Here's How I Navigated Central America Solo: 10 Essential Tips for Female Backpackers Like Me

Wild dogs, declined credit cards, dodgy Uber drivers, missed fights, chicken buses and sexy Spanish romances. Here are 10 essential tips for female backpackers visiting Central America.

I had been waiting a while to find the right time to commit to travelling solo, but I always found a way to chicken out or go with friends instead. I am a bit of a hypochondriac, a sloppy decision maker and not the best flyer in the world, so I was apprehensive. I had read a few scary stories online about women not being able to travel solo in Central America, especially places like Nicaragua because it was deemed 'too dangerous'. However, I took the plunge and booked the trip anyway, because at least it would be a challenge, right?

My itinerary was very loose, but the main plan was to chill and surf on the West coast of Costa Rica, work my way up to Nicaragua and end in Panama being a beach bum. It didn't quite work out exactly how I planned, but it was still fun.

In the end, my itinerary ended up being a little all over the place...

San Jose - 1x night
Montezuma - x4 nights
Santa Theresa - x13 nights
Monte Verde - 3x nights
Santa Theresa (unplanned) - 4x nights
Yoga Teacher Training - x 21 nights
Popoyo - x14 nights (did not plan to stay this long)
Little Corn Islands - x4 nights
Some random unplanned town - 1x night
San Jose - x1 night

Despite all the near disasters I encountered (and there were quite a few), travelling solo made me a more independent, confident traveller and I developed some excellent skills in disaster management (crying hysterically still works wonders) and putting my big girl boots on many times.

So here are my essential tips for female backpackers like me...

1) Get used to spending time on your own and embrace it

One of the most profound things I noticed when I went backpacking was the amount of time I spent on my own - a daunting thought initially. I had often taken myself out for coffee in the UK, but staying in hostels, catching buses and eating meals myself? Would I even enjoy it? Would everyone think I was a loner?

I felt overwhelmed when I landed in San Jose. It was busy, I was completely exhausted and I remember standing outside the airport thinking 'Oh balls, I'm not ready for this'. No one spoke English, I had no idea if Uber's were safe and my phone didn't work.

The first few days were the hardest as I had to navigate, plan and budget which aren't my strongest subjects. Once I got into the rhythm of things, it started to feel easier and I enjoyed being on my timeframe and creating my agenda. I journaled nearly every day, wrote poetry and sat in silence, had slow mornings, and swam 10 times a day, it was great.

2) Buy a local sim card or e-sim

As soon as you arrive in a new country buy a sim card. I found that the Wi-Fi wasn't always that great in CE and I felt way safer having data at all times while travelling solo. I would recommend sorting this in the city centre or at the hostel/hotel. The airport tries and rip you off and if you're travelling for a long time, I would try and sort a better deal.

I met a lovely Spanish girl in my hostel on my first night. She took me under her wing straight away led me into town and negotiated a good deal for the next eight weeks. I could top up my phone online or at pop-up shops, which are everywhere.

3) Smile more! People want to talk to you

Turns out, one of the best things about travelling solo is that people want to talk to you. Locals were curious to know where I was from and other solo travellers would often talk to me, as approaching one person is far less scary than approaching two or three. Pretty much everyone who was travelling and staying in hostels was in the same position as me. It can feel intimidating to approach a group of people who seemingly know each other already, but chances are they just met last night.

One morning I decided to trek to one of the nearby waterfalls. Whilst on my way, I came across a group of people who were on a wellness retreat and I got chatting to the girl who was running it. I ended up tagging along with their group and we hiked up to the top of the waterfall. Some of the ladies were a little older, so I held their hand as they hoisted themselves up the steep steps and over the thick tree roots - they were such a vibrant, positive group of people. When we got to the top one of the American ladies insisted on taking pictures of me... 'Jump off this rock Bex... oh yes lovely, now pose over there...' It was very endearing.

Other days I was so exhausted I just wanted to grab a bite to eat and have an early night. The best part of travelling is that if you don't like the vibe of a hostel or group of people, you can move around until you find a crew of people that you love being with. I decided to return to Santa Teresa before my YTT started and I moved to a cheaper, much less bouji hostel where I met a lovely German couple. This hostel was more down to earth and it was much easier to engage with people.

4) Always have a journal or book to hand

There were times that I felt a little lonely, craved companionship and missed home. I avoided time on my phone as much as possible and found myself reading and journalling every day. Sounds cheesy, but I never felt lonely when I was journalling and recalling what I had been up to, or what I was doing in that moment. It was the perfect way to practice gratitude for where I was and I started to write more poetry. I now have a full journal of travel stories and little moments that I can look back on.

5) Don't overpack

Lay out everything you want, then take away half of it. I am a chronic over-packer and it is just not necessary. If you're anything like me, you'll probably lose a few things along the way, donate a lot of it or ruin it. I've had many items stolen from hostel drying racks or shoes taken from outside of shops (literally everyone has black plastic Birks or black Havaianas). You end up recycling the same few outfits and shoes become a luxury! I would take some sandals, a few sarongs, cute tops, one long sleeve, bikinis and a couple of hats.

Nothing is worse than hoisting a 30-kilo backpack around in 40-degree heat. It's so shit.

6) Don't make too many concrete plans

I would make a loose plan around your 'must see' places, then leave space for wiggle room. Chances are you'll meet a cool group of people who are going to destinations that you did not plan for and you want to tag along. Having flexibility is fun and adds extra adventure to your trip. I usually book 3/4 nights in a hostel, then plan every few days.

Crazy story... whilst I was in Santa Theresa I met a girl from Germany who was on the same surf camp as me. We were chatting one day and she mentioned that she was doing her yoga teacher training in the next few weeks. When I asked which one, she replied with Lakshmi Rising, which was the one I was on the waiting list for, I was gutted. When we said goodbye a few days later, she said, 'I have a good feeling I'll be seeing you next week!'. I went back to the hostel and started planning the next few days to Nosara. When I woke up the next day I noticed that I had received an email from the owner of the teacher training who said they had a dropout last night and asked if I wanted to book on ASAP. I was shocked! I saw it as a sign that the place was mine and booked it that morning. The people I met on that trip were incredible and I made so many special connections (but that's a whole other post).

7) Cash is king

Always have cash on you. I made this mistake at the worst time and landed in a tricky spot. Cash and change are handy when travelling and are always needed for bus fairs, topping up your phone in corner shops, and buying water or snacks. A lot of corner shops don't take credit cards and it is just a pain trying to locate cash points.

During the last week of my trip, I made a rash decision to fly to the Corn Islands (which are located off the East Coast of Nicaragua) with my new girlfriend. We had to catch a TINY plane to get there (I sat behind the pilot and was terrified the whole way). The island was stunning and truly worth the visit. However, on the way home, I missed my flight (due to a miscommunication). It was around 4 pm and there were no more flights left for the day. I waved goodbye to my friend, holding back the tears and was left stranded in this little town, thinking fuck sake bex, now what.

I had a tiny amount of change left which I used on a taxi to take me to the nearest cash point. When I arrived I tried all my cards (Monzo, Revolut and Natwest) and none of them worked. I started to panic. I wandered down this dusty road and asked a local girl where the next cash point was. She told me to leave my bag in her shop and get on her scooter (she was probably 12 or 13). I left all my stuff in her shop (at this point I just did not care) and I hopped on, preying the next cash point would work. All my cards declined again. I found a nearby shop which had WIFI and asked the lady for the password. She said no I had to buy something... but I had no money. I stood there and cried until she gave me the password (childish, but I was overwhelmed at this point). I called my Mum back in the UK to see if she could call my bank. It was starting to get dark. I found one B&B that had availability and saved the directions to get myself there, and then I left. My poor Mum probably thought I had died. I walked for about 40 minutes in the direction of this B&B until I came across this wild pack of dogs. There were 8 or 9 of them and they were CHASING people on scooters and were super aggressive. I thought, oh great this is when I get mauled on the side of a dusty derelict road. I decided to hitchhike and pray that someone would help. Some guy rocked up in a car that was held together by duct tape, had no windows and smelt very strongly of weed. I laughed. He spoke no English. I showed him a pic of the B&B, the 4p I had in change and pointed to the dogs. He understood. I arrived at the accommodation late and managed to get money from the B&B guy who had one room available. He allowed me to send him money via Wise and then he gave me cash, thank god. He sensed I was a little ruffled and his wife cooked me some dinner. My Spanish beau kept trying to call me as I was meant to be meeting him in the city, but I never made it. The lack of English and bad Wi-Fi made me cry again (it was the end of my trip and I was done in). I was guided to my boudoir for the night which was rank. I have a page dedicated to this room in my journal, where I just slag it off, it's quite funny.

The next morning I got up early, did some meditation and decided to head back to San Jose early ahead of my night flight. I sat in a cafe all day and drowned my sorrows with overpriced matcha and sourdough before flying home to the UK.

8) If you're scared, do it anyway

One of the best books I read when I was away was called 'The Power of Now'. The main theme throughout the book is that we spend a lot of our time reacting to 'made-up' scenarios in our heads and reacting to those narratives, rather than reacting to what is in front of us. One of the best quotes in the book goes something a bit like this... when you're in the present and not thinking about the past or the future, then you have no problems, everything is how it should be and you can find great peace.

The amount of times I didn't go surfing because I was too scared 'I wouldn't be good enough' was ridiculous. I fell victim to this a few times on my travels and had to tell myself to just book the surf lesson, talk to the stranger, go on the date or take myself out for a solo dinner.

One of my favourite experiences was going night snorkelling. There had been recent shark sightings earlier that day and I was a little bit apprehensive. Our guide took us to a very remote spot and told us all to hop out. We swam for about fifteen minutes then he got us to get into a circle and snorkel up. It was silent. We turned off all of our torches and waited in anticipation. It was pitch black, and then all of a sudden thousands of plankton eyes started to light up the ocean. It felt like we were immersed in a galaxy of stars. It was incredible. My friend squeezed my hand underwater and I could feel her screaming 'This is AMAZING'. Sometimes the scariest things make our best memories.

9) Not all dogs are made the same

I'm sorry dog lovers, but some of the dogs in CE are not like the ones we have at home. They are not treated nicely out there and it will be hard for those who care very deeply for animals to witness this. There are many initiatives to help dogs, but please do not try and 'save' these dogs. Many of them have diseases and are aggressive. I saw many people pick up dogs and look after them for a few weeks, but ultimately these people leave and the dogs are displaced again.

There are of course many friendly doggies that you can pet, but don't be surprised when you see wild dogs on the side of the street. Many locals see them as pests which is so sad.

10) Be yourself

Lastly, travelling solo is the ultimate chance to be yourself, because there isn't anyone there who is going to tell you otherwise. Relax into what you want to do and who you want to be, it's pretty fun. You might even learn a thing or two about yourself. I realised I could talk to anyone if I wanted to and that my thoughts were the only thing getting in my way.

All in all, Costa Rica and Nicaragua were wonderful places. Costa Rica will burn a hole in your wallet but it is truly beautiful. Nica was filled with wonderful people and the ultimate, laid-back surfer vibe. I can't wait to go back with more time as there is still so much that I did not get the chance to see.

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So those are my top tips. If you're on the fence about booking a solo trip, just do it. Know that if you truly hate it, you can just fly home again.

If you want any more advice, please feel free to drop me an email and I'd be happy to help.

I'll leave you with one of the poems I wrote during the first week of my trip - I travelled in January last year.

Bex :)

January

As another year goes by,

we reflect on the past.

The laughter, the tears,

sweet memories we hope will last.

Soaking up the highs and accepting the lows,

bravery and resilience defined by life's blows.

Stay present, soak it all up

things can change in a blink.

Tummy sinks, exhale the stress,

do not let the mind overthink.