Explore! Find an adventure! This is the exciting part! Every hostel I've been to has some sort of tour/flyer stand with countless ads and brochures from tour companies advertising what they offer in your city and beyond. This is a great resource to use as far as finding things to do and where to go next. Another good tip is to visit the local tourist offices for more thorough answers to your questions. They can also give specific help as far as tailoring your trip to fit your timeframe and needs. Each city's visitor information office will also have someone ready with flyers and up to date information on hostels, hotels, car rentals, etc.

If you do one thing, let that be to always go somewhere with a loose plan or outline of what you want to do. And allow it to remain loose so that things can change and it won't upset you. Anything from meeting a group who wants you to go here instead of there, or bad weather, or traffic trouble - unexpected instances like these can always cause a blip in your trip. But if you remain flexible and open, there are so many surprises it can lead to that you never would have experienced otherwise!

This exact thing happened to me while I was traveling in South America. I was by myself in Ecuador, and met these 2 brilliant English guys in my hostel. We had such a short but fabulous time together that when they left, we made plans to meet up again. A couple of weeks later, I was flying to Buenos Aires to meet up with a different travel buddy. It was then that I convinced him to go with me to meet my other friends in Bolivia, and travel around that country. So, instead of staying in Argentina, we bussed it for 3 days to Bolivia (an entirely different adventure!) and traveled with these 2 for a month. It was absolutely amazing, and I did and experienced things I never would have had I not met these 2 new friends in the first place. It was one of my best months while I was away. So, in a nutshell, have a plan - but allow something to break that plan!

I can honestly tell you that this is the easiest way to experience what a country has to offer. Just start heading in one direction, and that choice will split off into four other choices you can make, places you can see, people you can hang out with. And it just continues to snowball from there.

Culture Research

Research each country before you go. This doesn't have to be extensive, college paper type research, but enough so that you won't be shell-shocked upon arrival. Central America has very different rules when it comes to social interaction.
Here are a few examples:

• Begging is common, expected, and accepted. Deal with it. No one really cares if it makes you uncomfortable because to the locals it is a normal part of life.

• You know all of your illusions of American customer service and the customer is always right? Yeah, leave those ideals at home. You won't find even a resemblance of that here.

• Tipping 20% is an American custom, and only American. Don't do that here. Research your specific destination's tipping customs before you go. It may vary from 2-5%, or not at all. Always tip your tour guides; that is their livelihood! But don't tip taxi drivers.

• Sanitary conditions. You may or may not have the following in a public bathroom: toilet seat lids, toilet paper, hand soap, paper towels. Come prepared.

• Cheap eats. The cheapest places to eat are usually the local markets. They are filled with fresh (and cheap!) produce, and little "comedores" that will cook you up a mean meal of meat, rice and beans, salad and tortillas for around US$2.50. Hello! It doesn't get much cheaper. Wander around and get a mango for dessert for around $0.25. That's when your Swiss army knife comes in handy!

As you can see, spending just a few moments in advance preparing for your trip can help save you tons in time, money, and sanity. Take advantage of people in your life who travel frequently as well, as they will have little nuggets of information that will be priceless too.
Happy Travels!

Erin Parker