What would make me happy in Honduras?
January 23, 2010 5:24 PM   Subscribe

Spring break (family style) in northern Honduras. What are the indispensable sights, experiences, etc.?

We (two adults, one 14 year old, one 8 year old) will be in northern Honduras for about nine days in late March. Our present plan is to take in Copan, spend 3-4 nights in Pico Bonito at a travel lodge, maybe go to the Bay Islands . . . and avail ourselves of the hive mind for the remainder. We like wildlife and ruins; most cannot scuba. I am dubious about our ability to fly into San Pedro Sula, go to Copan, go to Pico Bonito, and make it over to the Mosquito Coast.

Advice welcomed!
posted by Clyde Mnestra to Travel & Transportation around Honduras (6 answers total)
 
Not to be a downer, but Honduras is in the middle of a coup government. The situation might change by then.
posted by history is a weapon at 7:48 PM on January 23, 2010


If you aren't scuba diving or staying at an all inclusive resort, roatan doesn't have all that much to offer, and utila doesn't have much anything besides diving, but there is a lot of neat stuff to do on roatan, Jackson Hole is really cool and there's a great steak and lobster restaurant on a houseboat there. You can charter fishing boats out of them or take an overnight trip to cayos cochinos which is really neat. I'd reccomend a resort, and possibly on the west end if you want to get out into the more divey backpacker areas.

This might be hard with an 8 year old, but you can get scuba certified for fairly cheap there (250 each) and that could be something great to do as a family.
posted by Large Marge at 7:50 PM on January 23, 2010


I've heard that travel is (at this point) unaffected by the "coup". I was in Honduras last spring and loved it.

The Copan ruins (signage is awful, buy a cheap booklet in town) are a must! There's a nice bird sanctuary just outside town, as well. We did an overnight excursion to a local coffee hacienda (El Cisne) where we toured on horseback and swam in a local hot spring (highly recommend this).

Roatan was lovely for divers and nondivers (Utila is pretty much dive-only). Roatan has an absolutely amazing beach (with good snorkeling too) just a short water taxi ride from the main tourist village of West End, which has lots of restaurants, bars, etc.

We didn't do the Pico Bonito lodges because we'd done similar things in Belize, but I've heard good things. The Mosquito coast would be great, I'm sure, but it's not something you can do quickly.

Also, I recommend reading "Don't be Afraid Gringo" by Elvia Alvarado, a campesina activist.
posted by mkuhnell at 8:03 PM on January 23, 2010


Forgot to say: you can see pics and information about our Honduras trip at www.theslowroad.org
posted by mkuhnell at 8:07 PM on January 23, 2010


Well Copan is amazing. I had a fantastic walking tour of the ruins in English but it was arranged by someone else so I won't be able to point you in the right direction there (but it is a possibility). I've also been to La Tigra National Park there which was pretty fascinating and great hiking, but probably not a must-see destination. La Tigra is near Tegucigalpa though is a great example of a cloud forest environ.

The only other thing is: do not drive on the highway, use mass transit or hire an experienced driver. The roads are well maintained but they snake through the mountains with tons of blind spots, and Hondurans drive like maniacs. You can ask Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes about this.
posted by Locobot at 11:52 PM on January 23, 2010


Response by poster: This is very helpful. Thanks -- I really appreciate it.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 8:49 PM on January 26, 2010


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