Guatemala and Honduras uncovered

Bringing together a wide variety of flora from tropical ecosystems across the globe, the gardens of Lancatilla allow you to take a botanical journey around the world. Painstakingly collected over the course of 80 years, the plant species include many vibrantly colourful varieties as well as a number of medicinal herbs.

One of the major ruins of Central America and certainly the most important in Honduras, Copán is a magnificent archaeological monument at the furthermost edges of Mayan dominion.

While it lacks the towering pyramids and temples found at some other Mayan sites, the extraordinary detail and artistry of its sculptures and stelae more than make up for a less superficially impressive layout.

There is a collection of 3-metre-high columns etched with royal portraits, animals and depictions of historical events and religious iconography – probably the most sophisticated stonework produced by Mesoamerica's ancient civilisations. You can also see the hieroglyphic stairway leading up the side of a pyramid, and the ball courts where the outcome of ritual sports sealed the fate of sacrificial victims.

Take a tour of Pico Bonito National Park, the largest and most beautiful reserve in the country with a wide variety of mammals and over 400 species of birds living across seven distinct ecosystems.

Located at the confluence of the Cuero and Salado rivers, this wildlife reserve was set up to preserve the habitat of the manatee. To reach it you'll travel on a burra, a hand-powered railroad car propelled along the tracks of an old banana plantation train. Once within the reserve, explore by boat, spotting monkeys, birds and other fauna.

With their typically Caribbean feel, relaxed pace of life and warm waters awash with marine life, the Bay Islands are a popular place to learn to scuba dive. Even if you have never dived before, PADI courses and shorter 'fun dives' offering a taster of the scuba experience are both easily arranged to suit your schedule.

The stunning Cayos Cochinos archipelago and marine reserve that surrounds it are a Caribbean idyll where aquamarine seas wash the white-sand shores of a collection of forested islands. Turtles, rays and a dazzling variety of tropical fish all form part of a thriving underwater ecosystem with a colourful coral reef at its heart, providing excellent snorkelling opportunities.

With its tallest temples jutting majestically through the thick jungle canopy and others still lying half-buried in vegetation, Tikal is an astonishingly atmospheric ancient city and perhaps the apex of Mayan architecture and artistry.

The city flourished in the Classic Period of the Mayan civilisation, between about 200 and 900 AD. During this time it was one of the most powerful cities in the empire and a sense of its importance endures in the vast open plazas, towering pyramids and extraordinary carvings and stelae that make up the site.

The most magical way to visit Tikal is to arrive just before dawn to climb one of the ancient step pyramids and watch the sun rise over the awakening rainforest. Wildlife is abundant here and will certainly make you aware of its presence – you can't miss the sonic boom of a howler monkey's call, audible from three miles away.

While only a fraction of Tikal has been excavated, much is known about its inhabitants and their lifestyles, so to fully appreciate the ruins it's well worth exploring with a guide who can explain the significance of the structures and the ancient rituals that were once performed in them.

As the pine forests of the volcano’s foothills fall away, the trail crosses ash and scree to reach the summit. There may be lava flows and the chance to see burning red embers scorching away under the dark solidified magma covering the surface of the volcano.