Tiny on a map, Central America packs in more diversity than any similar-sized area on the planet. No matter when or how long you visit, daily adventures are there for the taking. They come in all styles – fun, easy, bumpy, challenging, surprising, fulfilling – the sort you’ll be talking about for decades. Caribbean white-sand beaches and offshore reefs border lazy backpacker towns while, not far away, coffee-scented mountains reach, Dr Seuss–like, through smoke-ring clouds. Spanish haciendas line the cobblestone streets of 16th-century colonial towns under the ominous gaze of lava-gurgling volcanoes. Wander through dense jungle to find Mayan pyramids that date back a millennium as bulldog-sized rodents scurry past and howler monkeys commute in the treetops above you.
