We prefer to leave in "bungalow" style if possible A/C and private toilet and shower. This is common

How we use your email Fodor's may use your e-mail address to send you relevant information on site updates, car rental in atlanta georgia account changes, and offers. For more information about your privacy and protection, please review our full Privacy Policy .
We are a family of 4 (kids are 7 and 9). We are looking for a trip to CA with a lot of snorkleling, animals of all kinds and maybe some easy adventure (Kayaking, caves or similar). We have three weeks to spend and would like to have the best possible trip with one or two countries not to many stops all to gether and not a too large budget to begin with.
But since we really could not choose how long to stay in each place we got even more confused and wideend our horizont a start looking for other countries as well and are now looking on quite a few other places like Roatan in Honduras, Belize (Cayes and atolls mostly car rental in atlanta georgia maybe the ATM cave) and maybe Costa Rica.
What are your ideas? Right now our best pick are: Start with 1 week in Belize travel to Panama and spend the reminder there. 1 week Contador Islands area, 3-5 days in Guna Yala and the reminder will be mostly transfer and one or two days in Panama City for some shopping car rental in atlanta georgia before going home
Another option, especially if you're on a budget, is a combination of Chiapas and the Yucatan in Mexico. These areas are as safe as anywhere in the US, and provide opportunities to do everything on your list. Sian Ka'An, Palenque, Bonampak/Yaxchilan, Aguas Azules+Misol Ha, tons of great snorkeling locations, Chichen Itza, Akumal (snorkeling with sea turtles from beach), Tulum ruins and beach, Coba, Merida, Campeche, Xcaret, Yal Ku, cenotes (inland caves filled with water), etc etc. Wildlife including monkeys, birds, crocodiles, etc.
You could also do Costa Rica of course. that's probably your best option for wildlife, but your poorest one for snorkeling. It would be the most English-language friendly after Belize (Roatan is obviously going to be very hospitable to English speakers, but not so much the mainland).
Belize car rental in atlanta georgia has numerous caves, some recreational for tube floating and others fascinating with Mayan artefacts and human skeletal remains. We also have many Mayan sites and other similar attractions you won't find further south.
@RAC: We have done that (guidebooks) but not really found it very helpful. car rental in atlanta georgia When you read them and never been to the area, they mostly look the same to me. This is actually one of the reasons for this post. I am new to this "travel forum" thing but actually find it quite rewarding already.
I also realized that I probably should have given you some more information in the first post. We are going to arrive in CA around the 15th of December and plan to leave around the 3: rd of January. Is this a problem or how big of problem/excitement are Christmas and New Year s going to be in the area?
Snorkeling is going to be our top priority. Probably mostly from the beach if possible car rental in atlanta georgia but we have done whole day trips with diving companies in Thailand 1 1/2 years ago. So this should really not be a problem now that the kids are older.
We prefer to leave in "bungalow" style if possible A/C and private toilet and shower. This is common in Thailand how about CA? When I look at websites I seem to end up with hotel/motels or "expensive" bungalows.
Anyone who has been to Guna Yala (former San Blas)? Is it easy to travel there now from Panama City? Do you arrange everything yourself or do you buy a package trip? I do not find that much information on where to go or what the prices car rental in atlanta georgia would be. And if you go there how long would be ok?
I think Belize and Yucat n are both great options; I'd pick Belize with Tikal as RAC suggests. I take lots of photos and post detailed travelogues and blogs with photos as I travel - maybe some ideas for you; the link is below with my favorite Belize links - lots of ideas and places that would appeal to kids, I think. Happy planning!
It's been several years since we went to Panama. We flew from Panama City to the Kuna Yala/San Blas islands. For that trip, we actually used a Panama based travel agent, since we moved around A LOT in our two week trip. It worked out well.
Although the snorkeling while in Kuna Yala was good, I was very unimpressed with the snorkeling at Bocas del Toro. Part of that might have been weather related, we had torrential rain while we were in Bocas.
With three weeks, you could see soooo much. To me, that would tend to tip the scale towards Mexico, where there's just a lot more to do and see--you could easily do 10 days in Chiapas and ten days in the Yucatan and not come close to experiencing every "must see" or "must do."
Belize is probably your best bet if snorkeling is your top priority with wildlife/bird watching secondary. There's some but not a lot of snorkel off the beach options in Belize, mostly offshore cayes/atolls and the northern end of Ambergris. With a boat ride, that opens up a lot more possibilities and some are only a short boat ride away. Unfortunately the best wildlife/bird watching in Belize that I know of comes at a higher car rental in atlanta georgia price. The Crooked Tree area is supposed to be very good for birding (I haven't been) and may offer lower priced options.
Best affordable birding/wildlife in Belize is probably in Guatemala (Tikal). Staying inside the park will offer comparable wildlife to what one would see at Chan Chich or Lamanai, but without guides to help spot the animals/birds. At a fraction of the cost.