The plan is to spend winter months (or maybe more) overseas. Panama and Mexico are both strong candidates (I'm also looking into SEA and Europe). I'm wondering what were some of the deciding factors that made you choose Mexico over Panama? It would be great to hear from anyone that has spent time in both countries.
The plan is to spend winter months (or maybe more) overseas. Panama and Mexico are both strong candidates (I'm also looking into SEA and Europe). I'm wondering what were some of the deciding factors that made you choose Mexico over Panama? It would be great to hear from anyone that has spent time in both countries.
The plan is to spend half (or maybe more)of the year overseas. Panama and Mexico are both strong candidates (I'm also looking into SEA and Europe). I'm wondering what were some of the deciding factors that made you choose Panama over Mexico? It would be great to hear from anyone that has spent time in both countries.
My wife and I are creating a list of potential retirement destinations and Panama is in the top 5. One important factor for my wife is the prevalence of large insects. She's has a serious phobia about insects (flying cockroaches in particular). If we were to find a nice condo (not on the ground floor) and make the effort to keep it clean, how likely are we to find large insects inside the home?
I would just like to thank all the posters and responders on this site. Prior to joining Reddit, I was trying to narrow down where in SEA I will retire. The top candidates were Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. After reading all the whinging and whining about the food, the people, the infrastructure, the scams, economics,etc I don't think the Philippines is for me. For context, I am happily married and wasn't considering the Philippines for poverty porn. So again, thank you....you saved me lots of money and time.
Of course traveling has become much easier/more convenient with the internet but traveling without it seemed more adventurous. Apart from what might be included in a guidebook you really had no idea what the next city was going to be like. Getting lost was a regular occurrence but it was part of the adventure. Booking your accommodation in advance...forget about it. If you wanted to contact friends or family you had to send a letter and hope that the stars would align and you could pick up a response at some AmEx office months from when you sent it. Reviews didn't exist unless you got one from someone you crossed paths with. Prior to arriving in Africa, I didn't know a single person who had done so (obviously I wasn't the first but I couldn't get any advice or recommendations from anyone). I had never seen a picture of Victoria Falls so when I actually saw it with my own eyes, I was blown away - I'm not sure that I would have felt the same if I had seen dozens of perfectly cropped, color adjusted photos and videos before hand. People went out of their way to chat with fellow travelers at a hostel rather than doom scroll on instagram. And no annoying 'influencers'! I wouldn't say it was better but definitely different.
My wife and I are considering partial retirement in Penang. I've visited before and thought it was fantastic. My wife is attracted to the culture and weather but is concerned about 'creepy crawlies'. She has a strong phobia about all insects and is worried that due to the weather, Penang might have a lot. How likely is it to come across roaches if you are staying in a nice apartment/condo?
This probably should be in the travel hack reddit but I'll try here. I've traveled solo quite a lot and I've come to realize that the most spectacular scenery is that which is unexpected. I had seen hundreds of pictures of the Taj Mahal before visiting it in1992 and I think, as a result, I was a bit disappointed when I actually saw it with my own eyes. It was much smaller than I was expecting. Years later when I was planning on visiting the Middle East, I made an effort to avoid images of the places (e.g. Petra) as much as possible and was blown away by the epic scenery. I think my reaction had a lot to do with the absence of expectations. I did the same for a trip in the Balkans and was amazed at the beautiful scenery. I don't know if I would have felt the same if I had seen countless photos (many with filters and perfect cropping). I'll admit it's kind of hard to avoid these days but I purposefully don't go out of my way to search out photos. I visited a site in El Salvador that I hadn't even heard of until the day before I went. I had no idea what to expect apart from a recommendation by someone in the hostel. It was amazing!
Spent a month traveling solo through the area. I skipped the Belizean coast because I heard it was over rated and I don't scuba dive. Apart from the ATM cave (highlight of the trip), I found San Ignacio pretty underwhelming. The Yellow Belly Backpacker was a good hostel with very friendly staff and a nice complementary breakfast. Mayan ruins were OK but they don't really compare to more impressive sites in Guatemala or southern Mexico.
Guatamala was super touristy. Much more than I expected but I guess it's been a popular place for decades. I suppose I was late to the 'party' but I don't understand the hype. Lake Attitlan seemed like a gift shop, same goes for Antigua and Flores (I know I went to all the touristy places but they are touristy for a reason). The days of it being a cheap destination are long gone.The overnight volcano hike was really good.
El Salvador was great! The transformation of the country is pretty wild - going from one of the most dangerous places in the Americas to one of the safest in just a matter of years is wild. Santa Ana was alright, felt safe and very affordable (way cheaper than Guatemala thanks to the local transportation options). Santa Ana volcano was nice day trip. Spent most of my time in La Ruta del Flores (Juayua). Lots of do - 7 waterfall hike, coffee tours, thermal waterfalls (another highlight - it's hard to get to so it's not yet overrun with people ... yet). San Salvador was just another big city but it seemed very safe.
I only speak super basic Spanish so I'm sure I missed out on a lot of social interaction. I've traveled across 6 continents and I've found that people that work in the tourist industry(hostels) usually have some basic English - not Guatemala or El Salvador! You can still get by with a translator on your phone.
El Salvador was by far the cheapest of the three. Belize was more expensive than Guatemala but not by a lot. I averaged just under $60US/day. I stayed mostly in hostel dorms. Transportation in Guatemala, using tourist shuttles, was pretty expensive. Local transport in El Salvador was dirt cheap.
As a vegetarian, I never went hungry but it's not a foodie destination. The coffee was kind of disappointing (apparently they export the best stuff) it tasted no different from what you find at home.
I never got sick or ripped off. Everything went exceptionally smoothly. I got to see everything I wanted to plus a lot more. Overall a very good trip but I'm not in a rush to return to Central American anytime soon.