Panama City skyline and Cerro Ancon behind a bay full of moored sailboats at sunrise

Cheap hotels & rooms in Central America

Central America links two oceans, and Panama City is its busiest gateway — a modern skyline beside a colonial old town, a short drive from the locks of the Panama Canal.

Central America links two oceans, and Panama City is its busiest gateway — a modern skyline beside a colonial old town, a short drive from the locks of the Panama Canal. Many travelers add a few nights before or after a Panama Canal cruise or on a stopover between the Americas. Our guides show where to stay in each city, with live rates from Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.

Finding cheap rooms in Central America is easier when you know where to look. We compare live hotel rates across the top booking sites and point you to the neighborhoods where hotels are cheap but the location is still great.

Cheap hotels by city in Central America

Panama

Cheap hotels & rooms in Panama City

Casco Viejo · El Cangrejo & Bella Vista · Avenida Balboa

Costa Rica

Cheap hotels & rooms in San José, Costa Rica

Downtown / Barrio Amón · Escazú · Barrio Escalante

Forested Guanacaste coastline and sandy bay on the Papagayo Peninsula under a pink sunset sky

Costa Rica

Cheap hotels & rooms in Liberia & Guanacaste

Liberia town · Playas del Coco · Tamarindo

Aerial view of La Fortuna town's streets and rooftops with the green cone of Arenal Volcano rising behind

Costa Rica

Cheap hotels & rooms in Arenal & La Fortuna

La Fortuna town · Road to the volcano · Lake Arenal

Belize

Cheap hotels & rooms in Belize City

Fort George · Near the airport (Ladyville) · Ambergris Caye (San Pedro)

Guatemala

Cheap hotels & rooms in Guatemala City

Zona 10 (Zona Viva) · Zona 13 (near the airport) · Zona 4 / Cuatro Grados Norte

Guatemala

Cheap hotels & rooms in Antigua Guatemala

Parque Central · Around the Arco de Santa Catalina · La Merced

Aerial view of West Bay Beach on Roatan with turquoise Caribbean water, boats and red-roofed resort buildings

Honduras

Cheap hotels & rooms in Roatán

West End · West Bay · Sandy Bay

Aerial view of the ruined Old Cathedral of Managua with its twin towers near the shore of Lake Managua

Nicaragua

Cheap hotels & rooms in Managua

Los Robles · Near the airport · Granada

Aerial view of San Salvador's white domed Metropolitan Cathedral amid downtown with the San Salvador volcano behind

El Salvador

Cheap hotels & rooms in San Salvador

Zona Rosa & Colonia San Benito · Colonia Escalón · Centro Histórico

Tips for finding cheap rooms in Central America

The dry season, roughly mid-December to April, is the most popular time to visit and brings the highest rates; the rainy months are usually cheaper.
Panama Canal cruises may start or end on either the Pacific or the Caribbean side — confirm your port before choosing a hotel.
Hotel rates in Panama are quoted in US dollars, and taxes are added on top; compare the final total.
City traffic can be heavy at rush hour, so a hotel close to where you need to be saves a lot of time.