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OCTOBER 2017: OVERVIEW: This post contains a detailed breakdown of costs for 2 GRANDPAckers holidaying in Santa Ana, El Salvador to GRANDPAcking standard. As a reminder, this “standard” requires 2 GRANDPAckers to: Stay in an Hotel Double Room with Fan and Private Bathroom Eat 3 ‘balanced’ meals each day in a budget restaurant CROSS REFERENCES: For more detail, read San Pedro LL, Guatemala to Santa Ana, El Salvador and Santa Ana – El Salvador – Information. Click here to read about Retirement Locations in this country. Click here for detailed Travel Information and more Travel Budgets in this country. Read About – GRANDPAcking Costs if you […]

Santa Ana – El Salvador – GRANDPAcking ...


OCTOBER 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I made my own way from San Pedro, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala to Santa Ana, El Salvador by Shuttle and Chicken Busses. It was an exhausting journey that took me over 15 hours of non-stop travel. I had, actually, planned to get all the way to Playa El Tunco (on the coast near La Libertad) … but I had to abandon that idea in Sonsonate when I ran out of time (to get to Playa El Tunco from Sonsonate required me to first catch a bus to San Salvador and, then, another bus […]

Santa Ana – El Salvador – Information



OCTOBER 2017: Read our Retirement Reviews to find good places to retire on a budget. BACKDROP: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua are known as the CA4 (Central American 4) countries. In June 2017, I left Palenque (Mexico) and cut across northern Guatemala to the Honduran Bay Islands. I stayed nearly 3 months in Utila and Roatan before needing to get out of the CA-4 (again) to renew my visa. I bought a Shuttle / Boat Ticket from Roatan to Punta Gorda, Belize. As I describe in my Roatan to San Pedro post, I ‘struck lucky’ at the Honduras-Guatemala border […]

San Pedro LL – Guatemala – To ...


SEPTEMBER 2017: Click here to read our Guatemala Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua are known as the CA4 (Central American 4) countries. They have agreed to share a single Tourist Visa of up to 90 days. As you cross the borders within these CA4 countries you do not get a new 90 day visa … instead, they deduct how many days you have been in other CA4 countries from those 90 days and give you the remainder. This means that you have to do a Visa Run out of the CA4 every 90 days. ENTERING THE CA4: I started […]

Roatan – Honduras – Visa Run – ...



AUGUST 2017: OVERVIEW: I have already posted the GRANDPAcking Costs for Roatan. These demonstrate that GRANDPAckers cannot afford to LIVE on Roatan Island using our standard GRANDPAcking approach. However, it is such a unique destination that it is worth showing how GRANDPAckers CAN LIVE on Roatan on a GRANDPAcking budget with only a few ‘minor’ adjustments to lifestyle. In this post, I explain how… CROSS REFERENCES: Read Roatan – Honduras – Information for more detail. Read about Honduras Retirement Locations. Read about other Honduras Destinations and Travel Budgets. Read about GRANDPAcking Costs if you don’t know how to interpret my figures. SPREADSHEET SUMMARY: MY ACTUAL 1 PERSON GRANDPAcking COSTS: I did not live […]

Roatan – Honduras – LIVING on a ...


JULY / AUGUST 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: In my “Beginner’s Guide” to Roatan, I provided information about: How to get from Utila Island to Roatan Island Why I chose West End What West End looks like Where to stay What ‘short term’ accommodation I found What ‘long term’ accommodation I found Transport Banks and ATMs When to go In this post, I will tell you more about what it is like to actually live on Roatan and a lot more about everyday costs. MY ACCOMMODATION: I couldn’t afford to live in hotel rooms on Roatan … the […]

Roatan – Honduras – Information



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JULY 2017: OVERVIEW: This post contains a detailed breakdown of costs for 2 GRANDPAckers holidaying on West End, Roatan Island, Honduras to GRANDPAcking standard. As a reminder, this “standard” requires 2 GRANDPAckers to: Stay in an Hotel Double Room with Fan and Private Bathroom Eat 3 ‘balanced’ meals each day in a budget restaurant CROSS REFERENCES: For more detail, read Roatan – Honduras – A Beginner’s Guide & Where to Stay and Roatan – Honduras – Information. The latter won’t be posted until the middle of August 2017 (when I leave the island). Click here to read about Retirement Locations in this country. Click here […]

Roatan – Honduras – GRANDPAcking Costs


JULY 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I spent 1 month living in an apartment on Utila Island. Utila was a pleasant place to stay … with a nice, party, SCUBA diving, backpacker ‘vibe’. It was time to move on to Roatan Island … to compare the two islands. UTILA: I arrived in Utila by ferry on a Monday to avoid the busy (and booked) weekend. I stayed for 2 nights in an hotel for US$20 / night (discounted down from US$26 / night). This gave me enough time to find a nice apartment at Maggie’s Place for US$450 […]

Roatan – Honduras – A Beginner’s Guide ...



JULY 2017: OVERVIEW: I have already posted the GRANDPAcking Costs for Utila. These demonstrate that GRANDPAckers cannot afford to LIVE on Utila Island using our standard approach. However, it is such a unique destination that it is worth showing how GRANDPAckers CAN LIVE on Utila on a GRANDPAcking budget with only a few ‘minor’ adjustments to lifestyle. In this post, I explain how… CROSS REFERENCES: Read Utila – Honduras – Information for more detail. Read about Honduras Retirement Locations. Read about other Honduras Destinations and Travel Budgets. Read about GRANDPAcking Costs if you don’t know how to interpret my figures. SPREADSHEET SUMMARY: WHAT IT SHOULD COST 2 GRANDPAckers: Cost Of Existence […]

Utila – Honduras – LIVING on a ...


JUNE / JULY 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: In my “Beginner’s Guide” to Utila, I provided information about: How we got to Utila from Palenque, Mexico Staying in and getting a ferry from La Ceiba What different areas of the island look like Where to stay What ‘short term’ accommodation we found What ‘long term’ accommodation we found Transport Telecommunications / Mobiles Your Health & Safety Banks and ATMs When to go In this post, I will tell you more about what it is like to actually live on Utila and a lot more about everyday costs. OUR […]

Utila – Honduras – Information



… Be Informed … Travel Smart … Stay Informed … NEWSLETTERS MOVED TO FACEBOOK Emailing out our Newsletter each month is ‘old hat’. This is the last emailed Newsletter. From July 2017 onwards, we will post our monthly Newsletter on Facebook. If you want to continue to get our Newsletter, follow this link to our Facebook page. Then, choose to ‘FOLLOW‘ us. PLEASE DO NOT send us a ‘Friend Request‘ as this just swamps our Facebook pages with other people’s postings. THANK YOU. Friend Requests will not be accepted. COMMENTS ON THE MONTH If you missed the April 2017 Newsletter, […]

Newsletter – June 2017


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JUNE 2017: OVERVIEW: This post contains a detailed breakdown of costs for 2 GRANDPAckers holidaying on Utila Island, Honduras to GRANDPAcking standard. As a reminder, this “standard” requires 2 GRANDPAckers to: Stay in an Hotel Double Room with Fan and Private Bathroom Eat 3 ‘balanced’ meals each day in a budget restaurant CROSS REFERENCES: For more detail, read Utila – Honduras – A Beginner’s Guide & Where to Stay and Utila – Honduras – Information. The latter won’t be posted until the middle of July 2017 (when I leave the island). Click here to read about Retirement Locations in this country. Click here for detailed […]

Utila – Honduras – GRANDPAcking Costs