funtotravel.info ISSUES: 'Green' Travel - an oxymoron?

Practical steps you can take to travel more sustainably.

Sustainable travel is an important and challenging issue. Travel, by its very nature causes harm to environment, especially as a result of the typically large distances clocked up by backpackers on long-haul flights across the world. It is far too simple though to dismiss travelling as something that's destroying the planet. We hold the opposite belief – that travelling can be a force of good. By visiting different countries and experiencing different cultures, travellers understand that there is a true world community: by continuing to travel we are improving peoples' livelihoods and promoting the development of local economies as well as helping to conserve countries' cultural and natural heritages.

Travelling also makes us aware of the problems of those people less fortunate than ourselves. The world belongs to all of us and we all have a huge responsibility towards it. Cutting down our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment.

As we have stated there is no way of getting around the fact that many travellers take longhaul flights to reach their desired destinations. What can we do practically to reign in the effects of this?

First of all, rather than fly long distances, we could look for destinations of interest closer to home so that we can avoid flying. If you live within Europe then you have a vast array of destinations that you can reach by plane or bus, travelling on public transport and thus cutting down on your carbon foot-print. Likewise if you are from the States, Canada or Australia then you are lucky enough to live in huge and diverse countries in terms of people, landscapes and attractions. Why not hit the road within your own country by public transport and see what there is to offer?

If you do choose to visit destinations further away that you cannot travel to overland then of course you will have to fly. There are ways in which you can minimise your carbon footprint, and the most obvious of these is to offset your carbon. Many airlines are now offering to do this for you at the point of booking, but if you prefer to do it directly with a reputable company then we suggest that you look at carboncare.com.

This is fine as a starting point, but we feel that the situation with carbon off-setting is getting slightly out of hand. It should be a tool by which people look at their carbon footprint and seek to reduce it, but instead people are only paying the offset fee to ease their conscience and doing nothing to reassess their travel plans or travel more responsibly. For this reason we would advise you to think about how you can reduce your carbon emissions as well as offset the ones you can't avoid.

If you are on a round the world trip then think best how you can cut down on flights when you have reached the region in which you are planning to travel. Take buses or trains rather than internal flights – not only will taking public transport cut down on your carbon footprint, but it also means you are far more likely to meet and interact with the locals and experience life and destinations in-between that you may well fall in love with. The experiences that you have on never-ending bus journeys, full of livestock and without a toilet will be the ones that look back at when you get home with a smile on your face – they make for great stories too. Don't miss out!

If you do have to take a long haul flight to your destination then we'd recommend that you use a Carbon Comparison flight search like the one offered by responsibletravel.com. This will give you an indication of how much carbon dioxide your journey will produce and which airline has the least impact on the environment.

Protecting local cultures and helping local economies

We should all ensure that we are doing our best to protect the interests of the countries that we visit and the people who live there rather than lining the pockets of large corporations from our own countries. We want to help and learn about local cultures and peoples rather than exploit them. There are many ways in which we can do this, by promoting local businesses and fair trade practices, hiring local guides and doing our best to ensure that our consumption of local products, water etc is sustainable.

If you choose to travel with an organised group or on a tour then think carefully about which one you go with and choose one that has a written policy on responsibility and sustainability. Be sure that they support local businesses and minimise their environmental impact. Do not be afraid to ask questions of them before you book.
What you can do before you go:

• Read up as much as possible on local cultures and do your best to learn some of the local languages – respect the local people.
• Do your research to see if there are any useful gifts that you can take out with your for the locals i.e. pens and schoolbooks for the local children.
• If you have bought any new equipment (bags, cameras, clothes etc) please remove any excess packaging before you go thus easing the load on the destination country who might not have adequate waste disposal means.

What you can do whilst you're away:

• Buy local produce from local businesses and ensure that the money you spend stays within the community.
• Use local guides rather than guides shipped in from elsewhere.
• Please do not purchase any artefacts, hard wood products or endangered species –this sounds like obvious advice but you'd be amazed by how many people do.
• Respect local cultures and do not act in a way that will upset the local people – don't act drunk in public, ensure that you dress appropriately and behave in a manner that is a credit to yourself and other travellers: you won't be the first to pass through there and you certainly won't be the last so don't tarnish future travellers' experiences.
• Take public transport as much as possible as opposed to flying to keep your impact on the environment as low as possible and be sure to walk or cycle as much as you can to lower your carbon footprint even further.
• Use water sparingly as supplies of clean and treated water can be in short supply in many areas. Refill your water bottle wherever possible and don't buy new ones all the time.
• Ask questions of the locals and take interest in their traditions and cultures – you are not going to a zoo and you are not, we hope, just going to hang out with other travellers.
• In poorer countries, rather than giving money to random beggars, try instead to find charities and organisations that have been set up to tackle the problems of poverty and homelessness and give to them instead to be sure that the money is being spent in the right way.
What you can do on your return:

• Donate to local projects and charities in areas that made your trip really special – give something back to the communities that gave you such wonderful memories.
• If you promised to send someone a picture or stay in touch by email then please make sure you follow up on this – it can mean an awful lot to the people to whom you made the promise.

You will find a growing number of businesses while you're away that claim to be 'green', 'eco-friendly' or even 'eco-lodges'. Please do your bit to ensure that they are what they seem by asking them the following questions before handing over your hard earned cash:

• Do they have a written policy on sustainability? Any company that is serious about best-practice when it comes to sustainability and reducing carbon emissions will have one.
• How do they measure their contribution in terms of being sustainable?
• How many local people do they employ and how many of these are in management positions? If there aren't any then ask why not.
• What are they doing to protect the environment?
• Are they working with any local charities in this regard?
• What percentage of their products or services are sourced from within 20km of the site? Are they using as much local produce and people-power as possible.
• What are they doing with their waste-water and how do they heat their buildings (i.e. do they use solar power)?
• Do any guides that they employ come from the local community?

If the answers to any/some/all of these questions make you suspicious then you are better off taking your business to somewhere with better sustainability practices.

Community based travel is a great way to put money directly back into a community and meet the locals first-hand. These schemes are not however getting the marketing or sales they deserve, so check out responsibletravel.com’s database of such schemes and see if any are of interest.

As you can see from all of the above, sustainability and collective responsibility for our planet is a growing concern, and one that all travellers should do their best to help with. By taking the small steps listed in the paragraphs above you can help to do your bit to reduce our collective carbon footprint, put money back into local communities, maintain the respect of the inhabitants of the destinations we travel to and to have a great time in the process.

If you have enjoyed this blog then why not check out the funtotravel.info e-book which covers other green issues as well as giving practical advice on travelling the world? Click here to get yourself a copy.

funtotravel.info PLACES: Ko Lipe, Thailand

Is Thailand’s latest paradise already lost?

funtotravel.info
Anyone who has island-hopped around Thailand has heard the myth before – islands made up of empty beaches, hammocks in palm trees, fresh fish cooked on open fires on the beach, basic beach huts etc. Years ago, Ko Phangan, Ko Phi Phi and Ko Samui were certainly being sold this way, and to the gullible still very much are. There’s no doubting their beauty, but they have been rampantly developed, and you’re more likely to find a Pizza Hut than a basic beach hut these days. That’s not to say that they’re not a lot of fun – if you’re after sun, sea, sex and Singha then you’re in for a great time (as tens of thousands who pour into Phangan for the overwhelming and over hyped Full Moon Party will tell you).


As someone who wanted to find a small island that was far quieter and less developed than those mentioned above, but still with places to eat, maybe some beach shacks for a drink and plenty of crystal clear waters to snorkel in, I was left scratching my head somewhat. Even trawling through the normally ultra reliable Lonely Planet came up short, until someone told me about Ko Lipe. It’s a small island nestled in the middle of the Tarutao National Marine Park at the far South of Thailand’s Andaman coast. In fact it’s so far South that you’re closer to Langkawi in Malaysia than any of the other touristed Thai islands. Perhaps this distance from Bangkok and the bigger Thai island playgrounds is one reason that Lipe remains fairly unknown, the other probably being that the Lonely Planet actively discourages travellers from visiting to stop it becoming spoilt. More on that pertinent point later.


Unless you’re in Langkawi or already on an Andaman island, Lipe is quite a journey. If you’re in Bangkok, then you’re looking at an overnight bus/train journey to one of the southern transport hubs, followed by a couple of hours on a small ferry. Even if you fly south you still have the bus and boat to contend with – Lipe is far too small to have an airport (see this page for a guide to getting there). Perhaps it’s this relative isolation that adds to its charm and has prevented the high rises and bar girls from reaching its shores.

We first visited in late 2008 and fell in love straight away. To my eyes, Lipe was jaw droppingly beautiful. Since there is no pier (let alone an airport), you embark from the small ferry and are taken to your chosen side of the island on a long-tail boat. And whichever side you choose, you will be blown away – it’s all the Thai island paradise clichés you could ever want: White sands? Check. Crystal clear water? Check. Laid back beach shacks? Check. No cars? Check. And it’s still possible to find a bungalow on the beach for around 500B, which can be a rarity in the islands these days. You can walk clear across the island from Pattaya beach (the more sheltered and touristy one) to Sunrise beach in about 10 minutes, and the smal road("Walking Street") between contains a number of little shops, massage places, eateries and dive schools, with local houses set back from the paths. Very laid back, low key, and nothing over a storey high. The sea is shallow, clear and warm – perfect for a swim and with some pretty good snorkelling should you get far enough out (though you’ll still struggle to get past shoulder high without a concerted effort!). There are also some lovely paths across the island linking the various beaches, and these are great for running if you have the energy.


There’s not a great deal to do other than laze on the perfect beaches, eat at some of the islands restaurants (which are good but not great generally) or head out on scuba diving trips. Nightlife is fairly quiet, though you will always find a beach bar to serve you well into the night – no thumping baselines or flouro-clad revellers here. Life is laid back, much like the sea-gypsy chao-lay families that inhabit the island and run a lot of the businesses. Unlike some of the more touristed Thai islands, it seems that resentment of tourists is low and certainly back in 2008 there was little intrusion into every day island life – an example of this came when we were walking along Walking Street and were dragged off by a group of locals to join in some wedding celebrations – the Singha flowed like erm, wine, the karaoke pumped out and Thais and tourists alike seemed to be having a great (if slightly bemusing) time. It’s fair to say that after a good week we had fallen hard for this gem of an island.


Which is why, when we travelled again in the region this year, we had to think long and hard about whether to return to ‘our’ little paradise. In the end we couldn’t resist. But though it is still as stunning as ever, increased awareness of the island has without doubt changed little Lipe, and faster than we might have thought possible. Whether that change is for the better or worse depends on your personal opinion. Thanks to the global recession, visitor numbers seemed to be slightly down on our previous visit, but the most striking thing is that this doesn’t seem to have stopped the developers from coming in and building more hotels, increasingly upmarket and increasingly pervasive on the ‘skyline’ of the island. There were visibly fewer bungalows and a greater number of resorts, though this should be taken in context – we had just come from rampantly developed Phi Phi, and Lipe’s building work was small-fish compared to what the money-men have done to that place! The most striking change though was the amount of rubbish strewn about the place – bricks and mortar from abandoned building projects, piles of plastics and other non-biodegradables lying around on the paths, drains struggling to deal with the increased amount of waste water. The locals not directly involved with the tourist community seem to have shrunken away behind the scenes, replaced by their flashier, more tourist-savvy colleagues from Phi Phi and Phangan. Part of the problem is the chao lay themselves sadly – they are simply not used to dealing with tourists in ever-increasing numbers, and the majority seem to have no concept of dealing with their rubbish in an environmentally friendly way – leaving it in piles beside the paths and invoking the 'out of sight, out of mind' mentality. It seems that the Lonely Planet had an excellent point when they kept coverage of this stunning island to a minimum in their guides and actually implored travellers not to go. We laughed at their attitude on our first visit; not so much on our second.

All of the above seems to be corroborated by a report by the Sustainable Tourism Network, stating that the island is is faced with numerous environmental problems, including destruction of wetlands, waste disposal, and water shortages. But all is not lost it seems: A growing number of the locals (lead it seems by the personable Mr Pooh of Pooh’s Bungalows) are aware of the problems they have caused (greed and desire for Baht outweighed sensible development for a while and the consequences are there for all to see), and are finally trying to raise awareness of the issues and do something about them. There are plenty of ‘Save Ko Lipe’ banners about the island, particularly on ‘Walking Street’, and things actually seem to be happening to improve the situation – there is now a regular garbage service that comes to the island to take away the ever increasing amount of rubbish, as well as proper recycling bins throughout the island. Water management issues are finally being addressed, and the realisation seems to have sunk in that something must be done, and fast.


The easy answer is a dramatic one – to force the Thai government to add Lipe to the Turutao National Park and therefore limit the number of visitors, as with the other island protected by National Park status. But who are we to decide this? It is arrogant and remiss of us to decide what the Thai Government should do. We should also remember that by removing tourism altogether we are denying the islanders an income far higher than they could expect from their traditional fishing enterprises.


We think that you should decide for yourself whether to visit. The reality is that unless some serious rethinking is done by the Thai business owners, that no matter how well intentioned the rather amateurish clean attempts have been, the tiny island will be totally destroyed within a few years as it struggles and fails to deal with the havoc that mass tourism is causing on its ecosystem.


Those that do still visit need to choose businesses that actually care about their environmental footprint, forcing those that don’t to either change their ways or go out of business. Ask questions of business owners about their sustainabilty policies and what they do with waste, and do your bit as a visitor to do the following:


· Reuse your water bottles - support local business that offer refills and recycling (if you have to get rid of them then please use the recycling bins)
· Avoid taking long showers and leaving the taps running
· Do not throw paper or other sanitary objects into the toilets
· Avoid using the toilets near the beaches. Sewage will eventually filter through the sand and into the ocean where it is attacked by parasites and becomes living, leading to toxins ingested by fish as well as an unsafe and ugly ocean and beach
· Support business that are aware and take care
· Unwrap items on the Thai mainland, leave plastic wrappings and unneccessary bags behind
· Leave anything that will eventually be discarded on the mainland. I.e. sacks, and other plastics
· Keep your used batteries and return them to the mainland
· We would also like to remind you, out of respect to the chao lay community and Thai culture, please dress appropriately when walking around the island

Conclusion

In short, don't therefore arrive expecting an untouched paradise - you're years too late. The island is still a stunningly beautiful place, and it’s still a wonderfully different experience to visiting Samui or Phi Phi. But bear in mind that your mere presence could be helping to destroy its ecosystem: unless we force the businesses into adopting more sustainable tourism, Ko Lipe could well be destroyed within a decade. What a tragedy that would be for one of the most beautiful islands in South East Asia, if not the world.

For more information on visting Thailand please click here to read the funtotravel.info country guide!

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Don't believe us eh? Then check out the below - this is real advice we gave FOR FREE to a traveller who has just been away:

Trip Title: Central America – May 2010

Region: Central America

Length: 4 weeks

Budget: £800

Introduction

First of all can we just say that researching your trip has made us insanely jealous – you are going to have an awesome time!

We have looked long and hard at your request and feel that you can get an awful lot out of your trip - we've tried to hit as many of the region's highlights as we can without aiming to exhaust you too much!

You've given us an interesting mix of criteria and a good budget, so we've done our best to come up with something special for you – Central America is a great choice. As I'm sure you'd expect having tackled South America, you'll find that everywhere you explore in the region is used to dealing with travellers, though a good level of Spanish will come in extremely useful.

The region's incredible landscape, delicious food and relatively cheap prices make it a dream to travel around. It has a great infrastructure for travellers, with a fantastic range of cheap accommodation and plenty of handy bus and minibus services. You'll meet a lot of other travellers along the way, and we've only heard rave reviews back from other members who've visited.

Have a look through our suggested itinerary below and follow it as slavishly or as little as you like – we are simply giving you our recommendations and ideas: what you do and where you go is entirely up to you!

Itinerary and Highlights (all prices in US$)

Guatemala

What a stunning country to begin your trip – beautiful colonial towns like Antigua, fantastic volcanic landscapes, ancient Mayan architecture and all surprisingly easy to explore.

You're flying into Guatemala City, and although there are enough attractions there to keep you busy for a day or two, given your timeframe we'd advise you to head straight to beautiful Antigua (45km away). How you get there depends how flush you're feeling. You can take a set price taxi straight from the airport to downtown Antigua for $30, take an airport shuttle (look out for signs for 'Antigua Shuttle') for $10 per person, or head to central Guatemala City on an 83 bus (for $0.15!) and then take a bus for $0.65 (these leave from 1a Av between 3a and 4a Calle in Zona 7). We'd probably advise you to take the Shuttle, as you don't have the hassle of the bus nor have to fend off excessive demands from taxi drivers demanding outrageous 'tips'!

Antigua

Yes it's very touristy, but this is a place that you simply can't miss. It's set amidst some stunning volcanic scenery, has beautiful colonial architecture, and if you want to brush up on your Spanish skills then this is a great place to take a class or two. There is also a buzzing nightlife, so start your trip with a great night on the tiles. Walk the cobbled streets, enjoy a great range of restaurants and indulge in some of the energetic activities organised by a huge number of local travel agents: climb the Pacaya volcano, take a cycling tour, go white water rafting or even take a salsa lesson.

Lago Atitlan

The next stop on your trip will be magical Lago de Atitlan, with its dramatic landscape, surrounded by green hills and meadows as well as towering volcanoes. There are daily buses from Antigua to Panajachel (the tourist centre for the lake) at 7am with El Condor Expeditions – more expensive at $5, but more comfortable and safer (around 2-3 hours). Again, Panajachel is a very touristy place, but it's the best place on the lake for nightlife and also to organise all of your activities and onward travel (if you want a more laid back alternative with more of a hippy vibe then head to San Marcos La Laguna instead). In terms of activities in Panajachel, there is superb mountain biking and hiking on offer, you can go scuba diving in the lake, take a boat trip, go kayaking or spend some time in a language school. But be sure to give yourself enough time to just kick back and enjoy the scenery – it really is picture-book stuff.

The next step is to head north, with the ultimate aim being to reach the incredible Mayan ruins at Tikal. You basically have two choices, depending on time and money:

1. Take a bus back to Guatemala City (4 hours) and switch to one to the town of Coban (4-5 hours) which is about half way to Flores (your base for Tikal). From Coban it is another 5-6 hours.
2. Take a bus back to Guatemala City (4 hours) and then fly up to Flores. Tickets are available from TACA and cost around $270 return including taxes (the bus is much, much cheaper).

If you do choose the overland way then you have the added benefit of visiting...

Coban

This rather teutonic looking mountain town is a superb place to base yourself for exploring some of the amazing attractions around the area. There are beautiful views over town from the Templo El Calvario, and you should pay a visit to the coffee farm at Santa Margarita for a tasty brew. But the real reason that you should visit is to tour some of the beautiful Mayan villages in the area, to see the deep caves at Lanquin, and above all to see the stunning limestone pools and waterfalls at Semuc Champay – one of the most beautiful sights in the country. Any of the local travel agents in Coban can organise these trips for you.

From Coban, you can take a bus or mini-bus on to Flores (though you may have to change at Sayaxche). There are direct buses with Transportes Rosio.

Flores

This pretty lakeside town is the perfect place to stay for your visit to Tikal. It's built on a small island, covered with cheap accommodation (shell out a few dollars extra for lake views), and is connected by road to Santa Elena. Any of the travel agents in town will sort out day trips out to the magnificent Mayan ruins at Tikal – Guatemala's number one tourist attraction. San Juan Travel run a reliable shuttle service to and from the ruins (they run hourly), and you should be able to book through your accommodation.

Sadly for you, this is where the hard travel starts – given the relatively short time frame, you will need to drag yourselves back to Guatemala City (8-10 hours by bus with a huge number of departures every day). To get to Nicaragua, we suggest that the quickest way is to fly from Guatemala City to Managua (around $150) – this maximises your time in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. To get into town from the airport, cross the road outside the terminal and hail a moving taxi rather than take an official one from inside – this will cost you about $5-7 as opposed to $15.

Nicaragua

Managua, Nicaragua's capital, is a fine city to wile away a couple of days, but we feel your time is better spent heading straight on to the colonial beauty of Leon. If you get in late and have to spend the night, make the most of the nightlife and head to Shannon Bar in Barrio Martha Quezada – you'll meet plenty of locals and other travellers. This is also the best area for budget accommodation.

Buses to Leon take only an hour to an hour and a half from Managua, and the best way is to take a shuttle minibus from opposite the UCA university.

Leon

Another stunning colonial town – beautiful Leon is the artistic, cultural and historical heartbeat of Nicaragua. It's also a wonderful place to explore as a traveller, and is part of the most volcanic region in Central America. It also has the biggest Cathedral in Central America and some interesting museums (check out the Museum Ruben Dario if you're interested in poetry).

In terms of activities, there's plenty on offer – check out Big Foot Adventure for volcano boarding (yes, really!). Also on offer are volcano hikes, mountain bike tours and even party nights organised through Va Pues Tours.

If you have time, rather than heading straight on south to pretty Granada, why not head north to Matagalpa (2 and a half hours by bus) – the coffee capital of Nicaragua. It's surrounded by beautiful green mountains, and is refreshingly cool thanks to its higher altitude. Take day hikes out into the coffee plantations, visit the abandoned gold mine or even head to El Castillo del Cacao for organic chocolate tasting. A fun place to spend a day or two if you want to relax a bit.

To get to your next destination Granada, sadly you'll have to backtrack to Managua, as there are no direct buses between the two. This does not involve much of a diversion though, and you'll be in Granada comfortably within 5 or 6 hours from leaving Matagalpa.

Granada

Like Leon, this is one of Nicaragua's most popular tourist destinations – another pretty colonial gem. It has a beautiful plaza, some fine churches and plenty of stunning architecture; just wandering the streets is a pleasure in itself. Granada has some fantastic accommodation and great restaurants – if you're going splurge this is one of the best places. Unsurprisingly given the number of tourists, there is a vast range of fun activities – explore the many islands off the coast of Granada on a boat tour (Las Isletas and Isla Zapatera), take a brilliant canopy tour down Volcan Mombacho, or kayak on Lago de Nicaragua. Granada has some pretty decent nightlife – though be warned that the atmosphere around the lakeside clubs can get a little tasty so be on your guard.

Isla de Ometepe

The easiest way to get to your next destination (the Isla de Ometepe) is to take a taxi, which will cost you around $15 and will drop you at San Jose where you take the boat across to the island. The alternative to this is to take the ferry from Granada to the island, but it only runs twice a week (check in your Granada accommodation for details).

Ometepe is an incredible place to explore – it is formed of two volcanoes (Concepción and Maderas) rising out of Lake Nicaragua, and is unbelievably beautiful. The island is a superb place to go hiking, swimming and to climb the volcanoes – be warned this is best done with a guide (Exploring Ometepe are recommended frequently). Moyogalpa is where the boat from San Jose comes in, and although it's not the prettiest place in the world, it is a convenient base for exploring the island and organising your activities. There are also some pretty decent beaches around the island, with the best of them at Punta Jesus Maria and Playa Santa Domingo. Other activities on the island include mountain biking and kayaking. Spend a day touring all of the little villages that surround the perimeter of the island.

You should have no problem organising onward travel from San Jose on the mainland through to your final country, Costa Rica. Buses run regularly from Rivas (close to San Jose) through to the border at Penas Blancas, where you can catch onward travel to destinations throughout Costa Rica.

Costa Rica

From Penas Blancas take a bus on to Costa Rica's colourful capital San Jose. Since you'll be coming back here to fly home, we suggest that you skip on through and head to...

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (about 5 hours by bus).

This is a superb beach town on the Carribean coast with an awesome party vibe – lots of beautiful beaches backed by palm trees, with great surf, rasta bars and plenty of snorkelling and diving on offer. Chill out for a few days after a hard few weeks travel.

Tortuguero

From here we suggest that you head up the Carribean coast to beautiful Parque Nacional Tortuguero. To get there, take a bus up the coast to Puerto Limon, where you can transfer the short distance to Moin, from where you can take a water taxi (around $20) to Tortuguero. It's an incredibly beautiful place, and fantastic for wildlife spotting (it has been described as being the closest you can get to going to the Amazon without going there): go on boat and kayak trips to sport manatees, monkeys, sloths and especially turtles. You can also take a canopy tour through the treetops, which is an amazing experience.

To get to your next destination, ask around any of the travel agents in Tortuguero and you should be able to book a boat and bus combination ticket to take you to La Fortuna.

La Fortuna

This is a superb base for exploring the Arenal Volcano and the wild scenery surrounding it. It has a good travellers' scene (the number of touts attests to this!), with some great budget accommodation and eating options.

Arenal sits on the shores of Lake Arenal, which is a large and very windy artificial lake – for this reason it is one of the best places in the world to do a spot of windsurfing. Arenal is a pretty active volcano, so don't be too worried if you see lava shooting into the sky at night-time from its red cone! Why not take a guided walk through the National Park and see exotic flora, fauna and lava formations as well as getting up close and personal views of Arenal.

La Fortuna is a great place to take some wonderful photos of Arenal – it is reflected perfectly in the lake. While you're here, why not try canyoneering, horse riding, mountain biking, or if you're feeling lazy just head to the hot springs at Baldi. Any of the many local travel agents will be able to organise these activities for you.

Monteverde

To get to your final destination take a jeep, boat, jeep combination ticket from La Fortuna (arranged through local travel agents – convenient, scenic and quick (2-3 hours) but not cheap at $30 or so) to reach the cool and rather windy cloud-forests of Monteverde.

Although it may look like a rainforest, it's actually a cloud-forest (watered by the semi permanent cloud cover rather than rain), and is a fantastic and lush place for nature watching – they are passionate here about conservation. It's also a beautiful and great place for taking a zipline over the rainforest canopy – very exciting. If you're feeling slightly adventurous then you can use the Sky Walk to take a wander through the top of the canopy. This is also another coffee lovers' paradise so why not head on a coffee tour around the local growers before heading back to the lovely if touristy centre of Monteverde to drink something slightly stronger – nightlife isn't exactly buzzing but you'll find plenty of places to sink a few and there are some great options for accommodation.

Sadly that's it – from Monteverde you can take a bus back to San Jose to take your flight home (4 and a half hours with a lift normally included to the bus station in Santa Elena where the bus departs from).

Well, that's it: you're home again! It probably sounds exhausting even reading this, let alone doing it, but we guarantee that the pure spectacle of the scenery, the warmth of the people you'll meet and the sheer enjoyment of being in Central America (and not working!) will give you energy and inspiration at every turn.

Accommodation

We'd recommend using the hostelbookers.com booking service on the funtotravel.info site (you'll find the booking engine on pretty much every page on the site) for most of the destinations mentioned (it's not quite so good for Nicaragua). They have a great selection of hostels and guesthouses, you can read genuine traveller reviews and the standards are high. The prices are also excellent value, whether you're after a dirt cheap dorm bed or a more comfortable private room.

Although the norm a few years ago was to turn up and wander around looking for a place to crash, hostelbookers.com allows you to get a great impression of your options before you turn up and to select the place that suits you best. By booking a bed in advance (a day or two should be enough) then you are guaranteeing yourself a place to lay your head and not wasting your time lugging your stuff around hostels looking for an available bed/room. It also saves you from having to potentially rely on the touts that tend to hang around the bus stations trying to sell rooms to newly arrived backpackers - they can be persistent and occasionally unreliable.

Please book through the funtotravel.info website, as by doing so you help keep our advice free!

Guidebooks

We are traditionalists in some ways and still think having a paper guidebook with you on your trip is a great idea. There are plenty of times when you either can't or don't want to be online (on bus and some train journeys, sitting outside a café, in bed etc), and guidebooks are perfect for this: they're like a safety blanket and also give you great sections on history and culture that you may not find elsewhere as well as a lot of practical information (though this can get outdated fairly quickly so don't rely too heavily on them!).

For this trip we'd definitely recommend that you pick up the Rough Guide or Lonely Planet guide to Central America. We'd stick with the Rough Guide if we were you, because it was only published last year. The best and cheapest place to buy the books is by using the reliable and great value Amazon service on the funtotravel.info site. Please go to this page and you can buy the guides for an excellent price using the Amazon widget at the bottom of the page.

How to use the funtotravel.info site before and during your trip

First of all, we apologise for the fact that we are still in the midst of adding the Central America country guides to the funtotravel.info site – we have only launched fairly recently and we aim to have added them in the next few weeks. Maybe you can give us some pointers on your return?!

When you get back from your epic adventure, use funtotravel.info to post photos and reviews of the places you've been, and help other travellers have as good a time as you did!

What will my trip actually be like? What can I expect?

We hope that we've given you plenty of information here, but if you want a better idea of what it's really like to travel independently in Latin America then please check out our downloadable e-guide 'Who's going to wash my pants? A Practical Guide to Travelling' priced at just £3. We promise that the advice in there will save you an awful lot of cash during your trip.

By buying the book you're not only helping to keep our advice free, but you'll have an unbeatable guide to the practical side of life on the road (how to get washing done, what to pack, whether to take your mobile phone, what overnight bus journeys are really like, and how to meet people while you're away).

Feedback

Well, that's it from us for now and we really hope that this email has given you plenty of inspiration and practical advice. We would love your feedback though on how useful you find it and what other information you'd like included.

Please use the 'Contact Us' section of the site to give us feedback, and please feel free to ask any other questions you might have with regard to the advice we've given – we're always happy to answer them for you.

Safe trip and happy travels!

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