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My soon to be wifey and I will be honeymooning in CA. We plan to visit Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, and will fly into Guat city and spend time probably near Antiqua and definitely Tikal on the way to Belize. We only have a month so we were thinking of flying from Guat to CR to save time but...its like $300 round trip each. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Either bite the bullet and buy the plane tickets, or you'll be spending at least two, probably three full days in transit on buses during your honeymoon. Bear in mind that international buses don't run overnight in Central America. You can get from Guatemala City to Tegucigalpa in a day, but there's no way you'll find anything onward to Managua the same day. Maybe - just maybe - if you leave Guatemala City on the first bus of the day, hit a connection in Tegucigalpa on to Danli, and another one to the border at Las Manos, you can get as far as Esteli, Nicaragua the same day. If you can do that, you'll easily be able to each Liberia, Costa Rica, and probably even San Jose the next day. But then you'd have to skip Nicaragua, and that would be a mistake.

To be totally honest, an itinerary with Belize, Guatemala (especially two locations as far-flung as Antigua and Tikal), Costa Rica, and Panama doesn't sound like a very good or enjoyable idea for one month, especially for a honeymoon.

And adding to that, if you are on a budget, Costa Rica is pretty damn expensive! Especially if you want to go to the national parks or do any activities.

Thanks for the response. Maybe we are trying to pack a lot in but we aren't being to strict about an itinerary so if we love one place we are happy to skip others. Originally we wanted to start in Belize and make our way down and fly out of Panama. We were caught up in the romance of the laid back island of Caye Caulker....until we found out there wasn't any beaches really. That put a kink in the old newlyweds drinking on the beach and watching the sunset for couple days before the real travel started plan. We have a friend in Guat city and round trip through Guat is definitely cheaper than Belize and having a different entry and exit point.
We don't want to stay in Guat city though. Maybe we will head straight to Flores and Tikal and save Antiqua for another time. Flores seems relaxed enough to spend a few decompression days and let it sink in that, yes we are married , and yes we will not be at work for a month. Ruins are definitely high on the list so Tikal seems like a must.
Part of the reason we are going, and the choice of our destinations, is that we may want to move to CA. Land around San Ignacio seems cheap enough and looks beautiful. So we would really like to get a feel for the area. So theres more of the story. We would love to hear suggestions concerning any of these topics.
oh yeah we still have visions of drinking on the beach and being good and lazy. Roatan? Bocas del Toro? what do you think?
D

quote:

Originally posted by underoaks:
oh yeah we still have visions of drinking on the beach and being good and lazy. Roatan? Bocas del Toro? what do you think?
D

Based on what you've told me, focus on Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras (Roatan and the north coast would fit the bill for you), or Mexico (either the Caribbean, from Belize; or the Pacific [Chiapas highlands and possibly Oaxaca], from Guatemala). There are lots of ruins in both Mexico options. There are gorgeous beaches all the way north from the Mexico-Belize border, as well as Maya ruins. You could work your way all the way north to Cancun (worthwhile for its major airport), and fly back to Guatemala City for $200. Or, you could veer west into Chiapas from Tikal, and see the sprawling ruins at Palenque, and head over to the beaches in Oaxaca (Puerto Escondido, Mazunte).

If you can't afford to fly, it makes little sense to try to visit Costa Rica and Panama when your arrival and departure point is Guatemala City, and you have only a month.