Central America is a land-made barbell that links a hulking North and South, and with exception to the Maya marvels in Guatemala, or the happy high of Costa Rica, it is often overlooked on a tour of the Americas. Which is a good thing; for the time being at least, you can still get a chunk of it all to yourself.

For coffee aficionados, this is the holy land. For volcanophiles, this is a region right out of your dreams. Naturalists come to awe at the stunning biodiversity, and backpackers come for the cheap tamales, deep jungle hiking, hip-shaking punta rock, and the Caribbean coastal paradise that is rife in this region. There is bird-watching galore, big cat jungles, whitewater rapids, and a volcano-ringed lake that is often touted as the “most beautiful place on Earth” (Lago de Atitlán in Guatemala). And then there are the long and oddly empty reef breaks, the bat-filled caves, and the lush cloud forests, home to the howlers, capuchins, sloths and squirrel monkeys, and you if you’re strapped to a zip-line.

And of course, there is the Maya, the trump card of this region, here for centuries before you arrived, and sure to be here after.

Contact a Global Escapes Travel Consultant for more information on Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.