SIM cards worked fine in Honduras, we could use our data packages as normal.

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🇧🇿 BELIZE

BUDGET for one person (based on two sharing) for 19 days.
Tours and diving are expensive in Belize so the costs excluding these are:
Accommodation: £252.52
Ferries: £87.61
Buses: £20.01
Taxis, private vehicles: £4.64
Groceries: £40.42
Eating out: £107.49
Tea, coffee, drinks: £17.43
Booze: £101.10
Entrance fees: £3.61
SIM card, phone credit: £22.02
Souvenirs: £23.16
Exit tax: £15.73
Everything else: £71.74

GRAND TOTAL: £767.48
Average per person per day: £40.39

We spent £471.33 each on tours including tips which takes the daily average to £65.20 per person with a total of £1238.80

I spent £520.71 on diving including tips which bumps it up to £92.62 per person per day, bringing the absolute grand total to £1759.50 per person.

Belize has been super expensive but it’s been absolutely worth it. Plus we could have cut costs by cooking ourselves more and drinking less booze.

Entering & Exiting Belize

• There’s no entry tax to arrive to Belize but it’ll cost BZ$40 to leave overland.
• This is payable in cash in Belize or US dollars.
• We got 30 days on entry.

Currency

• Belize uses the Belize dollar (BZ$).
• It’s pegged 2:1 to the US dollar, so US$1 is BZ$2.
• Do check which currency you’re being quoted in, they usually do say.
• US dollars are completely accepted everywhere. I got some in my change and was told it was fine, I could spend them anywhere in Belize. You can pay in either, or both currencies at the same time.
• ATMs will give you Belize dollars only.
• Belize Bank charged BZ$3.50 plus 1% of the transaction to withdraw money.
• Atlantic Bank didn’t charge us for withdrawals with our UK Mastercard.

Communication

• We went with Digi because that’s where we were directed to in Placencia when we asked where we could buy SIM cards.
• Local shops didn’t sell them, we had to go to the Digi office.
• It cost BZ$22.50 just for the SIM card, then we had to pay for a data plan on top.
• We had to show our passports, a photo wasn’t accepted.
• Plans aren’t cheap, we paid BZ$35 for 5.5GB of data.
• Fortunately WiFi is everywhere in accommodation, cafes and restaurants and is pretty good.

For Your Facehole

• A fry jack is deep fried dough, served at breakfast.
• Stuff fry jacks, each one will probably shave about five minutes off your life and this is what I got addicted to. Kind of like a baleada, filled with whatever you like, but the tortilla is fried. They’re really cheap too.

• Caye Caulker had loads of grills going on on the side of the road. When I was there it was BZ$20 for jerk chicken, rice and beans.
• The two cheapest places we found to eat on Caye Caulker were Errolyn’s House of Fry Jacks (6.30am to 11am, closed Mondays) and Jenny’s To Go. Both are take aways.

• Cheap breakfast and lunch can be found in San Ignacio at the farmers’ market.
• Other staples include stew meat, rice and beans. Can’t go wrong with that.

Getting Around

• Buses have been easy. They’re scheduled and Rome2Rio has been helpful in finding out what buses leave when but do check locally in case things have changed recently.
• You can’t usually buy your tickets online (with one or two exceptions) but you can buy them at the bus station if there is one, or on the bus from the assistant.
• He’ll come around and take payment whilst the bus is on the road.
• The boats around the islands are scheduled too. San Pedro Belize Express is the cheaper of the two going to Caye Caulker and San Pedro.
• You can buy your tickets online but it might sometimes be cheaper to buy in person or from an agent.
• If you buy them from the ticket office you can pay by card at no extra charge.

Miscellaneous

• You’re going to be offered all manner of drugs, especially on the islands. It’s obviously up to you if you partake but no matter what they tell you, drugs are illegal in Belize.
• A guy in San Pedro greeted us with, “It’s legal, y’know. Up to ten grams.” As far as I’m aware possession of up to ten grams of weed for consumption in private was decriminalised but I’ll post a photo of the huge sign outside of Caye Caulker’s police station.

• English is an official language in Belize so you can use it everywhere, guilt free.
• There’s a lot more Spanish spoken in San Ignacio. The ladies at the food stalls at the market had signs up in English but spoke to me in Spanish.
• Belizian Creole, or Kriol which is the preferred spelling, is also widely spoken, especially on the coast. It’s English based so it’s fun to listen to and pick out the odd words.

• Probably don’t drink the tap water unless you’ve been told you can. In Placencia Village we were told everyone drinks the tap water there but nowhere else in Belize. Accommodations often provided drinking water, usually for BZ$1 a litre. We used our Water To Go filters.

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🇬🇹 GUATEMALA

BUDGET for one person (based on two sharing) for 33 days.
Accommodation: £296.67
Buses: £58.10
Shuttles: £27.42
Taxis, Uber: £15.38
Boats: £12.18
Groceries: £50.76
Eating out: £320.69
Tea, coffee, drinks: £20.04
Booze: £151.43
Tours: £56.82
Entrance fees: £49.91
SIM card, phone credit: £15.04
Souvenirs: £25.12
ATM fees: £21.05
Exit fee (by boat): £7.82
Everything else: £65.36

GRAND TOTAL: £1193.95
Average per person per day: £36.18

Entering / Exiting Guatemala

• There’s no entry or exit tax for Guatemala if you’re travelling overland.
• However, if you want to leave by boat (eg, to Belize from Livingston) you need to pay Q80 when you get your passport stamped to leave.
• If you’re leaving by boat you need to get your passport stamped before turning up for boarding which might mean you have to get it done the day before.
• Nothing much else to say about land borders, they’re hassle free. We weren’t quizzed as to where we were going, we didn’t have to show any vaccinations, and we weren’t asked to prove that we intended to leave. Guatemala gives no fucks.
• It’s part of the CA4 region though so you’ll either need time left on that or you’ll need do be entering from a non-CA4 country.

Currency

• Guatemala uses the quetzal (Q). Plural is quetzales.
• If you’re converting to British pounds it’s easy, Q10 is £1.
• 5B ATMs charged us Q31.20 to withdraw cash to a maximum of Q2000 with our British Mastercard debit cards.
• BAC charged Q40.25, again up to Q2000.
• BI said it would charge US$4 but then wouldn’t complete the transaction.

Getting Around

• Guatemala is linked by a network of tourist shuttles, it’s the favourite way for foreigners to travel so getting around is a piece of piss.
• You can buy your tickets from travel and tour agencies.
• We used both shuttles and public transport. Usually we only use public transport but you can get so heftily ripped off on the buses that by the time you’ve been overcharged on the two or three it takes you to get there you might as well just pay a like bit more for a direct shuttle.
• We found we were sometimes charged around double on public buses.
• In theory you should be able to ask other passengers what the price should be. In practice they sometimes can’t or won’t tell you. Several people we spoke to, even those fluent in Spanish, said people simply wouldn’t tell them how much they paid.
• If you know for a fact how much it should cost, try to have the exact money ready to hand over. This sometimes helps.
• There were several buses where we weren’t overcharged but it happened enough for it to be worth mentioning and it was mentioned to us several times before we got to Guatemala.
• Being overcharged isn’t going to bankrupt you but it’s not a very nice feeling.

• Local buses can be anything from microbúses or colectivos to big American school buses known as camionetas (or as chicken buses by foreigners) and the slightly nicer Pullman buses.
• The smaller vehicles might not have an ayudante, you tell the driver when you want to get off and pay him then.
• Bigger vehicles will likely have an ayudante, you pay them whilst the bus is travelling and if you let them know where you want to go they’ll make sure you get off at the right place either at your destination or to catch your connecting bus.
• It only happened to us once but the bus might be pulled over at a police checkpoint. Officers will board and take all the locals’ IDs. They won’t take your passport but they will want to see it. Then you have to wait for them to do whatever it is they do before they hand the IDs back and you’re on your way.

• Uber exists in Guatemala City. God I love Uber.
• There’s also an easy to work out system called Transmetro but we didn’t use it. We weren’t exploring the city, we just wanted to get from point to point quickly and safely.

For Your Facehole

• We didn’t eat huge amounts of local food here, probably because we were spending time on very touristy areas so it was easier to just go to tourist restaurants.
• Municipal markets are the places to go for the cheapest local foods.
• When we did find comedores you’re looking at things with salad and chips. Sometimes beans too but less than in other countries.
• Desayuno chapin is the typical breakfast. It changes slightly from place to place but there was always eggs, bean paste and plantain.

Communication

• When we spent a few days in Guatemala just before going to Belize, our Honduran Tigo SIM cards still worked just fine and we had a few days left on our data package so we just used that.
• When we came back we bought a Guatemala Tigo SIM which cost Q50 and came with 3GB data for 15 days.
• We bought ours from a phone shop in El Remate and the lady set it all up for us.
• You can add whatever data plan you want at any shop advertising Tigo recarga. You just need to know your phone number.

Miscellaneous

• This is obviously only my opinion but Guatemala was my least favourite of the seven countries. We really liked it, just not as much as the others.
• The tourist attractions are phenomenal and very much worth a visit but the other countries have more to offer I think. We easily spent over a month in Nicaragua and could spend longer. We struggled to fill 3.5 weeks in Guatemala.

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