Experience the best of Central America on your gap year with this package that covers Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama in one epic trip!
Kick off your gap year in Mexico, home to tequila, mariachi bands and tacos! Flying into Mexico City, you'll meet a group of travellers to join a tour taking you to the surf town of Puerto Escondido. Along the way you'll visit the attractive towns of Puebla and Oaxaca.
Then it's time to learn to ride the waves and brush up on your Spanish with a combo package in Puerto Escondido that includes lessons for both. Make your own way to Cancun and the palm-fringed beaches of Playa del Carmen to meet new travel buddies and start another group adventure.
Take a month to travel through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica to end in San Jose. There are plenty of incredible experiences included in this tour, but some of the highlights have to be relaxing on the tropical island of Caye Caulker, marvelling at the Mayan ruins of Tikal, exploring the attractive colonial streets of Granada and walking the suspension bridges in the Monteverde Cloudforest.
From San Jose make your own way through the southern region of Costa Rica and into Panama to join a 4-day trip around the gorgeous San Blas islands to learn about the local Guna Yala way of life. Your gap year adventure ends with a flight home from Panama City.
*From price per person based on shared accommodation
What's included
- Flights from the UK to Mexico, returning from Panama
- 8-day small-group tour from Mexico City to Puerto Escondido
- 14-day Surf and Spanish package in Puerto Escondido with surf lessons and Spanish classes
- 32-day small-group tour from Playa del Carmen to San Jose covering the highlights of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica
- 14-day Turtle Conservation volunteer project in Costa Rica
- 4-day San Blas Islands Authentic Guna Yala Experience
- Booking fees
- Services of your own travel advisor
What's not included
- Travel insurance (but we can help you with that)
- Vaccinations (ask us about our discount with Nomad Travel)
- Meals (unless otherwise specified)
- Optional activities (but we have loads more to choose from!)
- Travel arrangements and accommodation during DIY sections of the itinerary (because we know you'll also want to travel independently on your gap year)
Suggested Itinerary:
Central America Gap Year Adventure
Home - Mexico City - Puerto Escondido - Playa del Carmen - Caye Caulker - Flores - Antigua - Copan - Suchitoto - Leon - Granada - Ometepe - Monteverde - La Fortuna - San Jose - Panama City - San Blas Islands - Home
This itinerary is just a suggestion and can be customised to suit your unique travel plans. Make it longer, make it shorter. Add in the things you want to do. Get in touch with our travel experts to turn this itinerary into your dream Central America gap year.
Mexico City to Puerto Escondido
Small-group tour in Mexico
Welcome to Mexico and the start of your epic gap year!
We know backpacking for the first time can be a little intimidating. That's why we've set you up with a small-group tour to introduce you to Mexico with a bunch of like-minded travellers, staying in cool hostels.
Start with a tour of Mexico City, including a visit to the Monument to the Revolution for the great views and the iconic "El Angel" statue for the obligatory photos. You'll also visit the trendy area of Colonia Roma Norte to visit a local market and find some mouth-watering tacos al pastor, and the colourful neighborhood of Xochimilco where you'll float along in a typical "trajinera" boat along the canals of this ancient water system built by the Aztecs.
Continue to the colonial town of Puebla for the night before heading on to Oaxaca - a city packed full of culture and incredible food. Enjoy time to explore at leisure or opt for a range of optional activities.
The final stop on this tour is the coastal town of Puerto Escondido where the next stage of your adventure takes place.
Puerto Escondido
Surf and Spanish classes
Get the most out of your time on Mexico's Pacific coast with this all-inclusive package that combines surf and Spanish with a little yoga and salsa thrown in!
For two weeks you'll be staying at a cool surf camp located in a very popular surfing area called "Punta Zicatela" in Puerto Escondido. It's a social spot where you can spend the evening relaxing with newly made friends after a busy day learning to ride the waves, perfecting your Spanish grammar and pronunciation, and unwinding with a spot of yoga.
Breakfast is included with a cafeteria where you can buy affordable, tasty meals for lunch. In the evenings, make use of the shared kitchen with a home-cooked meal or head out to sample the local taco joints and eateries.
Puerto Escondido to Playa del Carmen
Travel independently in Mexico
Now it's time for a spot of DIY travel using your freshly acquired Spanish skills!
Travelling from Puerto Escondido to Playa del Carmen offers a great opportunity to explore some beautiful parts of Mexico. The bus network in Mexico is extensive and you can use the ADO app to easily and quickly book bus tickets between cities and towns throughout the country.
For this particular journey, we recommend heading back to Oaxaca for better connections. From there, you can visit San Cristóbal de las Casas, a charming town in Chiapas with beautiful colonial architecture, indigenous culture, and nearby natural attractions like Sumidero Canyon.
A must-see is Palenque, famous for its impressive Mayan ruins set in the jungle. The coastal city of Campeche is a great stop to add to your itinerary with well-preserved colonial architecture and a picturesque historic centre.
Finally, consider spending a few days in Mérida, the capital of Yucatán, known for its cultural events, museums, and proximity to Mayan ruins like Uxmal and Chichén Itzá.
Playa del Carmen to San Jose
32 days through Central America
In Playa del Carmen, it's time to meet a new group of travel buddies for an epic overland adventure across Central America covering seven countries!
For the next four weeks, you'll be experiencing the highlights of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, ending in the capital of San Jose.
These highlights include a guided tour of the spectacular Mayan ruins of Tikal and a scenic boat ride from Rio Dulce to the Caribbean town of Livingston. At Lake Atitlan you'll stay with a local family for immersion into Guatemala's indigenous cultures. There's also a homestay experience on the picturesque island of Ometepe in Nicaragua with two volcanoes at its centre.
There'll also be plenty of time for optional activities and for you to explore independently or with newly formed friends from your travel group.
All accommodation is included, as is your local transport and a few meals.
San Jose and around
Travel independently around Costa Rica
After saying goodbye to the travel buddies that accompanied you through Central America, you have the option to travel independently around Costa Rica for a few days (or weeks!) to see more of the country.
If that's your plan, we have a few recommendations on where to go. First, you could visit the Poas Volcano, which is a short trip from San Jose. Continuing further east to the Caribbean coast, you could spend a few days on a wildlife adventure in Tortuguero National Park before heading south to enjoy the beaches of Cahuita and Puerto Viejo.
Want to put the surf skills you picked up in Mexico to use? Head to the Nicoya Peninsula on the Atlantic Coast and join another surf camp for a week or two practising how to surf.
Whatever you decide to do, when you're ready, head to Puerto Jimenez for the next leg of your gap year adventure.
Puerto Jimenez
Two weeks volunteering with turtles
For the next two weeks you'll be volunteering with turtles on the South Pacific coast of Costa Rica in this community-driven conservation project.
The project focuses on conserving sea turtle nesting beach habitat on the the Osa Peninsula, protecting 8km of beach and registering over 7,000 nests per season.
As a volunteer you'll participate in daily turtle patrols - protecting new nests, recording data on the nesting females, see flipper tagging, excavating hatched nests, assisting in the tourism element and releasing hatchlings. During the day, there will also be beach clean-ups, plastic classification, English lessons for local people, presentations at our local schools, and tree planting and other maintenance projects around our camp.
This grassroots project is an excellent opportunity for you to give back to local communities, practice your Spanish, and gain valuable skills for future career prospects.
Accommodation and meals are included, and there'll be free time to explore the local area, including Corcovado National Park and the popular surf spot of Matapalo.
Puerto Jimenez to Panama City
Travel independently through Panama
Once your volunteer project has wrapped up, it's time to hit the road and continue your journey through Central America to your next destination - Panama.
This section of your gap year adventure is DIY, so you can choose where you go in Panama and how long you stay. After crossing the border from Costa Rica, you could spend a few days in the small mountain town of Boquete, where you can opt to tackle the sunrise trek to Baru Volcano.
From Boquete you could head east to the islands of Bocas del Toro - a paradise of lush forests, pristine beaches, vibrant Afro-Caribbean culture, and thrilling activities.
To break up the journey to Panama City, you could consider a stop in El Valle de Antón. This charming mountain town is known for its cooler climate and beautiful scenery. The city of Santiago is a natural midpoint and offers a glimpse into Panama's cultural heritage.
Wherever you decide to go, finish in Panama City and spend a few days exploring the highlights before the next included package in this adventure.
San Blas Islands
Authentic Guna Yala Experience
Spend the next few days enjoying the pristine, laid-back beaches of the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. Swim in crystal clear Caribbean waters and enjoy a tour to discover the island's breathtaking surroundings.
You'll be picked up from your accommodation in Panama City and transferred by boat to your host island, where you'll be staying for three nights with all meals included.
With two full days here, you'll have the chance to visit a number of different islands, see the starfish of Natural Pool, snorkel around the shipwreck of Perro Chico, and purchase handmade souvenirs from the local Guna community.
This 4-day package ends with a transfer back to Panama City where you can spend a few extra days before your return flight home to the UK.
