What are some great places to go in Belize or Panama?

Question

I'm pretty open to all of Central America, but would like to stay away from Costa Rica - just because of the amount of tourists. Are there any tour companies that you can recommend? I'm looking for something outdoorsy (hiking, diving, rafting) with a mix of culture and wildlife.

Answer 1

In Belize:

On Caye Caulker there are many half-day tours out to the reef.  The trips include the boat ride to and from the reef, snorkel, fins, mask, and snacks.  The trips usually include three stops and the total cost is $20 usd. Well worth it.  These tours should be booked the day before.

In San Ignacio, we did a caving tour through Mayan Mystic Tours owned and operated by Sandro.  This was an all day tour that included equipment, lunch, and transportation.  We canoed into a river cave with mayan pottery and skulls at Barton Creek, hiked through several cave systems, saw jungle wildlife, and went cliff jumping at Big Rock Falls.  This was all withing the Pine Reserve in the Cayo district of eastern Belize.  This was about $60 a person and was a highlight.  Sandro was very informative about the area and we were able to meet some of the menonites in the area.  We saw no other tourists that entire day.

Answer 2

In Panama:

El Valle de Anton (termal waters, Canopy and The Perfect place for souveniers)

The Cause WAy  (Good for walking, Bycycling and roller bladding)  Great View of the Americas Bridge and many Bars and Restaurants.

The Panama Canal  (Miraflores Lock)  Great View of the Canal and how it works  (there is a fee for this)

Beaches:  comming from Costa Rica you will find hundreds of beaches.  You might want to stop in El Palmar, Santa Clara, Santa Catalina, Rio Mar..I could go on and On

There is an All inclusive Hotel (maybe 2) called decameron, I would stay there for a couple days to enjoy the beach..DO not stay on Weekend..to crouded with weird loud people.

Panama Viejo (ruins)  Nice place to visit, during the day..It is arround unsafe places though, but If you want to go, it would be nice, just be careful

The Old City (Casco Viejo)  Nice Restaurants, Be careful, it is also sorrounded by dangerous communities, Nice churches It is worth the risk..You might want to visit the GOlden Altar..It is an altar that was painted in black to save it from the Pirates, and then it was cleanned It is ammazing... The National Theater and the Buildings are very nice...

Night Life in THe Panama City:  The Avenida Uruguay and teh Calle 50 Area..Near Fridays  HAs a bunch of little Bars..This is the Best night life area right now..

Have Fun And Ejoy Panama.

Sorry No Info on Belize..I heard it is Expenssive

Answer 3

Hmm,, I'd definitely say go to Panama. I lived there for 3 years and it was awesome!  If you're into the outdoors then I'd definitely suggest going to Isla Grande.  It's awesome.  There aren't many hotels, at least not where we went.  But the water is awesome and the wildlife is so diverse.  It's also not that far away from the ruins of Portobelo, which are so beautiful - the old church is just amazing.

The Cause Way is another great place to go.  You can rent bikes and such, or you can just walk down it.  The wind blows strong over there so it's the perfect mixture of insane heat and cool air.

Panama Viejo is right off the Coredor Sur on the way to the city from the airport.  It's not far off from the Calle 50 area.  It' the remnants of old Panamian buildings.  The moss coverage is really interesting to look at.

Like one of the other answerers said, Decameron.  I'm friends with the guy who owns it.  It's an all inclusive resort with jet skiing, horse back riding, nice beaches, great swimming, boogy boarding, skim boarding, you can go meet some of the Incas and other Panamanian tribes.  It's really interesting, and it's never boring.

Santa Clara is one of the best beaches.  It's got nice little "cabanas" as my friends called them.  Huge straw umbrella type things cover you and there's hammocks.  The water is so beautiful and the shore is great for skim boarding.

If you're going to stay in the city then the Miramar is a great hotel to stay at.  Either that or the Marriott attached to the huge mall Multiplaza Pacifica.  Which by the way has great shopping - outdoorsy stuff, inside stuff.. it's just WOW.  There's another mall called Multicentro, which used to have a casino at the top.  Both malls have movie theaters - but Extreme Planet, which is right next to Multicentro on Avenida Balboa has VIP theaters where you an order food.

The nightlife in Panama is great.  There's a bunch of bars on Calle50.  TGI Fridays and Bennigans are great places to go eat, if you're in the mood for icecream there's a couple Haagen Daz's.

I hope you have a great trip and I'm sorry I don't have any  information on Belize.. But Panama'll be an awesome vacation -

Answer 4

Good call Belize is a great place to go here are some links from Adventure Brat with some of the best adventures in Belize

Belize Island Adventure

http://adventurebrat.com/search.php?acti...

Belize Sacred Caves and Coast

http://adventurebrat.com/search.php?acti...

Belize Sea Kayak Odyssey

http://adventurebrat.com/search.php?acti...

Temples, Jungle and Reef

http://adventurebrat.com/search.php?acti...