The Ultimate Central America Itinerary for Digital Nomads
You might have heard the term “backpacker trail”; a common route used by backpackers, hitting key stops full of hostels and restaurants. Well I’m here to coin the term Digital Nomad Trail.
The key differences between them are:
- Digital Nomads travel slow and steady, spending more time in a single place to allow for working and experiencing the local culture.
- Digital Nomads utilize weekends to travel or do major sightseeing, as most week days are spent working.
- Since Digital Nomads are working and making money, they can typically afford a different lifestyle than young backpackers.
I have created two different itineraries based on research I used for our own Digital Nomad Trail as we traversed Central America last spring. Although, I wish I had been this organized before we set out on our journey.
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Digital Nomad in Central America: Two Itineraries
Itinerary A: The Minimalist
Duration: 9 weeks
Cost: $-$$
This is the exact route and timeline we took on our journey through Central America. Our original intention wasn’t to travel all the way up to Belize, so I wish we had given ourselves a few more weeks. But hindsight is always 20/20. We were on a race against time to get back to LA for Coachella lol.
Most of the journey is overland, using shuttle companies and crossing borders by foot. Only the last leg from Guatemala to Belize is by plane, since the distance is too far to drive in a short amount of time.
Sadly, this itinerary completely skips Honduras, although you will still get your passport stamped at the border. One day I’ll be back for real!
Transportation in Central America
To get around Central America, we used shuttle services from Roneey Shuttle and Gekko Trails Explorer. There are others too, depending on the route you’re interested in.
Of course there are buses that would be a lot cheaper as well, but the shuttles were way more convenient for us so I don’t have any experience with them. And they can add hours to your journey, especially at the border crossings.
Costa Rica
Duration: 1 Day minimum
Costa Rica is a really beautiful country and has several amazing places worth staying as a digital nomad including Tamarindo and Puerto Viejo.
A year before our voyage through Central America, we actually spent a month nomad-ing in Puerto Viejo. We traveled all over the country, including our first, and probably last, van-life experience lol.
So when coming back to Central America, we didn’t stay in Costa Rica and headed straight from the airport to the Nicaraguan border.
If you have more time: If you haven’t spent time in Costa Rica yet, I highly recommend adding a month or so to your journey!
Getting to Costa Rica
Getting to Costa Rica is pretty easy and not too pricey from the US. You’ll probably get the best deal flying into San Jose, but if you plan to go straight to Nicaragua, its about 5+ hours from the border.
If you want to explore Costa Rica first, then flying into San Jose is the way to go as its easier to get to and centrally located.
Liberia is a smaller airport, but it will get you much closer to the Nicaraguan border and the west coast of Costa Rica. (FYI, it’s pronounced Lee-bear-ee-uh.)
You may be asking yourself, if you’re not staying in Costa Rica, why go there at all? Isn’t it easier to fly into Nicaragua directly?
The answer is no. It’s actually not easy at all getting in and out of Nicaragua (probably something to do with their dictator).
There are less than 5 direct flights out of Managua (the only international airport), so your best bet is to enter and exit by land border via Costa Rica or Honduras.
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
Duration: 3 Weeks
We made San Juan del Sur our home-base for our stay in Nicaragua. It is a chill beach town with many fun adventures to partake when you’re not working.
I thought 3 weeks in Nicaragua was perfect. It was plenty of time to hit most of the tourist destinations, but not too long where you get stir crazy living in such a small town.
For more details, read A Digital Nomad’s Guide to San Juan del Sur.
Getting to San Juan del Sur
From the Liberia airport, or anywhere else in Costa Rica, you can take ground transportation to the Nicaraguan border. For the easiest way to get from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, follow my guide here.
Entering Nicaragua automatically starts your 90-day Central American visa, which includes Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala (known as the CA-4 group). To restart the 90-days, all you have to do is go to an outside country (like Mexico, Belize, or Costa Rica) and come back.
Read more: How to Get to San Juan del Sur
Itinerary
| Weekend 1 | Granada, or stay in SJDS (for Sunset Fest and Sunday Funday) |
| Weekend 2 | Ometepe Island |
| Weekend 3 | Leon (where you’ll get a shuttle to El Tunco) |
Read more: A Weekend on Ometepe
A Digital Nomad’s Guide to San Juan del Sur
El Tunco, El Salvador
Duration: 3 Weeks
I have to admit, we got caught up in the vibes in El Tunco and ended up staying here way longer than we initially planned. But that’s part of the fun, right?
We were trying to get good at surfing (still not good, FYI), so we wanted to put in the reps while we were here. If you don’t plan to surf, there really isn’t much else to do, so you could probably get away with 1-2 weeks instead.
The El Tunco way of life: surf all day, party all night.
Read more: Digital Nomad in El Tunco, El Salvador: A Complete Guide
Getting to El Tunco
The shuttle from San Juan del Sur to Leon is part 1 of the journey ($30/ person), and it goes by surprisingly quick. Leon is pretty cool too; I wish we had planned for more time here.
From Leon you will catch a 3am shuttle to El Tunco which takes about 10-12 hours including crossing both the Honduras and El Salvador borders. This leg of the journey is $50 per person.
The shuttle drivers make crossing the borders super easy. It’s not like entering Nicaragua, where you have to get out on foot and wander aimlessly around no mans land.
Crossing into Honduras is super quick; they are very efficient and professional.
Entering El Salvador is much more loosey-goosey; we didn’t even have to get out of the van and our passports weren’t stamped.
Itinerary
| Weekend 1 | Surf lessons |
| Weekend 2 | Surf lessons |
Explore El Salvador’s Natural and Mayan Sites
Antigua, Guatemala
Duration: 2 Weeks
We are obsessed with Antigua. It is such a quaint and charming city full of amazing restaurants, interesting architecture, and high adventure. Unfortunately we didn’t really plan ahead and were left with only two weeks.
If you plan to work most of the time, you will need a minimum of 2 weeks in Antigua, but if you can stay longer, it’s worth it!
If you are pressed for time like we were, don’t worry; two weeks is still enough time to see everything. We just loved the vibe here and wanted to stay forever.
If you have more time: I wish we could have stayed in Antigua for at least a month. There is so much to see and do. And although we did pretty much everything, there was no time to chill.
For even more information about Antigua and all there is to do there, read Digital Nomad in Antigua: A Complete Guide.
Getting to Antigua
A shuttle from El Tunco to Antigua is $40 a person, and takes about 6 hours including the border crossing. The road is pretty windy initially so beware if you’re prone to motion sickness, like me.
Getting through the border is pretty chill and doesn’t take long, plus you’re accompanied by the shuttle driver the whole time. When we crossed, we needed a printed copy of our vaccine cards so they could stamp them (which no one looked at ever again, but ok).
If El Tunco really doesn’t appeal to you at all (which I think is a mistake), you can take a shuttle from Leon straight through to Antigua. It sounds like my personal hell to be trapped in a shuttle that long, but we met many people who did.
Itinerary
| Weekend 1 | Hike Volcan Acetenango, or Walking Tours |
| Weekend 2 | Day Trip to Lake Atitlan |
Book these experiences in Antigua:
Volcan Acetenango Overnight Hike
Caye Caulker, Belize
Duration: 1 Week
To make only one week work in Caye Caulker, you’ll either need to take some days off work, or only work a few hours each afternoon. By traveling on both weekends, you’re left with only week days to experience all the many adventures available.
If you’re not able to take the time off, and can stay longer, jump down to my extended Caye Caulker itinerary.
Our favorite island activities included: snorkeling, biking, kitesurfing, spear fishing, wakeboarding, boating, and eating.
Find out more: Digital Nomad in Caye Caulker, Belize: A Complete Guide
Getting to Caye Caulker
We decided to fly from Guatemala City to Belize City so we could maximize our time in Antigua. The one-way ticket was about $215 per person (plus $50 to check a bag). You’ll have to fly TAG Airlines which is quite possibly the worst travel experience I have ever endured.
For the cheapest version of this itinerary, fly from Guatemala City to Flores and take a shuttle to Belize City. Skip down to next section for more details.
From Belize City, take the 45 minute water taxi to Caye Caulker ($19 a person). You can purchase this ticket online ahead of time, but be warned you must present a physical print-out of the booking to get your water taxi tickets. If you don’t have access to a printer, you can also purchase tickets once you get there.
The reservation time on your reserved ticket doesn’t actually matter, so don’t worry about it selling out by waiting to purchase the ticket in-person.
It is most cost effective to purchase roundtrip water taxi tickets, and again, don’t worry about the exact time on the ticket. You can leave on any boat you want.
You can easily catch a taxi at the airport ($30), or book an airport shuttle with your water taxi reservation.
Flying Home
We wanted to end our journey in Belize because at the time of our trip, it had the best and cheapest flights back to the LA for Coachella. Its important to take into consideration where you might want to go after and work the itinerary around that. Not all airports are created equal in that regard.
Get this comprehensive list of 99 digital nomad destinations, and you’ll never run out of inspiration.
Ready, set, wander!
Itinerary B: Gotta Catch ‘Em All
Duration: 18 Weeks (or more!)
Cost: $$$
This itinerary is a maximalist version of the previous one, and includes pretty much everything you can do. It also involves more flights which adds to the cost, especially if you are checking a bag.
The ideal itinerary for you might be something in the middle, so please pick and choose to create your own unique itinerary!
Costa Rica
Duration: 1 day (to 4 weeks)
The 17 week duration does not actually include the four weeks I’ve outlined here for Costa Rica, but I wanted to give you some ideas while I’m working on more CR posts! We spent a month in Puerto Viejo, which is on the Caribbean side of the country. Its not a very convenient location when it comes to exploring the rest of the country, so we took off work one week and lived out of a van.
If you plan to explore Costa Rica before heading to Nicaragua, make sure you end up near the northwest part of the country for the easiest access to the border.
Getting Here
If you plan to explore Costa Rica, its probably smart to fly into San Jose as its centrally located. Make sure your journey ends on the northwest side of the country for easy access to the Nicaraguan border.
Itinerary
| Weekend 1 | Manuel Antonio National Park |
| Weekend 2 | La Fortuna and Volcan Arenal |
| Weekend 3 | Tamarindo |
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
Duration: 4 Weeks
With the extended version of the itinerary, you’ll have time to visit the Corn Islands! I personally cant vouch for them since we didn’t go, but I’ve heard great things. These two islands (Big Corn and Little Corn) are off the east coast of Nicaragua in the Caribbean; a very different vibe than the rest of the country.
Learn more: A Digital Nomad’s Guide to San Juan del Sur
Getting to San Juan del Sur
Read my full description and tips for getting to San Juan del Sur!
Itinerary
| Weekend 1 | Stay in SJDS (Sunset Fest and Sunday Funday) |
| Weekend 2 | Ometepe Island |
| Weekend 3 | Granada, and fly to Corn Islands |
| Weekend 4 | Leon (shuttle to El Tunco) |
Discover other cities to Digital Nomad in Nicaragua!
El Tunco, El Salvador
Duration: 3 Weeks (to 4 Weeks)
As I mentioned in The Minimalist Itinerary, there’s not a whole lot to do here besides surf. If I had all the time in the world, I might add an extra week just because I love the town and the vibes. But if you’re not interested in surfing, four weeks might be too much.
Also, there aren’t many Airbnb’s in the area, and lodging here can get pricey, so staying less time might be best for your wallet as well. I included some attractions besides surfing below.
Read more: Digital Nomad in El Tunco, El Salvador: A Complete Guide
Getting to El Tunco
After flying back to Managua from the Corn Islands, take a shuttle from Managua to Leon. Leon is pretty cool too, so if you have time plan for a day to explore or go volcano boarding.
From Leon you will catch a 3am shuttle to El Tunco which takes about 10-12 hours including crossing both the Honduras and El Salvador borders. This leg of the journey is $50 per person.
Itinerary
| Weekend 1 | Tamanique Waterfalls (and Surf) |
| Weekend 2 | Hike Volcan Santa Ana (and Surf) |
| Weekend 3 | Surf, and shuttle to Antigua |
Antigua, Guatemala
Duration: 4 Weeks
This is the itinerary I wish we had done! We are absolutely in love with Antigua. Especially Jack. He just cant get enough of that mountain air. You could spend months in Guatemala, visiting different cities and parts of the country.
Keep reading: Digital Nomad in Antigua: A Compete Guide
Getting to Antigua
See previous section for all the details!
Itinerary
| Weekend 1 | Walking Tours |
| Weekend 2 | Hike Volcan Acetenango |
| Weekend 3 | Trip to Lake Atitlan |
Book these experiences in Antigua:
Volcan Acetenango Overnight Hike
Flores, Guatemala
Duration: 2 Weeks
Flores is a colorful island city on Lake Peten Itza in Guatemala’s northernmost department. The picturesque city is also the gateway to the most archaeological Mayan parks in the area. You could spend weeks here discovering different Mayan ruins.
Getting to Flores
It is most efficient to fly from Guatemala City to Flores, and pretty cheap ($64/person, plus bags). Our taxi to the airport from Antigua was around $50.
My original idea for our Minimalist Itinerary was to go from Antigua to Flores, then catch the shuttle to Belize, in an effort to save us the $215+ plane ticket (which after our nightmare experience with TAG Airlines, basically doubled).
But again, we did not want to leave Antigua so soon so we ended up paying for it (in more ways than we imagined).
Itinerary
| Weekend 1 | Tikal |
| Weekend 2 | Shuttle to Belize |
Belize City – Caye Caulker, Belize
Duration: 3 Weeks
Belize City isn’t that cool, but if you stay here an extra night or two after staying on Caye Caulker, you can sneak in a trip to the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins. Unless you are Mayan Ruin-ed after Guatemala. (lol)
The Belkin Brewery is also in Belize City and a great spot to stop for dinner the night before your flight home!
For more details, read this Complete Guide to Digital Nomad on Caye Caulker, Belize.
Getting to Caye Caulker
From Flores, its a quick and easy shuttle to Belize City ($35/person). Then take the 45 minute water taxi to to Caye Caulker ($19 a person). Scroll up to the previous itinerary for more details about the water taxi.
Itinerary
| Weekend 1 | Snorkel trip, or spear fishing |
| Weekend 2 | Scuba diving |
| Weekend 3 | Belize City (where you’ll fly out) |
Roatan, Honduras
Duration: 2 Weeks
We sadly didn’t make it to Roatan on our first Central American trip. But I am definitely going some day. It has absolutely beautiful white sand beaches, and clear blue water.
Similar to Belize, it is a snorkel and scuba divers’ paradise. And you can kitesurf here! February-August is the windy season.
If you are working during the week, two weeks is probably a good bet, as 1 week would be too hectic. Or even longer if you have the time!
Getting to Roatan
Belize City offers 4 flights a week direct to Roatan (Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday) for $228. The flight time is only one hour!
Flying Home
From Roatan, you can get direct flights to Miami, Houston, Atlanta, Toronto and El Salvador. If you need more options, you can travel back to the mainland (by plane or ferry) to San Pedro Sula, which has a larger airport.
The Ultimate Itinerary for Digital Nomads in Central America
I really hope you are considering Central America as your next home on your digital nomad adventure. Despite the perception many Americans probably have of this region, we felt so welcomed, safe and at ease here. These itineraries will make sure you see all the best places.
What’s a better work break than drinking a fresh juice and going to the beach?
Learn more about being a digital nomad in Central America!
Where are you most excited to visit in Central America? Or if you’ve been, what was your favorite place?
