Top Ten Things To Put On Your Central America Bucket List
You could put dozens of things on any Central America bucket list, such is the excitement that this region brings. You’re seriously missing out if you choose another comfortable European city break over countries where you can see volcanoes erupt, swim with giant starfish and explore some of the world’s most impressive Mayan Ruins.
This region consists of seven countries (Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama). I’ll ensure you don’t miss out on the highlights by listing the top ten things to see in the region. I have been to all of them and speak from experience.
1) Watch A Volcano Erupt In Guatemala (Volcan De Fuego)
Open: 24/7
Entry fee: 50 Guatemalan Quetzales (£5/US$6)
The number one thing on your Central America bucket list should be to watch Volcan de Fuego erupt in Guatemala – something which happens every 15 minutes! Often it will just spew out smoke. And for several hours, we were unable to see the volcano due to thick fog. However when it did erupt with lava overnight, the views were truly special.
You can witness this by hiking up nearby Volcan Acatenango, and camping on the side of the volcano overnight. The entry fee above must be paid by everyone hiking up Acatenango. However, most people will take a guided tour which costs upwards of 400 quetzales (£40/US$50) and often (but not always) includes entry.
I would recommend taking a tour, especially if it’s your first time here and/or you aren’t an experienced hiker. The hike is tough and it’s easy to fall over if you don’t wear proper hiking boots or have the right equipment (speaking from experience here…).
It took around 6 hours to hike from the beginning to the camping spot. This included several short rest breaks and one longer break for lunch.
We had chicken and rice which was provided by the tour group. I went with the cheapest tour I could find (booked through Casa Familiar Hostel) and it provided good hearty food. Some of the more expensive tours only offer vegetarian options, so be sure to pick one that can offer more energy in their food. Trust me when I say you’ll need it.
2) Visit The Most Impressive Mayan Ruin Site In The Americas
Open: 6am-5pm every day
Entry fee: 150 Guatemalan Quetzales (£15/US$19)
Tikal National Park is by far the coolest Mayan ruin site in the Americas. Even the Chichen Itza in Mexico, one of the Seven World Wonders, pales in comparison to this ancient city in the Guatemalan jungle, an hour from the Belize border.
Thousands of ruins lie across the national park, with many engulfed by the surrounding jungle. There are six main temples still standing, such as Temple V pictured above.
Lots of traditional Mayan ceremonies take place at Tikal, and you can see locals light bonfires to perform these rituals right in front of the main temples: Temple I and Temple II. They will walk around the bonfires with their arms outstretched whilst chanting. A pretty cool thing to witness.
Tikal is also rich in terms of wildlife. Creatures range from the super common coatimundi to the elusive jaguar. Coatis, as the raccoon-like creatures are also known, can pack a powerful bite, so don’t get too close. Jaguars on the other hand are very rare and you almost certainly won’t see one here unless you’re incredibly lucky. Or unlucky, depending on the situation… They live everywhere from Mexico all the way down to South America, and you will struggle to spot one in any country you visit.
Tikal has a website which can inform you about what there is to see, and keep you up to date with information such as opening hours and ticket prices. The information I shared above is accurate as of March 2024.
3) Swim With Starfish On A Paradise Beach In Panama
Open: 24/7
Entry fee: Free
Panama is one of the best countries in Central America to visit for wildlife. And Playa Estrella is a big reason why.
Here you can see dozens of starfish in the clear blue waters, with most of them the size of an average human’s head.
They come in multiple colours, and some may even cluster together at times. Coming here is a truly special experience. I’ve travelled across almost all of Latin America, and never seen anything like this elsewhere. It will stick vividly in your memory for years to come.
It takes 35 minutes on the bus to reach Bocas del Drago from Bocas Town, from where you can walk for another 20 minutes to reach Playa Estrella.
Don’t miss out on this one. Isla Colon, where Playa Estrella is based, has a lot more to keep you entertained including vast jungles and wild parties. I can’t recommend this place enough.
4) Go Volcano Boarding In Nicaragua
Open: Sunrise until sunset
Entry fee: 180 Nicaraguan Cordobas (£4/US$5) excluding tours which cost upwards of £20/US$25
How many places have you been to where you can bomb down a volcano at over 70km per hour?
Probably not many. Volcano boarding started in Vanuatu in 2002, and has since spread to Cerro Negro Volcano in Nicaragua where you can do it on a tour, with all transport and equipment included.
The two big tour operators here are Bigfoot Hostel and Volcano Day. I went with the latter and they were fantastic!
You are driven from Leon to the volcano and have to hike to the top with your board. The hike is pretty simple and takes around 30-45 minutes depending on the pace of your group. The only thing to be aware of is the fact that there is no shade here and you are fully exposed to the sun on the way up.
At the top, the tour guides give instructions, then you sit on your board, and boom! Off you go flying down the mountain at speeds that would leave even Usain Bolt trailing in your wake.
It’s hard to keep control of the board all the way down. I came flying off at the bottom! Fortunately the protective suit was sturdy and I came away with nothing more than gravel in my shoes.
Volcano boarding is quite possibly the most unique activity you can add to your Central America bucket list. And it’s very affordable in one of Latin America’s cheapest countries.
A must on any Nicaragua itinerary.
5) Trek Through The Wildlife-Rich Jungles Of Costa Rica
Open: Various hours
Entry fee: Various
Some things in life are impossible. Like teleporting, turning invisible or choosing just one rainforest to visit in Costa Rica.
This is the best country in the world for wildlife adventures. There are over half a million species living in Costa Rica ranging from frogs, snakes and birds to sloths, jaguars and monkeys. And so much more.
I went to Monteverde Cloud Forest, La Fortuna (Bogarin Trail), Tortuguero, Cahuita and Manuel Antonio. It’s impossible to pick just one recommendation from those. I could narrow it down to a top 3 of Monteverde, Tortuguero and Manuel Antonio, but any one of those deserves a spot on your Central America bucket list.
In pretty much all of Costa Rica’s national parks, you can hire a guide who can spot wildlife for you. And these guys are professionals who’ve done this for a while. They know what they’re doing and I guarantee your experience will be better if you pay the extra for a guide. Of course, prices vary from one park to another.
All of my top 3 recommendations also offer night tours. You can see different creatures coming out at night and get a completely different feel compared to a day tour. In fact, you can even see scorpions under UV light at night, and that’s pretty cool!
6) View Macaws And Mayan Ruins At Copan Ruinas In Honduras
Open: 8am-4pm every day
Entry fee: 375 Honduran Lempiras (£12/US$15)
Copan is another Mayan ruin site, this one based in Honduras, close to the Guatemala border.
The ruins are pretty cool. Not quite Tikal, but they’re still fun to see. However, the ruins aren’t the only reason why you should come here.
Copan is home to several brightly-coloured macaws. And they aren’t scared of strangers. Helped by the large fruit trays left out on a regular basis, the macaws will swoop down for a snack and let you get right up close to take photos.
Many people skip Honduras due to its safety reputation. And sure, I’d be lying if I said this was the safest country in Latin America. But Copan Ruinas is very safe and feels like a bit of a bubble compared to the rest of the Honduran mainland. Aside from the popular Bay Islands (most notably Utila and Roatan), this is just about the only place in Honduras where you’re pretty much guaranteed to bump into other tourists.
7) Witness Beautiful Sunsets On Paradise Island Caye Caulker In Belize
Open: N/A
Entry fee: N/A
If you want Caribbean vibes and island life, then Belize is the place for you. Caye Caulker is a small island (well, two islands now since a hurricane ripped them in half back in the 1960s) with the motto “go slow”. And this is exactly what they do there.
Caye Caulker offers everything you’d expect a stereotypical Caribbean island to offer. Beaches and bars, opportunities to scuba dive and snorkel and some of the most spectacular sunsets you will ever see.
Grab yourself a cocktail at the Lazy Lizard and soak up the heat from the bright orange skies.
From the other six Central American countries, only San Juan Del Sur in Nicaragua even came close to matching Belize on the sunset front.
In fact Belize isn’t short of contenders to add to your Central America bucket list with the Belize Barrier Reef, the Great Blue Hole, several Mayan ruin sites and the ATM Caves amongst Belize’s other attractions.
8) Experience A Spectacular Natural Monument At Semuc Champey
Open: 8am-5pm every day
Entry fee: 50 Guatemalan quetzales (£5/US$6)
Semuc Champey is conveniently located in central Guatemala which makes it a useful stop to break up the lengthy journey between Tikal and Antigua or Lake Atitlan.
But this is so much more than just a gap filler. Semuc Champey is a magical attraction to see in its own right. A natural monument that looks like a staircase full of shallow turquoise pools, this has become a popular adventure destination in Central America.
The price above refers to the entry fee which is enough to get you access to Semuc Champey, and the viewpoint from where I took the photo above.
However, most people, myself included, visit on a tour which costs around £20/US$25. The tour includes entrance as well as tubing down the river and a cave adventure which is not for the faint-hearted. The cave trip involves wading through neck-high water full of bat guano with only dim candlelight to reveal your path forward. And you have to keep the candle up high to avoid it being extinguished by the freezing water.
Must admit I didn’t love the cave, and the tubing was a bit of a gimmick, but the monument itself was surreal and that alone was worth coming all this way for.
If you pass through Guatemala without visiting Semuc Champey then you’re seriously missing out!
9) Immerse Yourself In Nature At Nicaragua’s Charco Verde Wildlife Reserve
Open: 8am-4:30pm every day
Entry fee: £4/US$5
Now this is one item that should be on your Central America bucket list which isn’t as well-known as the others.
Charco Verde wildlife reserve is the perfect place to immerse yourself in nature with few other people to be seen. Come off the main paths and it’s easy to feel like you’re alone with nature and not a single other person for miles.
Located on Nicaragua’s Ometepe island, this magical gem is home to many cool creatures. You can see howler monkeys (well, you will hear them before you see them) swinging from the trees and making a racket. Horses roam freely through the forests and giant frogs can be spotted in the right conditions. My personal favourite Charco Verde resident was the humble dung beetle, able to push over 1,000 times its own weight. Of course, of all the things it could push with such supreme strength, it chooses… dung. Ah well, this is still a seriously awesome thing to see in the wild.
The one failed part of my Charco Verde mission was to spot a boa constrictor. They live in the reserve and I was excited to see one, but they eluded me on this occasion. Ah well. That’s part of the fun with nature treks, there’s no guarantee you will see the best creatures, making it all the more rewarding when they do come out of hiding.
There is also a butterfly garden at the entrance with all sorts of colourful butterflies. Sure, they’re pretty, but they certainly aren’t the star attraction here.
Another cool nature spot in Nicaragua was The Treehouse hostel in the middle of the jungle, but even that pales in comparison to Charco Verde.
10) Hike Up El Salvador’s Santa Ana Volcano And Enjoy Spectacular Lake Views
Open: 8am-4pm every day
Entry fee: £5/US$6
Backpackers on the gringo trail, and people taking road trips from North America to Panama will often take in 5 or 6 of the 7 Central American countries, giving little El Salvador a miss along the way. As a result the phrase “don’t skip El Salvador” has become popularised.
Now there are many reasons why you shouldn’t skip El Salvador, but one in particular is Volcan Santa Ana. Unlike Acatenango, this is a fairly easy trek and you can get away with not having proper hiking gear.
At the top you have stunning views on either side. Look forward into the crater to view the incredible crater lake I took a picture of above. Turn around and you will see Lago Coatepeque which is just as awesome. Normally you can combine a volcano hike with visiting the lake. However when I went, there were issues with the buses which meant I had to head back to Santa Ana to avoid being stranded, meaning I only saw the lake from the volcano’s hiking trail, which is still a lovely sight. Unfortunately the buses aren’t reliable here.
In the past you would require a police guard to hike up the volcano due to the high number of bandits robbing hikers on the trail. However, El Salvador has gone from the most dangerous country in Central America to arguably the safest, and police are no longer needed. It was completely safe when I visited in 2022 shortly after the gang crackdown which transformed El Salvador’s safety situation.
No Central America bucket list would be truly fulfilled without a visit here. One of the biggest travel tips I could offer is: don’t skip El Salvador!
