Things to do in Central America

The Mayan civilisation dominated Central America and, in particular, present-day Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, from around 2000 BCE onwards, and peaking between 600-900AD. But boy, did they peak. The Mayan Trail, or Ruta Maya, was created as a tourist route in the 1990s, allowing archaeological stunners to be rescued from the jungles’ natural takeovers and revealed to the world. Many of the well preserved ones are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the Trail now covers over 2,400km.

Although you will never tire of these masterful pyramids, palaces and ancient principalities, there are only so many you can do, so many people do a Mayan pic 'n' mix from Mexico, Belize and Guatemala’s finest, as that works geographically, allowing you to take in different contemporary cultures en route. Or, if you are making southern Guatemala your base, don’t miss Honduras and El Salvador’s Mayan marvels next door. Always with beaches thrown in along the way, because this is Central America after all. Bursting with history, but also with life. And life’s a beach, right?

Costa Rica has long been on the wildlife lover’s wishlist and rightly so. Touring here to fawn over fauna is a breeze and still one of the top things to do in Central America. And with turtles, quetzals, howler monkeys, sloths, caiman, otters, dolphins… you can take your pick of iconic species.

Wildlife wonders don’t stop for borders however, and Belize is bursting with beauty, with the second largest coral reef in the world. So diving and marine conservation volunteering vacations are big here, especially in Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Belizean rainforests are also home to jaguars, pumas, tapirs, crocodiles, scarlet macaws and toucans, to name but a few. Monkeys and other myriad marvels speed through the forests that line Nicaragua’s Rio San Juan river as well as the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve and Panama has more bird species than Costa Rica. And a lot fewer tourists than other Central American countries around to disturb them too.