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This summer I want to get a one way ticket to Panama and make this my goal: Travel north through Central America and make it home to Milwaukee, Wisconsin by the end of August without getting on an airplane.
I would be spending two weeks in Panama and CR with my bf, and then he would leave and I would do the rest of the trip on my own. I'm female, 24 years old, and I am a broke college student. I'll be saving up for the next few months, but I plan to live and travel on the cheap while I'm there.
Any tips, recommendations? How long would this take? How much would it cost? Would it be safe? Is it even possible?
I speak Spanish well enough, so that is not an issue. I've been to Mexico and Costa Rica, but I have never traveled alone before. However, I love travel, adventure, and meeting new people.
Sounds like you might end up raped and left for dead. I wouldnt do it, but to borrow a phrase from my good friend LaVar Burton, "you dont have to take my word for it."
Young lady, if you were one of my daughters, I'd have her committed to a mental institution until she changed her mind. PLEASE DO NOT travel alone. Your proposed journey is literally asking for very, very serious trouble. It would be seriously risky for two young people traveling as you propose, as a single young female it is absolutely insane. DON'T DO IT. At best you will get raped with a case AIDS, at worst you'll end up in the sex slave trade and/or dead. You seriously need to rethink your travel plans.
Last edited by Pilgrim21784; 02-11-2010 at 07:23 AM..
Look up this couple www.bumfuzzle.com
They have done it, although they go together and by car or VW for that matter. I just wouldn't do it alone, you need more resaerch and a traval buddy!!
Well if you go by their example you would need a small fortune. LOL How in God's name can someone have that much money to waste on traveling the globe? And not just for a few months, but years!
Well if you go by their example you would need a small fortune. LOL How in God's name can someone have that much money to waste on traveling the globe? And not just for a few months, but years!
Yea, that is only thing that puzzles me about that couple. I did read the beginning of thier story and it sounds like they both had pretty good jobs lived in Chicago and then sold everything so I don't know. I had read on another travel forum that perhaps they have wealthy parents but after reading a lot of thier traval pages it doesn't really mention that. In any case, I am just amazed at everywhere they have gone. What a unique life!
You may want to consider trying the forums on Lonely Planet, you'll get more cheerleaders and encouragement there.
I once read of a girl from Europe (Europeans are the most adventuresome travelers of all) who had just spent 5 weeks roaming around Colombia on her own. Me? I'm a man, well cognizant of the fact that women are stronger than men. I got as far as Tulcan at the Ecuador/Colombia border, and chickened out, even after having read of her solo journey there.
As long as you are conversant in Spanish, you should have no problems, even riding the chicken buses and in the backs of pick-up trucks (and please, don't avoid this exciting, fun way of traveling in Central America) as long as your journeys start in the mornings and end well before sunset.
The transportation in Central America is a dream come true. Never do you have to wait long, and another bus comes along, even in rural areas. My only gripe about Central America is the decentralized bus stations. No Central Terminus for all buses.
You'll meet some of the nicest, friendliest, most helpful and honest people in the world down there. I even describe them as stupidly honest.
If weather conditions are a factor for you, as it is for me, then do consider that in your itinerary. The coastal areas are reeking with heat and humidity, but if you stay in the highlands, you'll need to bring a light coat along at night. You'll probably stop in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala on you way up, and that city sits at 8600 feet in altitude. Very chilly at night, any time of the year. Even Mexico City, at 7200 feet, can get downright chilly at night.
Even in Guatemala City, at 5000 feet, it doesn't surprise me anymore to see people wearing leather jackets there at night. You won't have that problem in Americanized, warmer Costa Rica or Nicaragua.
My favorite big city is Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It can be a bit tricky getting from Tegucigalpa to Guatemala City, as most buses go all the way up to San Pedro Sula (5 hours) and you change buses there. Fine, if you're heading to the Copan Ruins.
The other option is going to La Esparanza, Honduras and riding in the backs of pick-ups, through the Lencan Indian villages, to Gracias and Santa Rosa de Copan, which I've done, and it was great fun.
If you want to send me a private message, do so, if you want more info.
It would be very doable and very cheap. The busses are pretty rudimentary in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, where most of the busses are old retired US school busses. But they are small countries and it is easy to get through in a day. Panama and Costa Rica busses are more modern, like Greyhound. Same in Mexico. Long distance busses (more than 10 hours or so) in Latin American generally run overnight, so you won't see much scenery unless you break up your trip into sections of just a few hours at a time.
Theoretically, there are busses all the way through from Panama City at least to Guatemala City, and maybe into Mexico, but they would be tiresome, and it will be relaxing to piece it together in sections. There is never any problem finding cheap, fairly comfortable and safe hotels near anyplace that a bus stops in decent sized towns, but that may not be the case in the capitals, where bus stations tend to be out of town. So in Nicaragua, for example, you might want to sleep in Granada to Leon, and just change busses in Managua. Sasn jose, the main hotel district is near the bus station. Everything gets a lot easier in Mexico, where you never need to deal with border crossings.
It is probably safe if you stay on the main Pan American Highway, but all Central American countries are now at increasing risk of kidnapings off the beaten track. The governments have declining power in the countryside, where gangs may have taken over.
The cost should be very cheap. If you don't require US-style luxuries, ten-dollar hotels will be easy to find, and you can always find a meal for under two dollars. Bus tickets, figure about two dollars for each hour on the bus. Prices higher in Mexico, but in some cities, lower prices can be found. Nearly all of Mexico is very safe, but be cautious in Chiapas and Oaxaca. At night, make sure you are either on a bus or in your hotel. Forget about sampling the night life unless you REALLY trust your companions. Become a teetotaler for the duration of the trip.
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