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Tips That Can Make Your Central American Trip a Better Experience

by Marina K. Villatoro, Guatemala on April 12, 2011 • Dream

1. Practice Your Spanish: Part of the fun of traveling is trying to communicate with the local people and learning their traditions. In Central America you will always find nice people willing to help you and to give you some interesting information about their culture.

2. How to Learn More About Local Culture: It would be better to get a local, private guide. The best way to get to know the local culture from the country or town you are visiting is to not go with a big tour group.

3. Eat Safely When Traveling To Central America: So you are traveling to Central America and concerned about what foods are safe to eat?

  • Any food that has been boiled is generally safe.
  • Avoid food that requires a lot of handling before serving.
  • Don’t drink the water in some countries overseas unless you are in Costa Rica.

4. Airport taxis: Almost always crime starts at the airport with pirate cabs that offer a much lower fare. 50% of them are good guys trying to make a living, but the other 50% not so much. So, always go with registered airport cabs. They will never rob you because the whole company has to answer for the misdoing.

5. Check out the Countryside: Central America is home to some of the world’s most fascinating ancient sites that include Mayan ruins, church ruins, old buildings from its colonial days, incredible forests and much more. So, what’s the point of staying in the urban areas?

6. Enjoying Foreign Food: When we travel to a different country we tend to look for what is familiar like Mc Donald’s or Starbucks. In this case the advice would be to try the local dishes, enjoy every new dish and flavor. I know that some dishes might look a bit weird but you will be pleasantly surprised in most of the cases.

7. How Not to Gain Weight on Your Vacation: Many people gain weight when they travel so, I came up with some ideas on what you can do to avoid it:

  • Don’t wait until you are starving to go to a restaurant.
  • Ask for healthier options in whatever restaurant you visit.
  • If you still want to have what is on the menu ask for a smaller portion.
  • Personalize your order, for example, ask for a salad instead of mashed potatoes.

8. Useful Advice For Gifts When Traveling: Most of us like to buy gifts when traveling, specially if we are buying for a special occasion. I would recommend putting the gifts with the rest of your luggage. There will be some delicate things that you might want to take with you and those must definitely go in your hand luggage. Before you even buy the present it is best to check hand luggage restrictions of the country you are leaving and the one you will be entering.

9. Overcoming Jet Lag: During the first day the most important thing to do is to STAY AWAKE. The secret is, once you arrive at your hotel, don’t stay there. Central America has tons of fun activities so go out! Then you can hit the sack at a decent hour. This way, when you wake up the next day you’ll be more or less on local time and refreshed!

10. Long Road Trip Boredom Solved: Let’s face it, long road trips or long airplane flights can drive a kid and everyone around them crazy! There is only so much coloring, destroying, play doo-ing one can do. My solution: Portable DVD player!

11. Obvious Stuff We Sometimes Overlook: The first one is to wear comfortable shoes but sometimes shoes that may have been comfortable at home are not comfortable for traveling.

13. A Couple of Things to Consider When Flying While Pregnant: I know that sometimes women who are pregnant for the first time want to go on a final adventure before they have to go crazy with diapers and feeding. Here is a list of tips that will help pregnant travelers have a better trip.

  • A seat near the bathroom will facilitate more frequent bladder emptying.
  • An aisle seat will make it easier to get up for those trips to the bathroom.
  • Bulkhead seats have the most legroom.
  • Get up and take a short walk down the aisle once every half hour.
  • Don’t travel alone. You never know when you are going to need some help.
  • Don’t forget to get a medical certificate from your doctor.
  • Carry your emergency contact number and your doctor’s contact number.
  • Do some research about clinics of the country you are traveling to.

BIO

Marina K. Villatoro has been living an expat lifestyle and being 100% location independent for over 10 years. She travels with her family in Central America.

http://travelexperta.com