Over the last 15 years I've travelled in every country in South and Central America bar three and I'd say it's impossible to offer more than the most general advice in a forum like this. But it's fun to try.

They all have their good and bad aspects, but almost without exception and like most places you get out what you put in. The people are usually great, use common sense in some areas and don't let some of the petty bureaucracy get under your skin and treat the inevitable transportation issues with patience because nothing else will help. Good food, great music and wonderful people. Damn, where's my passport!

My personal favourites are Honduras (the islands are good), Nicaragua (esp Granada), Panama (Evenings in Panama city are a blast), Ecuador (Ororo, and Quito is great on the weekends), Guatemala (esp Antigua), Bolivia (esp Potosi and Sucre), Paraguay (loved the wood burning trains, and Asuncion) and Uruguay (Montevideo has a quirky charm that's hard to define). But I hardly went anywhere that didn't make me smile so to single these out is a little unfair. If you get to Cuba ... that's a whole other story!!

Above all, enjoy.