Central American Explorer

This 24-night small-group tour with Explore Worldwide crosses six Central American countries, starting in Panama City. Follow the course of the Panama Canal, before travelling west to Boquete, set among coffee plantations and volcanic hills. From here, the itinerary wanders through the Caribbean coastlines and rainforests of Costa Rica, including time in the Monteverde Cloud Forest and nearby active volcanoes.

Crossing into Nicaragua, the route includes Ometepe Island, made up of two volcanoes in Lake Nicaragua, and the colonial cities of Granada and Leon. The journey continues by sea and road through El Salvador’s coastal Gulf of Fonseca and San Salvador, before entering Guatemala and Honduras to explore ancient Mayan sites at Copan. The final days are spent in Antigua, with cobbled streets and volcano views, and optional visits to nearby Maya ruins.

Border crossings are a feature here, and often slow-going, so patience and a good book come in handy. Highlights include hummingbirds and spider monkeys in the cloud forest, steamy fumaroles along forest trails, and the sheer scale of the hieroglyphic stairway at Copan. It is a thorough, considered route rather than a rapid sprint through the region.