Central America Travel Guide
Central America is a strip of region in the United that is narrow in size. It straddles the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico between Colombia and Mexico. Except for Belize, a defacto British colony, most of the countries in the whole of Central America were fragments of the Spanish Empire. These countries include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The region was made officially into a colony during the 1800s.
Throughout the years, Central America had been into various horrible dictators and brutal civil wars. In the past ten years, the governments of the region have stabilized some areas however there are still some areas in particular countries that are should be avoided and very unstable. On the contrary, Central America is a home to varieties of colonial churches, stunning ruins, and indigenous cultures. The region is also popular to budget travelers because of the numerous options it offers when it comes to nature and culture experience. The coasts of the region have amazing sand beaches are surely worth visiting.
Central America’s political boundaries are the northern border of Colombia and the southern border of Mexico. Reclining to the west is the Pacific Ocean while bordering the northeast is the Caribbean Sea. Meanwhile, the northern area of the region is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico. Linking these areas is a mass land of about 592,000 square kilometers. The entire interior part of the region is made up of mountains that serve as home to the opaque jungle. Most of the mountains are prone to earthquakes because of the volcanic making eruptions and stunning lakes. The ashes produced by the volcanic eruptions make the soil rich, thus helping the local farmers grow their crops and make the jungle even denser.
The famous landmarks in Central America are the historical architecture of Leon and Granada in Nicaragua; the famous mountain of Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica; the Panama Canal; the Copan Ruins in Honduras; and the Tikal Ruins, Lago Atitlan, & Antigua in Guatemala. A wide array of secluded islands and beaches are offered by the region especially on the Caribbean side.
Getting to Central America is relatively easy, you can take flight from the United States’ major cities that include Orlando, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and Washington D.C. From these cities, routes can be made to Cancun, Mexico City, Panama, Managua, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, Guatemala City, and San Salvador. There are also other airlines that offer these routes. Information can be gathered by visiting the respective city or country guides. Overland options are also available for these routes. There are some buses that cross the borders or taking a car would be fine. Coming from South America going to Central America, taking a boat or an airplane is best between Colombia and Panama.
All the countries in Central America use Spanish as the official language, except for Belize that use English. Since Spanish is widely spoken in the region, the domestic travel community provides some phrase books that can assist travelers to pick up some basic pronunciation skills, grammar, and basic phrases prior the trip.