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Top 10 beaches in Central America
Check out these top-tier resorts along the best Central American beaches
Central America has always attracted intrepid visitors in search of unfiltered natural beauty. Now, a set of top-tier, and often eco-friendly resorts is reinventing the region as a world-class beach destination, complete with unspoiled coastlines, coral reefs, and corduroy waves.
When to Visit: The region is at its best during the dry season (also peak season), which is usually from December to May, though it varies depending on the exact location. (All prices quoted here are for peak season.) The rest of the year, prices fall, but so does the rain. Solitude seekers may want to avoid the holiday season (mid-December through February), when some of these Central American beaches are crowded with locals.
1. Ambergris Caye, Belize
A barefoot lifestyle and a love of reggae rule this pocket-size English-speaking nation, which feels more Caribbean in culture than Central American. Ambergris Caye, located off the northeastern coast and a quick flight from Belize City, is a 25-mile-long island known for its soft beaches and car-free tranquillity. Sequestered at the north end of the island, Matachica Beach Resort is renowned for its charm and seclusion. The thatched-roof cabins come with porches for catching a breeze; the turquoise Caribbean waters offer world-class snorkeling right off the dock at one of our favorite Central American beaches. From $250/night, includes breakfast, airport transfers; www.matachica.com
2. Barra de Santiago, El Salvador
With tourism so new here, visitors are often treated more like friends of the family. The country’s Balsam Coast is known as a surfers’ paradise, but those seeking solitude should check out the ultra-remote Barra de Santiago, on the northern Pacific coast, a national park with estuaries and mangroves on a broad, tawny sandbar. Inside the park, El Salvador’s first ecoresort, La Cocotera Resort & Ecolodge, debuts in style with thatched-roof bungalows set in a stand of coconut palms. In August and September, guests can see thousands of endangered Olive Ridley turtles hatch in the park’s sanctuary and then help release them into the ocean. Getting to one of our favorite Central American beaches entails a complimentary 1.5-hour car transfer from San Salvador or, at an extra cost, a chartered plane or helicopter ride. From $146/night, includes all meals, airport transfers, kayak use; www.lacocoteraresort.com
With accessible rain forest, lush beaches, and a pulsing capital, Panama is flaunting assets that much of the world didn’t even know it had. Right now, vacationers are hopping the 1-hour flight from Panama City to the rural archipelago of Bocas del Toro, a treasure trove of empty islets and white sand off the northwestern coast of the mainland. At the picturesque Punta Caracol Acqua-Lodge, guests are lulled to sleep in two-story, thatched-roof cabins perched over the sea on stilts and reached via a long wooden boardwalk. French doors open onto private decks; solar panels are used to generate power. At mealtime, vegetables are plucked from an organic garden, and seafood comes from the daily catch (the chef prepares an exquisite lobster stew). For an extra fee, take a water taxi to the numerous quiet cays and play Survivor for the day, whiling away the hours watching passing dolphins on one of our top picks among Central American beaches. From $374/night, includes breakfast, dinner, airport transfers;www.puntacaracol.com
At Hamanasi Adventure & Dive Resort, a 20-minute flight from Belize City, a couple of hammocks swaying on the boat docks are a signal to come and unwind on a pristine Central American beach. Guests wax enthusiastic about the tree house accommodations, surrounded by black orchids and replete with skylights for stargazing (in air-conditioned comfort). Despite the draw of lazy days spent by the freshwater pool, adventurous vacationers can borrow kayaks and bikes, as well as explore nearby Mayan pyramids, waterfalls, caves, and the world’s only jaguar preserve. (With 40 percent of the country protected through private trusts and public lands, nature breathes easy in Belize, at least in comparison to its more industrialized neighbors.) The resort also has its own PADI dive facility, and divers have access to an underwater wilderness that is populated with manatees, whale sharks, and eagle rays. From $275/night, includes breakfast; www.hamanasi.com
5. Mal Pais, Costa Rica
Locals would like to keep the villages of Santa Teresa and Mal Pais, on the southwestern coast of Nicoya Peninsula, a surfers’ secret. Even so, amateurs and experts alike are welcome to ride the waves here. Development in the area is nascent, so visitors can enjoy wide ribbons of uninterrupted sand fronted by warm tide pools. Newcomer resort Beija Flor weighs in as a surprising good-value retreat. The 11 guest rooms and one villa are sparsely chic and set in a tropical garden. When the surf isn’t up at this top Central American beach, guests indulge in spa treatments, yoga classes, and sunset horseback rides. The open-air restaurant serves an appealing French-Asian fusion cuisine. Driving to the resort is possible, but flying to nearby Playa Tambor via a local airline from San José is best. From $60/night; www.beijaflorresort.com
6. Placencia, Belize
Situated on the slender Placencia Peninsula that juts off Belize’s southern coast, Francis Ford Coppola’s Turtle Inn is anything but Hollywood glam (in a good way). Bungalows outfitted with handsome Balinese furnishings and private pools are tinged with rustic details like outdoor showers; entertainment comes in the form of complimentary bikes, kayaks, and paddleboats; a Thai massage at the spa; or simple wooden tables for card games on one of the best Central American beaches. The restaurant Mare skews Italian with brick-oven pizza and a Coppola-heavy wine list. Fly direct to Belize City from Miami, Houston, or Dallas in 2 hours; from there, it’s a 40-minute trip on a charter plane. From $375/night, includes breakfast;www.blancaneaux.com
Roatán – north of mainland Honduras in the Caribbean sea and the largest of the Bay Island chain – is surrounded by more than 60 miles of living reef and is one of the most affordable places worldwide to learn scuba. Open-water certification courses last three to four days, after which divers can troll for rare whale sharks. The secluded plantation-style Reef House Resort organizes three dives daily. Non-divers can swim with sea turtles in the saltwater pool or explore the island’s west-end, which has some of our favorite Central America beaches. The best time to visit is February through June; fly direct to Roatán from several U.S. cities, including Houston and Miami. From $145 per person, per night, all-inclusive dive package (based on double occupancy); www.reefhouseresort.com
8. San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
With the buzz of great values and laid-back tropical style, Nicaragua flashed onto the radar and was dubbed the new Costa Rica. Not so fast. Thanks to colonial charm and untouched natural beauty, Nicaragua deserves recognition in its own right. Ridgetop Pelican Eyes…Piedras y Olas Hotel & Resort overlooks fishing village San Juan del Sur, which sits in a bay rimmed with golden sand on the country’s southwestern Pacific coast. The resort boasts starch-white villas set in tropical gardens, with vaulted cane ceilings and spectacular views. Other perks include sailing trips and several infinity pools, which are a welcome alternative to trekking down a staircase to the beach. To reach Pelican Eyes, fly into the capital city of Managua and the resort will arrange a shuttle for the 2-hour ride to one of our top Central American beaches. From $322/night, includes breakfast; www.piedrasyolas.com
9. San Juan del Sur (outskirts), Nicaragua
Thirty minutes outside the village of San Juan del Sur and near the Costa Rican border, Morgan’s Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge – set up by a French couple as a conservation project – rests on more than 4,400 acres of protected forest, complete with an estuary and private beach (one of our favorite Central American beaches). Fifteen primitive-chic bungalows blend into the jungle hillside; each is crafted from a medley of local timber and outfitted with private decks facing west to catch the sunset. Not for acrophobes, the bungalows are connected to the main lodge by a 325-foot suspension bridge that crosses a leafy canyon. Guests dine at La Bastide, which serves Nicaraguan-Asian-French fusion cuisine with many ingredients (like the brown sugar) produced on-site. To get there, fly into the cities of Liberia or San José in Costa Rica, or to Managua, and then take a 2- to 3-hour car transfer to the resort. From $322/night, all inclusive; morgansrock.com
10. Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Lucky for visitors, the remote northwestern Nicoya Peninsula has remained under the radar despite Costa Rica’s recent popularity. Like Hawaii circa 1960, the area has wild, empty stretches of pale sand backed by palm and almond trees and only rough roads to get you there. Sumptuous FlorBlanca resort has 10 airy, elegant villas on a lush 7-acre property; accommodations are linked by a footpath, which leads to a quiet beach. Complimentary yoga classes are held in an ocean-facing dojo; bike, surfboard, and snorkeling equipment rentals are included. The resort is serious about environmentalism, meeting the rigorous sustainability standards of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute. To reach one of the most far-flung of these Central American beaches, fly to San José and from there, the resort will help arrange a commercial or charter flight, or a (6-hour) ground shuttle. From $350/night, includes airport transfers; www.florblanca.com
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This story, Top 10 Central America Beaches, originally appeared on ShermansTravel.com.
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Three murders in two weeks: Protest the killing of LGBTI in Honduras
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission – Over the past two weeks, three travestis have been murdered in separate incidents in Honduras. In two of the incidents, the victims were set on fire either before or after their deaths. This means that in the past year and a half, there has been a total of now 31 the murders of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in Honduras. Join the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and the Honduran LGBTI organization Red Cattrachas in calling for immediate investigations and demanding state action to prevent future killings on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
On December 22, 2010 in Comayagüela, a 23-year-old travesti named Lorenza (legal name: Luis) Alexis Alvarado Hernández was found dead, her body visibly beaten and burned. Bloody stones near her corpse indicate that the bruises covering her body were caused by stoning. Her body was set on fire. Used condoms found nearby have led to the suspicion that she may also have been raped. After her death, the assailants threw her body into a ditch. News reports indicate that severe injuries to her face rendered her corpse virtually unrecognizable.
The same day, another travesti, Lady Oscar (legal name: Oscar) Martinez Salgado, age 45, was found burned to death in her home in Barrio El Rincón of Tegucigalpa. Her body showed multiple stab wounds. Neighbors report witnessing two suspicious individuals running from her house as the fire ignited.
Less than two weeks later, on January 2, 2011, a young travesti known only as Cheo was found murdered on the main street of Colonia Alameda in Tegucigalpa. Her body was left without legal documentation. She appears to have died from a severe stab wound to her chest.
These killings are not isolated incidents. Since the 2009 coup d’état in Honduras, there have been 31 murders of LGBTI people documented by Red Cattrachas. More deaths of LGBT people have likely gone unreported. At least one of those killed, Walter Trochez, was a prominent human rights defender. In the majority of the cases, there have been no investigation or prosecution of the crimes. Since the coup, all Hondurans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, have been subjected to increased violence and have received little protection from authorities; however, LGBT people been particularly vulnerable to attack. Impunity nationwide has created this deadly spike in violence.
In response to pressure from local human rights activists, the Honduran Minister of Human Rights and the Tegucigalpa Chief of Homicide have assigned two investigators to these murders. However, no one has yet been charged in the recent deaths, and there is little evidence that the investigations are underway.
Take Action Now
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Miss New York takes risk with gay rights platform in Miss America pageant, wants to see ‘change’
BY GINA SALAMONE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, January 7th 2011, 4:00 AM
New York Daily News - Leave it to a New Yorker to shake things up at the Miss America Pageant. Instead of sticking to something safe, Miss New York Claire Buffie will be championing gay rights as part of her campaign to become the next Miss America.
Never in the 90-year history of the pageant has a contestant gone to bat for gays. And the 24-year-old brunette knows she’s taking a risk with her “Straight for Equality: Let’s Talk” platform.
Miss New York Claire Buffie, 24, will compete in Miss America pageant in Las Vegas on Jan. 15.
But this, she says, is the civil rights struggle of her generation.
“Miss America is looking for a woman who is intelligent, has a vision and is compassionate about making change,” she told the Daily News.
Born and raised in Indiana, Buffie was second runnerup in the Miss Indiana 2008 contest before she pulled up stakes and moved to lower Manhattan – and set her sights on becoming Miss New York.
In doing so, Buffie found her cause.
“The reason I am such a vocal straight ally is because my older sister, Sarah, is gay, and I have a lot of gay friends and a gay roommate,” she said.
They, she said, are “people that I care about so much and that I never want to see treated as second-class citizens.”
High-profile suicides of some gay teens last year also fueled her cause.
“That proves to me that this is not something that we can brush under the rug anymore,” Buffie said.
To give the beauty pageant more heft, Miss America organizers began requiring contestants in 1989 to come up with a social platform.
Most opt for causes that are worthy – and noncontroversial.
This year, for example, Miss New Jersey is running on “Read to Succeed” and Miss Connecticut is going with “One World: Global Awareness for Global Prosperity.”
Not Buffie. When the show airs live from Las Vegas on Jan. 15, she’s going for broke.
“It’s groundbreaking in a way since it’s the first in the Miss America organization,” she said. “But also it’s just so current.”
Mindful that she also has to do well in the swimsuit part of the competition, Buffie said she gets in shape the way many New Yorkers do.
“I run the Brooklyn Bridge all the time,” she said.
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General Assembly overturns homophobic vote in the Third Committee last month
PRESS RELEASE – International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association-ILGA
Brussels, 21 December 2010
The UN General Assembly reintroduced today the same reference to sexual orientation in the resolution on extra-judicial executionswhich was deleted by the Third committee one month ago thanks to the initiative of a group of Arab and African nations, led by Morocco and Mali, in a narrow vote (79-70). The reintroduction of the reference to sexual orientation was voted by 93 countries, including Argentina , Canada , the USA , the EU countries and several Southern countries like Timor Leste in Asia and Rwanda and South Africa . The whole resolution was in the end approved with 122 votes in favor, zero against and 59 abstentions…
“We are very happy for the outcome of this vote,” said Gloria Careaga and Renato Sabbadini, ILGA co-Secretaries General, “as it restores the original inclusive language of the resolution on extra-judicial executions and acknowledges that indeed many people around the world are killed every year because of their sexual orientation. We also know that many people are killed because of their gender identity or expression and we believe that the language of the resolution should refer to this as well – a proposal to be taken in consideration in the future by all UN Members which voted in favour of today’s amendment.”
“In the meantime, however,” continued the co-Secretaries General, “we want to celebrate the victory over the forces which tried to push the reference to sexual orientation into oblivion one month ago and still refuse, in theory and in practice, to acknowledge that human rights are truly for all, LGBTI people included.”
“Today’s result,” concluded Careaga and Sabbadini, “would have not been possible had it not been for the coordinated efforts of LGBTI activists everywhere – we would like to thank and congratulate them all, as well as the group of NGOs and ILGA Members which made this coordination possible: IGLHRC, Arc-International, Human Rights Watch and COC The Netherlands.”
Mario Kleinmoedig
ILGA Press Officer
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