According to Kelly Grumbach, travel expert..... the average round-trip airline ticket to Central America is about $500.

Central America

Travel

Chill With A Cerveza By The Coup

Honduras is in crisis, but its troubles shouldn't scare you away from a Central American vacation.

Two days ago, Honduran military forces surrounded the country's presidential palace in Tegucigalpa, ousting President Manuel Zelaya. A day later, the U.S. State Department issued a statement warning Americans not to travel to the country, as it has an "unstable political and security situation."

But that's no reason to write off Honduras' neighbors to the north and south. For tourists in the rest of Central America, it's business as usual. No paramilitary, just piña coladas--not to mention low prices.

According to Kelly Grumbach, travel expert for personal concierge service Quintessentially, the average round-trip airline ticket to Central America is about $500. Partly for this reason, she notes, tourists aren't staying away from Central America due to the turmoil in Honduras. Grumbach says she's only seen increases in travel to Panama City recently, and they have yet to level off.

"With the current state of the economy, Panama City has seen a large increase in tourism and incoming travel requests," says Kelly Anne Walsh, head of Quintessentially's Panama office. "We are a relatively inexpensive destination with great nightlife, beaches and culture."

John Clifford, president of luxury travel consulting firm International Travel Management, suggests trying for a reservation at the Bristol Panama, "a European style, five-star boutique hotel located in the Marbella district." The deluxe room rate for the Panama City hotel is only $249 per night, including a butler service.

For a quieter spot, try the archipelago of Bocas del Toro, with its crystal-clear waters perfect for snorkeling and diving. In fact, nature is the main draw in nearly all of Central America, not just Panama.

Costa Rica, renowned for its eco-tourism, hosts about 2 million visitors a year. Most of them steer clear of the busy capital city of San Jose, nestled in the middle of the country, and instead opt for any of several coastal oases.

For vacation spots on the coast Clifford suggests Quepos, a town on the Pacific coast and the gateway to the Manuel Antonio National Park. Though the park is the smallest in the country, there's no shortage of adventure there, from hiking to biking to getting close to nature. One can catch a glimpse of a rare brown-throated three-toed sloth in the luscious forests as well as as scuba dive within feet of playful dolphins.

Adventures also abound in Belize, on the Atlantic side of Central America. The Belizean territory consists of more ocean than land, and just offshore is Ambergris Cay island, home of the Mata Chica Resort. Costing $249 per night during the just-begun low season, the resort is right on the Belize Great Barrier Reef, the second-largest reef in the world. For those wishing to stay on the mainland, Clifford recommends the Blancaneaux Lodge on Belize's southern coast, a resort owned by film director Francis Ford Coppola.

"It's a jungle sanctuary overlooking a creek complete with rapids and a stunning waterfall," Clifford says.

Just the sort of thing that makes it easy to forget there's a government upheaval occurring right nearby. One that, considering the diplomatic responses by most Americas governments, has a chance of being resolved before your flight departs.