Latin America has it all for Adventure Travellers

Tropical Rainforest, indigenous culture, mountains, sunny beaches, coral reefs, you name it, it's here. No wonder it is a popular destination for backpackers. But travel in Latin America can be rough. The infrastructure is not as good as in, for instance, Europe or Southeast Asia. But that differs per country, and in general, the infrastructure around most tourist attractions is okay.

Latin, Central, South

Latin America is a general term for both Central and South America.

Mexico and the many small countries in Central America have a Spanish colonial background. And in many of them, the indigenous people still form a substantial percentage of the population. For that reason, a cultural division of the Americas should be between North and Latin America, instead of North and South America.
Since we planned a World Journey Without Wings, Latin America was not on our itinerary. However, we did visit Central America on different long vacations, and we planned our Honeymoon in Surinam, a former dutch colony in South America. Not really Latin, but representative for the Amazon area.

Mexico

In Mexico, we started our vacation in 1999 along the Maya Route. We visited the Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza and also the Palenque Ruins, but also got a touch from the Spanish colonial remains in Yucatan and the indigenous culture around San Cristobal de las Casas.

What others write about Mexico:
Cabo San Lucas - Adventures to Satisfy Most Anyone.

Guatemala

In Guatemala we visited the Tikal Mayan Ruins, but also inspiring nature with rainforests and volcanoes. We even went Climbing the Pacaya Volcano.

This country also has the largest indigenous population of the Americas. Their culture can best be seen and experienced here. Take for instance Panajachel at Lake Atitlan as a great base for exploring the indian villages.

Honduras

For the Maya ruins of Copan, we also entered Honduras. Yet another country, with its own look and feel, different from the other countries.

Belize

Belize, beautiful gem on the Atlantic coast, has beaches and coral reef as an extra bonus to the temples and rainforest. Here we visited Caye Caulker, a small island of the coast.

What others write about Belize:
Belize Travel and Adventure
ATM Cave (Actun Tunichil Muknal) Belize

Costa Rica

In a different vacation, we visited Costa Rica. Lots of nature attractions here, no wonder that this has become the eco tourism destination in the world.

What others write about Costa Rica:
Eco tourism and Adventure Travel in Costa Rica

Surinam

We planned our honeymoon in Surinam, and it�s not our style to book a resort to look romantically in each others eyes for two weeks. So, we booked a tour through the country, merely traveling over water. In three weeks time we went piranha fishing, visited the descendents of escaped slaves, visited the Indians, saw the giant sea turtles, and even took a side trip to French Guyana and the Devils islands.

South America Highlights

South America has many more highlights. It is, however, a difficult country to travel overland. It is always possible to just pack a bag and go on the off chance, but chances are that you need a lot of time to see a bit (you will have a good time, though). Instead, try to choose one or more highlights to base your itinerary upon.

Extensive South America traveler Mark van Overmeire has created a short list of five highlights you must see when travelling South America.

Also check out the Tropical Nature Travel website for Ecotourism in Latin America.

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