Surfing in El Salvador
Where: La Libertad, the Pacific coast.
Why? From beginners to big-shots, El Salvador is surfing heaven. La Libertad’s breaks are rated among the top 10 in the world.
One of the most popular beaches for foreigners is El Tunco, with many hotel options and water sports clubs. Instructors are available to give lessons for as little as $20 an hour, and boards can be rented on the beach.
When to go: November to April, when the surfing season is in full swing.
When not riding the waves: For nature and a taste of local culture, suggest a day trip through the Ruta de las Flores – a 22-mile highway lined with colourful flowers and punctuated with villages and coffee farms.
Sample package: Xoxxi, a specialist in surfing holidays, offers 10 nights in El Salvador with a daily surf guide. Prices lead in at £899 per person, including airport transfers and full-board accommodation, twin-share. xoxxisurf.com
Ziplining in Costa Rica
Where: Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, northern Costa Rica.
Why? Costa Rica is famed for ziplining. Clients can make like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft as they don helmets and harnesses and negotiate a series of I’m a CelebrityGet Me Out of Here-style hanging bridges, ladders and steps.
Attached by a couple of clips to steel cables up to 130 metres high, they whizz from tree to tree at up to 30mph. If that’s not hair-raising enough, some operators offer a Tarzan-style rope swing and vertical rappel, too.
No special abilities are required – as one canopy tour operator’s brochure puts it: “All you need to know is how to sit down – gravity and the guides do the rest for you.”
When to go: During the dry months of January to May.
When not zipping down a cable: Tourist hub Santa Elena offers natural history exhibits such as the Serpentarium, The Bat Jungle and Monteverde Butterfly Garden.
Sample package: Explore has a 16-day wildlife tour of Costa Rica that includes a free day in Monteverde for canopy tour enthusiasts. The itinerary also takes in volcanoes, Tortuguero National Park, and Pacific shores.
Prices start from £1,945 per person with flights, all transport, 14 nights’ accommodation, some meals, park fees and guiding. Departures are in October-April inclusive. 0844 499 0904, explore.co.uk
Volcano climbing/sandboarding in Guatemala
Where: Volcan Pacaya, 15 miles from capital Guatemala City.
Why? Central America is crammed with volcanoes to climb, but there are none quite as exciting as Volcan Pacaya.
Its crater belches out foul-smelling gases, its mouth growls with fiery magma, and – here’s the best bit – its black-ash slopes are perfect for a daring descent on a sandboard.
Climbers should check the alert status before heading up, since there are frequent and potentially lethal lava flows.
The hike up is easy enough – it takes about 1.5 hours to get to the crater’s base and another 30-45 minutes to tiptoe to the summit.
When to go: Easter week, when nearby town Antigua celebrates Easter with colourful parades.
When not clambering the cone: The beautiful, crumbling city of Antigua oozes old-world charm mingled with a modern, multicultural vibe.
Suggest joining a city tour, visiting a nearby village or taking in some live music.
Sample package: Journey Latin America offers a three-night stay in Antigua including a full-day excursion to climb Volcan Pacaya. Prices start from £270 per person, including the arrival transfer from Guatemala City to Antigua. 020 8747 8315, journeylatinamerica.co.uk
Cenote diving in Mexico
Where: Yucatan Peninsula
Why? Cenotes are natural wonders almost completely unique to the southeastern region of Mexico.
The ancient Maya thought these hidden passageways and submerged caverns were sacred entrances to the underworld.
Their magical status is sealed by what lies beneath: crystal-clear turquoise-coloured water, endless stalagmites and stalactites and creatures that exist nowhere else on earth.
Conditions are unaffected by weather, water temperature is always moderate, there are no currents, and visibility is superb.
When to go: November, to catch Mexico’s famous and fascinating Day of the Dead festival.
When not in the sinkhole: Recommend exploring the idyllic Mayan Riviera island of Isla Mujeres the fun way – in a golf cart.
Sample package: Gap Adventures has a 10-day Active Yucatan Jungle and Ruins tour, including swimming in cenotes, departing November 19. The price of approximately £729 per person, plus a local payment of $300, includes nine nights’ accommodation in hotels and camping, some meals and local transport. 08444 101 030, gapadventures.com
White-water rafting in Honduras
Where: River Cangrejal, La Ceiba
Why? Honduras’s high altitude and good rainfall enhance the white-water experience on the Cangrejal, known for its deep drops and winding path through the rainforest of Pico Bonito National Park.
Many sections of the river are accessible from La Ceiba.
When to go: End of January – still within high-water season and in time for the festival of the Virgin of Suyapa, which brings swarms of pilgrims to capital Tegucigalpa on February 3.
When not plunging into rapids: Suggest the nearby Bay Islands for some of the cheapest scuba diving courses in the world.
Sample package: South American Experience has seven nights’ bed and breakfast at the Pico Bonito Lodge in Honduras from £1,825 per person twin-share. Price includes rafting on the Cangrejal river and kayaking in Cacao Lagoon, transfers and flights via Miami with American Airlines. 0845 277 3366, southamericanexperience.co.uk
