Costa Rica Travel 4 Driving through Banana Fields

 I wouldn’t suggest renting a car in many countries… it’s simple to dangerous and stressful. Costa Rica travel though is greatly enhanced but this affordable, comfortable, go at your own pace option.

Couple Travel Tips

•  Put your luggage in the trunk and if you leave anything of value in the car, be sure it’s out of sight. A $500 camera sitting on the front seat will get you robbed in a country where that is what some people make in a whole month of working.

•  As we said before, rent a 4WD and don’t race down any dirt roads. Potholes here are more like pot-craters and the last thing you want is a flat tire or busted up car in the middle of nowhere.

•  Plan for lots of extra time in your trip. On our trip we ended up delayed for hours on two different occasions; once by a mudslide and once by a broken down, hand-repaired wood bridge.

Chelsea Schmidt (to be continued)

Costa Rica Travel 3 Road Trip Benefits

 Jumping on a bus or plane to see a country sure makes it easy but just think about all the things you miss. In Costa Rica, taking even a short regional flight means missing half the country. Busses are great, unless you want to stop in random, remote areas.

How many times have you passed something really cool looking on a bus, with no option of just hopping off for a second or two to check it out.

Driving around Costa Rica meant we were able to stop at any and all waterfalls. We stopped in the middle of a cloud forest and patiently waited for the clouds to part, giving us the perfect moment of sunshine. After a mudslide blocked our route, we had the opportunity to just drive around, finding interesting things we never even planned on seeing. We were in control and it was definitely a nice change from the usual stuck-on-a-bus routine.

Chelsea Schmidt (to be continued)

Costa Rica Travel 2 – Renting a car

 Renting a car in Costa Rica is very simple and common among travelers. Your normal driver’s license, from whichever country you live in, will be fine for the duration of your visa. Most of the major rental car companies are located in San Jose. The best method is to do a loop around the country, returning your car to San Jose at the end of your trip.

A good 4WD car can run your about $70/day, including tax and insurance. Always opt for a 4WD vehicle. The roads in Costa Rica can go from perfect, newly paved to dirt and dust in a heartbeat. Thankfully, most places are within a 2 – 5 hour drive of San Jose, so even if you do end up on a lousy road, it won’t be for long.

Costa Rica 1 Road Trip !

 Waiting for an old wooden bridge to be repaired by hand while driving through Costa Rica

Known for volcanoes and beaches, cloud forests and jungles, Costa Rica has a little bit of everything. The best part is that with its small, compact size, you can easily visit all of the country’s major highlights in a short visit. Now most backpackers are accustom to the hop-on, hop-off bus routine but if you have a little bit of extra room in your budget, I have a better option. Rent a car!

Costa Rica is one of the few countries in Latin America where I won’t feel bad for suggesting that option. The roads, in general, are decent and the other drivers aren’t as bad as many in Central America. There are also a lot more English speaking tourists visiting Costa Rica so if you do get lost, help is a bit easier to find.

Chelsea Schmidt (to be continued)

Central America 8 Culture Shock

 As you might have guessed, I’m an advocate for the chicken buses, but I did mention that Jason and I have a love hate relationship with them.

Hate, because it can be hard work lugging our heavy bags on and off at each connection point. It’s tiring, hot, uncomfortable and you will definitely feel a sense of culture shock. That said, be forewarned, it’s definitely not for everyone. If you can spare the cash, you may opt for the tourist shuttles, but don’t expect space or comfort. If you can spare a little more time, all you need is a little patience and an open mind and you will be guaranteed an adventure on every chicken bus ride.

About Aracely Castellani

Co-owner of 2Backpackers.com and CoupleTravelTips.com. Aracely has been traveling since her first trip to France as a college student in 2002. When she met her husband Jason, she introduced him to her love for travel and they began their journey. When she isn't traveling, Aracely is a business analyst and strategist.

Central America 7 Love Them & Hate Them

 Chicken buses are also habitually visited by street vendors who will ride the bus to the next stop or town while they push their merchandise onto a captive audience. They are selling everything from beauty product to snacks and cold drinks, and even entire meals consisting of rice, chicken and tortillas, all of which are served in a small plastic bags.

The vendors are of all ages from very young children to elder men and women; all are very persistent and persuasive. When the bus is crammed with people standing in the aisle, the vendors will artfully weave their way down the aisle to offer their products to every person on board.

Aracely Castellani (to be continued)

Central America 6 Entertainment on Buses

From what I’ve seen, people transport just about everything on the buses, and I’m convinced they are essential to the economy of these countries. Without these old American school buses, I am guessing 90% of the population wouldn’t go anywhere, since owning a vehicle is a luxury only the wealthy enjoy.

There is also an entertainment value to the whole experience to be quite frank. In each bus there is usually a driver and a conductor. The conductor collects the fares, helps passengers with their carry on baggage, and hangs off the side of the bus yelling the bus route to everyone passing by. He also skillfully gets on and off at each stop while the bus is still in motion to help anyone that may need it. The baggage brought on the buses is anything from a sack of coffee, fruits and vegetables, chickens and anything else that can be sold at a market.

Aracely Castellani (to be continued)

Central America 5 Local Culture on Buses

 Finally, riding on a chicken bus is a unique way to experience the true culture. As I mentioned, this is the primary and daily mode of transportation for locals. These buses stop everywhere, and frequently, which adds additional time to your journey. The system acts like veins in a body, connecting the tiniest isolated town to the rest of the country. 

To get from one location to the next, depending on how far you want to go, you may have to make several transfers, but it could potentially be the same story with the tourist shuttles. Everyone rides them including school children, farm workers, teachers, market and street vendors, all making their way to the populous cities. From what I’ve seen, people transport just about everything on the buses, and I’m convinced they are essential to the economy of these countries. 

Aracely Castellani (to be continued)

Central America 4 Safety on Buses

 Then there is safety. I have read many chicken bus theft stories on multiple web forums and I am grateful that Jason and I have yet to experience anything like that. But, I must say that thus far, we have felt extremely safe on the road. We even prefer the buses over taxis; I guess we just feel more safe in numbers. Our bags are usually right next to us, near us or in plain view of us. We do practice precaution and try to be aware of our belongings and surroundings and we carry a money belt for cash, passports and credit cards. I know that we can’t control every situation and the possibility exists of getting our things stolen, but if we allowed negative possibilities to dictate our life we wouldn’t be traveling in these foreign countries in the first place.

Aracely Castellani (to be continued)

Central America 3 Little Comfort

Only focusing on our trip from Antigua to Panajachel to Semuc Champey, which is about 164 miles, we spent $69.22 in total. That’s a $35.52 savings and an additional 64 miles distance for riding the local buses. That’s the value of two nights in a hostel and a meal. This is what budget travel is about, finding the cheapest alternative.

Second, each time we hopped in a tourist shuttle we were just as cramped, if not more than on a chicken bus. These transportation companies are definitely not concerned with the comfort level of their passengers. They will squeeze 5 of us into a 3 seat row bench and most either don’t have or don’t use air conditioner during the 8 hour journey. Furthermore, if the road conditions are bad, unless you’re in a Mercedes-Benz S-class, your ride will be bumpy on both a chicken bus and a shuttle.

Aracely Castellani (to be continued)

Central America 2 Cheap Local Transportation

 Depending on what kind of traveler you are, you either avoid them or take advantage of them whenever possible. In our case, Jason and I have a love hate relationship with the chicken buses. We love them because they are cheap, just as uncomfortable as a tourist shuttle, safe and we get to experience the culture of a country up close and personal.

First, let’s talk numbers. As a concrete example, we spent $33.70 between the two of us on transportation from the entrance of the Salvadorian boarder to the entrance of the Honduran border, which is approximately 228 miles. In comparison, while in Guatemala, we often traveled in tourist shuttles, with the exception of getting from Monterrico Beach to the boarder of El Salvador.

Aracely Castellani (to be continued)

Central America Chicken Buses

Culture and art is best represented in Central America by the old American school buses that have customized and painted in glaring colors. The art on these buses is taken seriously.

As a kid growing up in the USA, I, like the majority of the student population, rode a big yellow bus to school every morning. Back then, never did I imagine that later in life I would be making my way down Central America in that same type of transportation. Only this time, the colors and creative modifications of the bus are kaleidoscopical.

Old American school buses, affectionately referred to as “Chicken Buses,” are the primary mode of transportation throughout all of Central America.

Aracely Castellani (to be continued)

Belize 3 – Cost, Tours

There are a few hostels in Belize, and you can stay in a dorm for around BZ$25.00 / US$ 12.50, double rooms in guesthouses start at BZ$30.00 / US$15.00 for a shared bathroom or en-suite for BZ$40.00 / US$20.00 in the low season.

Main courses in restaurants start at BZ$ 8.00 /US$ 4.00 in San Ignacio, the Cayes are a little bit more expensive. A meal for two comes to around BZ$ 25.00 / US$ 12.50.

Public transport is very cheap, with buses from Belize City running to all major towns in the country for a max. The water taxi to Caye Caulker is BZ$20.00 / US$10.00 from Belize City.

Snorkeling tours start at BZ$40.00 / US$20.00 for a half day tour and a full day is BZ$80, the cave tours also start at BZ$ 40.00 / US$ 20.00, and the Actun Tunichil Muknal tour is the most expensive tour BZ$150.00 / US$ 75.00. 

This last tour might be the priciest, but by far the most adventurous of all the tours available to visitors in Belize. At least that is the opinion of the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, the New York Times, and, of course, the Globetrottergirls. 

Belize 2 Skeleton of a Mayan Girl

 Moving the adventure inland, San Ignacio, aka Cayo (or The Cayo District) serves as an adventure lover’s base for the area’s cave and jungle tours, kayaking or canoeing on the Macal river, zip lines, cave tubing, horse back riding and the ultimate – the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM ) tour. The ATM cave holds Mayan artifacts including several skulls and bones and even an entire skeleton of a young Mayan girl, the Crystal Maiden.

The Cayo District also holds most of Belize’s Maya ruins, such as Caracol, which is the best known site, and smaller ones like Cahal Pech and Xuchantunich.

The small size of the country means you could do both the land and water-based tours from one location, and there are tour operators on the Cayes who work together with the operators in San Ignacio, so that you can organize inland adventure tours from Caye Caulker or Ambergris Caye.

What does it cost?

(to be continued)

Belize - The Cayes – Snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea

The best known Cayes are Ambergris Caye and neighboring Caye Caulker. 

Ambergris Caye is the bigger and more developed island; Caye Caulker is known as Belize’s backpacker hangout with lower prices, cheaper accommodation and a more laid-back feel to it. However, prices are on the rise and more expensive hotels have been built.

The Cayes are great for snorkeling and diving, as they are just a boat ride away from the Mesoamerican Reef, the world’s second largest reef, and close to the famous Blue Hole – a stop on almost every diver’s bucket list. Even first time snorklers can swim with sharks, turtles, sting rays and schools of hundreds of fish. Neither Caye has a truly decent beach, a shame considering the spectacularly blue waters surrounding them, and except for diving, snorkeling and soaking up rays on a pier, there is not much to do other than sip Belizean rum punch in one of the many bars and nibble on some oven fresh banana bread.

Globetrottergirls (to be continued)