Job Discussion Forums

El Jefe · Joined: 06 Sep 2011 Posts: 27

I was thinking about moving from Asia to Colombia to teach then traveling up through Central America, Mexico and then back to Texas, where I'm from. Has anyone done this or can anyone comment on whether or not it's a good idea? Cost? What it might be like getting around from place to place? I'm not overly familiar with those countries/any potential problems I might run into but I speak pretty good Spanish. Also male by the way. Thanks for any replies. I'm just looking for a general picture of how arduous such a trip might be.

HLJHLJ · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 1218 Location: Ecuador

It's a fairly well traveled route. You'll either need to fly between Colombia and Panama, or take a boat via San Blas, there's no direct route overland. I did it the other direction between Guatemala and Panama quite a few years back. The buses were straight forward and pretty cheap, but my info is out of date now. You'd be better off asking somewhere like http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa
for the latest info.

El Jefe · Joined: 06 Sep 2011 Posts: 27

Thanks for your response HLJHLJ. I'll post on TT... wish I could remember my user name from when I posted there like 8 years ago lol. Do you recall how much it cost you or can you throw out a ballpark guess? Are all those countries visa on arrival? Again, thanks for any responses.

HLJHLJ · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 1218 Location: Ecuador

You'd probably need to reregister anyway, they had a purge when the BBC took it over and neutered it. Sorry, I can't remember the figures, it was almost 10 years ago now, so I doubt it would be any help anyway. If I was doing it now I'd budget around $1,000 a month on average, not including flights etc, but I travel cheaply! You could double that and still be doing it on a budget. The boat or flight will cost you, and Panama and Belize are expensive, the other countries are cheaper, but I don't know about Mexico. As far as I know they are all visa on arrival for Brits, but it will depend on your passport.

El Jefe · Joined: 06 Sep 2011 Posts: 27

I reposted on TT so hopefully I'll get a good update. $1000 a month isn't bad, but I'll just be looking to jet through pretty fast making few stops. I just want to do it to get home and feel like I'd be cheating myself if I just flew back, even though I'm obviously cheating myself by not bothering to really see much. But I'd bypass a place like Belize; went there as a kid with the family anyway. That Colombia/Panama border crossing issue is unfortunate, especially if the boat ride is expensive. Thanks again for taking the time.