Central America Travel Guide

It's always easier to become ill in a country with a different climate, food and germs, still more so in a poor country with lower standards of sanitation than you might be used to. Most visitors, however, get through Central America without catching anything more serious than a dose of "traveller's diarrhoea", and the most important precaution is to be aware of health risks posed by poor hygiene, untreated water, insect bites, undressed open cuts and unprotected sex.

Above all, it's vital to get the best health advice you can before you set off; pay a visit to your doctor or a travel clinic as far in advance of travel as possible. Many clinics also sell travel-related accessories, malaria tablets, mosquito nets, water filters and the like. Regardless of how well-prepared you are medically, you will still want the security of medical insurance.