San José
On the southern side of the Plaza de la Cultura resides the Teatro Nacional, San José’s most revered building. Constructed in 1897, it features a columned…
Must-see attractions in Central America
Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio
Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio & Around
Featuring lush jungle, picture-perfect beaches and craggy headlands, this tiny park (1680 acres/680 hectares) absolutely brims with wildlife (and often…
Cahuita
At the northwestern end of Cahuita, Playa Negra is a long, black-sand beach flying the bandera azul ecológica, a flag that indicates that the beach is…
Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo
Antigua
Founded by Dominican friars in 1542, Santo Domingo became the biggest and richest monastery in Antigua. Following three 18th-century earthquakes, the…
Ambergris Caye
At the southern tip of Ambergris, the 6.5-sq-mile Hol Chan Marine Reserve is probably Belize's most oft-visited diving and snorkeling site. It offers…
Panajachel
A former coffee plantation being reclaimed by natural vegetation, this reserve is 200m past the Hotel Atitlán on the northern outskirts of town. It makes…
Panama City
Celebrating Panama as the land bridge that has permitted astonishing biodiversity in the region, this world-class museum is a visual feast. Exhibits tell…
Southern Costa Rica & Península de Osa
Around 500km southwest of the Costa Rica mainland, Isla del Coco is a natural wonder that teems with wildlife, including the largest schools of hammerhead…
Chichicastenango
Some villagers still walk for hours carrying their wares to reach Chichi's market, one of Guatemala's largest and a highlight of many people's trips to…
Antigua
At the northern end of 5a Av is La Merced – a striking yellow building trimmed with white plaster filigree. Its facade is one of the most beautiful in…
Antigua
The Arco de Santa Catalina is Antigua's most iconic monument, and an early-morning or late-afternoon photo opportunity framing Volcán Agua through its…
Reserva Natural Volcán Mombacho
Nicaragua
It’s been a few decades since this 1345m volcano, the defining feature of the Granada skyline, has acted up, but it is still most certainly active and…
Convento y Museo San Francisco
Granada
One of the oldest churches in Central America, Convento San Francisco boasts a robin's egg–blue birthday-cake facade and houses both an important convent…
Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal
From 1968 until 2010, Volcán Arenal was an ever-active and awe-striking natural wonder, producing menacing ash columns, massive explosions and streams of…
Museo Arqueológico Huellas de Acahualinca
Managua
Discovered by miners in 1874, these fossilized tracks record the passage of perhaps 10 people – men, women and children – as well as birds, raccoons, deer…
Southern Costa Rica & Península de Osa
The world-class Wilson Botanical Garden is internationally known for its collection of more than 2000 native Costa Rican species. Species threatened with…
San José
This museum houses the world’s largest collection of American jade (pronounced ‘ha-day’ in Spanish), with an ample exhibition space of five floors…
Belize City
This modern museum in the Fort George District provides an excellent overview of the story of Belize, told through exhibits housed in the country's former…
Half Moon Caye Natural Monument
Belize
Half Moon Caye Natural Monument is known first and foremost as providing nesting grounds for the rare red-footed booby bird, but the island's enchantments…
Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio & Around
Geography fun fact: this isthmus, which is the centerpiece of the park, is called a tombolo and was formed by the accumulation of sand between the…
Museo de Oro Precolombino y Numismática
San José
This three-in-one museum houses an extensive collection of Costa Rica's most priceless pieces of pre-Columbian gold and other artifacts, including…
Belize City
Some of the most spectacular snorkeling in Belize happens just a short swim off the powder-white sands of Goff's Caye, a tiny, uninhabited island just a…
Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos
Isla Bastimentos
Established in 1988, this 132-sq-km marine park was Panama's first. Protecting 130 islands of the Bocas del Toro archipelago, including the coral-fringed…
Museo para la Identidad Nacional
Tegucigalpa
If you hit only one sight in Tegus, head here. The museum is housed in the gorgeously renovated 19th-century former Palace of Ministries. It's a superb…
San Salvador
Designed by sculptor Ruben Martinez and completed in 1971, Iglesia El Rosario is radically beautiful. Arguably the finest church in Central America, its…
Green Iguana Conservation Project
San Ignacio
On the lush Macal Valley grounds of the San Ignacio Resort Hotel, this excellent program collects and hatches iguana eggs, raising the reptiles until they…
León
Three blocks north of the cathedral, the 1786 Iglesia de la Recolección is considered the city’s most beautiful church, a Mexican-style baroque confection…
Managua
The hollow shell of Managua’s Old Cathedral remains Managua’s most poignant metaphor, shattered by the 1972 earthquake – and slowly undergoing restoration…
Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio & Around
A half-hour hike from the park entrance, the exposed Playa Espadilla Sur is to the north of Punta Catedral and gorgeous with pinch-me scenes of white sand…
Panama City
This wonderful privately owned museum features the best collection of Panamanian art anywhere, an excellent collection of works on paper by Latin American…
Monteverde & Around
The exquisitely misty 310-hectare Reserva Santa Elena offers a completely different cloud forest experience from Monteverde. Cutting through the veiled…
Isla de Ometepe
Climbing this 1394m volcano is challenging but worthwhile. Guides are required for the seven- to eight-hour round-trip trek (with four to five hours of…
Isla de Ometepe
This massive (and active) volcano is an Ometepe landmark. The seven- to 10-hour hike up loose volcanic stone to the summit of this looming peak can be…
Montezuma
A 40-minute river hike leads to a waterfall with a delicious swimming hole. Further along, a second set of falls offers a good 12m leap into deep water…
Western El Salvador
In the K’iche’ language Tazumal means ‘pyramid where the victims were burned.’ Archaeologists estimate that the verdant 10-sq-km Tazumal area – much of…
Museo de Arte Fundación Ortiz-Gurdián
León
Probably the finest museum of contemporary art in all of Central America, the Ortiz-Gurdián Collection has spilled over from its original home in Casa Don…
Isla de Ometepe
The excellent Museo Numismástico (Money Museum) documents the troubled history of the Nicaraguan economy through its coins and banknotes. Across the road,…
Uvita
Around 2.5km inland and uphill (toward Cascada Verde hostel), this waterfall plunges into an inviting deep pool, perfect for a refreshing dip. Visitors…
San José
Though josefinos mainly do their shopping at chain supermarkets, San José’s crowded indoor markets retain an old-world, authentic feel. This main market,…
Catarata Manantial de Agua Viva
Central Pacific Coast
This 200m-high waterfall is claimed to be the highest in the country. From the entrance, it’s a steep 3km (45-minute) hike down into the valley (an hour…
