Central America, Here I Come!

I booked my flights to Central America yesterday. I can't wait.

Next step is to book our hop-on-hop-off bus with Bamba Experience.

The idea is to start in Guatemala and head north through Belize til we get to Cancun, where we are flying home from.

Because I'm such a planner, and I'm so short on time, here's a run down of all the things we're planning to do. Did I miss anything?

Guatemala to Cancun – July 24 to Aug 3                                                                                   

Starting Point	Time	End Point	Time	Notes
July 24
Toronto	14:20	Guatemala City	19:15	VIA MIA
Guatemala City	21:00	Antigua	22:00	Hostel bus pick up
July 25
Antigua	14:00	Antigua	22:00	Incl Volcano tour
July 26
Antigua	08:00	Lanquin	14:00	6h hostel bus
July 27
Lanquin	09:00	Flores	16:00	7h hostel bus
July 28
Flores/Tikal	04:30am	Flores	13:00	Incl Tikal tour – leaves EARLY
July 29
Flores	07:30	Belize City	13:30	6h bus
July 30
Belize	08:00	Caye Caulker	16:30	Water Taxi
July 31
Belize	09:00	Chetumal	14:00
Chetumal	17:45	Tulum	19:25
Aug 1
Tulum	15:40	Playa Del Carmen	16:40	Visit ruins in morning
Playa Del Carmen	21:00	Cancun	22:00	Dinner and afternoon in PdC
Aug 2
Cancun	ALL DAY	Cancun	ALL DAY	Beach! Relax! Go to bed early
Aug 3
Cancun	07:00	Toronto	17:50

Central America - Where and What to do?

My cousin informed me earlier this year that if I wanted/needed a travel partner for this summer she would gladly follow me anywhere I wanted to go.

That's a pretty tall order to fill, wouldn't you say?

I'd originally wanted to organize a trip to Egypt with the bunch of us that were in Peru together, but a few things came up that would make such a trip somewhat difficult (including, but not exclusively limited to the issues Egypt has had lately).

So then I started thinking about Central America. I'd enjoyed Peru a lot and I had been considering doing a trip there earlier as well. I asked my cousin what she thought and she said she was up for an adventure to anywhere I was hoping to go... so the planning started.

Unfortunately I don't have as many vacation days this year as I had last year, so my time will be a bit shorter than in previous years (though I think I hit the jack pot last year with trips to Vegas, Vancouver, Finland/France/UK AND Peru all between April and November) but I still think it's do-able to see as much of the area as possible.

The options consist of 2 different ideas:

Costa Rica and Panama - lots of adventurey things to do plus a bit easier to get around and more backpacker friendly but more expensive due to being more touristy

or Mexico (Cancun/Cozumel/Playa Del Carmen), Belize and Guatemala - a bit more off the beaten track, with lots of diving/snorkelling to do as well as a bit cheaper and things like Mayan ruins to check out.

At this point the price of flights is similar to all destinations so that's not a big factor - but I'm taking advice and  suggestions - where do you think I should go?