Erin Miller

This is the volunteer’s complete travel guide to Honduras. If you are going to be volunteering in or visiting the country sometime soon, you will want this guide. It contains not only a complete suggested travel itinerary, but also information on what to bring, how to access your money, how to use the buses, and all important toilet-paper tips.

I have been asked for travel advice for trips to Italy several times since my return from that country. I am able offer some guidance on the country, but unfortunately I did not carefully record all of the beautiful tricks that I learned while living there. I have already had some soon-to-be volunteers contact me for information on Honduras, and I hope this travel guide will help you on your adventures.

A broke-down bus outside of San Pedro Sula. This may happen to you if you follow this travel guide, though hopefully not. The good news is, though, that if you follow it correctly, you won’t hardly care.

Itinerary length — This full trip itinerary would probably take two to three weeks. However, if you are actually volunteering in Honduras, you can break it up into as many pieces as are convenient.
When to go — If you are going to be visiting the western mountains of Honduras such as towns like La Esperanza or Copán, it is very important to go during the dry season. La Esperanza has only one paved road and as such, it has two distinct season, the dust season and the mud season. Both come with their draw-backs, obviously, but the dust season is actually much more pleasant. Sure some times the city runs out of water, and therefore power, as the electricity is created by a hydro-electric plant, but I understand that there are even more infrastructure failures during the wet season as power lines go down. Being coated in dust under bright sunny skies is infinitely better than walking through at least a foot of mud and through rain. La Esperanza gets hot during the dry season but it cools off brilliantly at night due to its high elevation and it can get very cold during the wet season. The dry season in the high country runs from about February through May, which is what locals call their summer. I have heard that November and December get very chilly in the mountains. The rainy season arrives slightly later in the coastal areas, perhaps around July.
Currency — currently, the exchange rate is about 20 lempiras to the dollar. 1 lempira is equal to about 5 cents.
Money— You are going to want at least two debit or credit cards with you, so that you can store one in the bottom of your big bag and keep one on you. At least one of these cards should be a VISA, because ATMs in undeveloped areas don’t accept anything else. Traveler’s checks are like phone cards — really good ideas that don’t work at all. US dollars can be accepted in some locations and can be changed to the local currency at the airport and some banks in other areas.
What else to bring:
(here is just a suggested list)
your passport — this one is obvious, but also the most important. It should be scannable.
If possible, pack a medium sized back pack, make sure it is thin enough to walk through the isle of an American school bus. We will try to avoid school buses in our travels, but sometimes they are just the best way to get where you are goin’,
In your medium sized back pack bring:
a smaller back pack or shoulder bag to use as a day bag
sunglasses and a hat
2 long sleeve overshirts
flip flops (wear some good walking/hiking shoes)
good sandals with a back strap (for walking behind waterfalls)
travel size toiletries
MP3 player/charger
headlamp/flashlight
bug spray (30-50 percent deet)
travel towel
good rain jacket
5 short sleeve shirts or tank tops
bathing suit
good traveling pants
2 skirts (girls only, duh)
2 good books, you can trade for more if you need to
2 pairs of shorts (more for guys)
5 pairs of socks
1 pair of jeans
a warm shirt over sweater that can go under your rain jacket for the cool evenings in the mountains
don’t forget underwear

You’ll need lots of sunscreen, the sun is strong down there
Insurance If you are going to be staying for a long time, I strongly suggest getting some sort of traveler’s insurance plan that covers whatever amount you would be willing to file a police report and deal with an insurance company to get reimbursed. Most people don’t need a plan that covers any processions worth less than the value of the most expensive single item they take, whether it be a digital camera or an Ipod. The most important part of the plan is the health care provision which should cover the cost of medevacing your sick-butt home.
Medicine See a travel clinic before you go to stock up on medications for your trip. They will advise you on vaccines and medications to take with you. You’ll definitely want a Hep A vaccine, and typhoid and possibly even rabies are not bad ideas either. A tetanus booster is also a good move, preferably the one that comes packaged with a vaccine for pertussis. Bring a travel diarrhea antibiotic as well. Bring a medication for malaria even if you will not be staying in a malaria infected area, because you may end up traveling to one.
Fly into San Pedro Sula. It usually has the cheapest flights from the States. Flights through Houston almost always make you spend a night there. Try to fly through Miami.
Toilet paper Always carry your own toilet paper. It isn’t anyone else’s job to provide it for you. If someone offers you some as you walk in a restroom, they are expecting a tip. If the toilet paper is sitting on top of boxes that say things like “la Cruz Roja” (red cross) It is considered appropriate to donate to the charity if you take some toilet paper. Once you have your toilet paper, remember, it never goes in the toilet. NEVER. Always put it in the trashcan by the toilet.
Honduras Tips is the official travel guide of Honduras. It is available at many hotels and bus stations. I suggest trying to pick one up as soon as possible once in country. It has a complete list of all hotels in every town in Honduras and some transportation hints at the beginning. Just don’t take the time tables too seriously, they are estimations.
Eating and drinking in Honduras Don’t drink the tap water. Don’t even brush your teeth with it unless you are very brave or are going to be there for a very long time and don’t mind getting a bit sick. Always ask if juice is made with purified or tap water. Buy a water bottle once you get into town and then buy bags of water (Bolsas de agua) to refill it. The bags cost about 10 cents. Boiled water is of course fine, just make sure you boil it for three minutes or so. There are four national beers in Honduras, Port Royal, Barena, Imperial, and Salva Vida. Try them all. Port Royal was my favorite. Aside from the beer, rum will be the cheapest and most common alcoholic drink. Drinking in public is not generally allowed and is frowned upon. You can eat just about everything in Honduras. I suggest washing fruit like mangoes in tap water and thoroughly drying them. You don’t eat the skin so there is no reason to use purified water. Wash fruit like strawberries thoroughly in tap water and then rinse in purified water as well. Bananas are good to go off the tree trunk, just peel and eat. Be careful with fish when you are inland. And don’t eat salad or lettuce from street vendors or shady-looking establishments.
San Pedro Sula Stay at Hotel Bolivar for great rates (about $30/night/room, very good for the city) and a super friendly and helpful staff. The staff doesn’t speak much English so at least go prepared with a good phrasebook. The hotel has amazingly hot water. The staff can suggest restaurants, casinos, and night clubs and will help you arrange taxis around town and to the airport.

Alternatively, stay at the Holiday Inn, one of the cheaper gringo-fied facilities (about $95 dollars a night) and the host of what is rumored to be the best casino in town.

Eat good food in San Pedro, its easy. Take taxis around town at night. As everywhere in Honduras, be sure to never have more money on you than you would be willing to lose when you go out at night. Take taxis around the center of San Pedro Sula at night. Taxis around town should run between 30 to 50 lempiras per person. 60 and even up to 70 at night. It costs 200 lempira each way to and from the airport (this charge should not be per person.)

After wilting in the heat of San Pedro, head to a bit higher ground at Lago de Yojoa, the largest fresh body of water in Honduras, complete with an awe-inspiring mountain back-drop. You’ll want to take a bus from San Pedro’s main terminal to La Guama. Try to avoid school buses if you can, just because they are not very comfortable. Or go for it, its a fun cultural experience, especially if you end up sitting next to a woman holding a live chicken. The ticket to La Guama should run you about 40 lempira/person.

Buses As a general rule, bus tickets can be bought on the bus, once en route to your destination. This has distinct advantages. You almost never have to plan ahead. You can wonder outside the bus terminal, asking around for buses going to La Guama and leaving soon. At a terminal like in San Pedro, you can hand-pick your bus and make sure it is not a school bus (again, unless you are in to chickens). After you find your bus, put one of your bags below the bus, make sure this bag has some cash and your back-up credit card in it, along with a copy of your passport and birth certificate. Take most of your valuables — i.e. your wallet with your main credit card, most of your cash, your passport, and your camera on to the bus with you in a bag that is small enough to fit on your lap. The bag that is most likely to get stolen on a bus is the one that you put above your head, so make sure that doesn’t have anything too important. Buses are occasionally robed. Particularly on the route between San Pedro Sula and Cortez, so don’t go to Cortez. If your bus is robed, I like to think that its unlikely they will take both the valuables you have on you and the ones under the bus, so make sure your money and cards are split up. If you seek an Alternative to the crowded, hot, direct buses, you can look into Hedman Alas, which offers nicer, air-conditioned buses. They are MUCH more expensive and can actually be a bit chilly so bring a sweater. They also follow an exact time-table which you can get if you ask around.

Inside of a direct bus, a step up from school buses, but not as nice as the fancy air-conditioned ones with time-tables

School buses
Remember if someone in Honduras ever tells you to give them all your money, hand it all over and say, “Tenga, y vaya con dios.” (take it and go with god.) It is seriously your best bet. Money and passports can be replaced.
Alright, on with our travels, In La Guama ask around for where you should stand to take a bus to Pena Blanca, everyone will know what you are talking about. There are three good options for places to stay by the lake. Agua Azul is cheap, relaxing, with great views of the lake and LOTS of mosquitoes (625 lempiras for a 3 person room). D and D’s B and B (it does not actually serve breakfast, but it is actually the only microbrewery in Honduras) is a great option for a cheap hostel (220 per 2-3 person room). Las Brisas del Lago is the place to stay if you want to be pampered (875 lempiras for a 2 person room), but reservations might be necessary, 557-8197. From La Guama, tell the bus driver on the bus toward pena blanca, the name of the hotel where you want to stay and he will tell you where to get off. Agua Azul is a pretty short walk from the main road. I would recommend hitchhiking to get to either of the other two from where the bus drops you.

Lago de Yojoa from Agua Azul
Hitchhiking Hitchhiking in Honduras is very common and generally safe if you do it correctly. Entire families with young children can be seen hitchhiking on the side of the road. NEVER do it alone, whether you are a guy or a girl. NEVER do it after dark. Always ride in the back of pick-ups as opposed to the cabin, and don’t ever get in any situation that feels even a tiny bit uncomfortable. Always offer and be prepared to pay for the ride, but you’ll be surprised at how often it is free.
Once you find your hotel and get settled, I advise you not to leave your hotel property at night when you are by the lake. It’s not a good idea. If you do go, and somebody asks for all of your money, remember, “tenga, y vaya con dios. ”
Take one of your days relaxing by the lake to go to the pulhapanzak waterfalls. One morning, wake up around 9, pack up a bag with your travel towel, camera, sunglasses and sunscreen, don your sandals with a back strap, and walk to that main road where the bus from La Guama dropped you off. Take the next bus (or kindly looking bed of a pickup) up to Pena Blanca. From there, act confused (you’ll be surprised how naturally this comes) and ask for “las cascadas” (it’s a cognate, think cascades). Everyone will know what you are talking about and will tell you where to stand to catch a bus in that direction. Once on the bus, just tell the driver’s helper that you want to go to las cascadas and they will drop you off at the turn. Then walk down hill (or take a ride in friendly-looking pick-up truck) to the park. It costs 30 lempira to get in. At the gate, you will most likely be approached by a guide asking if you want a tour of the falls, you do. If you are not approached, just looked confused and ask for “una guia”. The guides are good. I felt very safe and had a great time on two different occasions with two different guides. They do usually speak some English, but will be more than happy to help you practice Spanish. The standard cost is 100 lempira per person for the guide. This can be bargained to 50 or so if you work at it. The guide will take you to the back of the restaurant where you can leave your belongings. Leave everything. Anything you bring with you will get completely soaked. The guide will then lead you down to the falls and then through a locked gate to the back of the falls. Its a bit scary for a couple of minutes when there is a lot of splash back, but once you get through that, its a piece of cake and then you will get to look up and watch a 43 meter waterfall come crashing down behind your head. Yes, you do have to be able to swim. After the tour, tip your guide. You can leave your belongings at the restaurant for as long as you like, so take advantage of it and swim in some of the upper pools. You can get very close to the edge of the falls. I know some people that have taken the opportunity to pose al natural from that position for pictures that are taken from below. I am not suggesting this, just saying; be careful you don’t slip.

Under the waterfall
Once you have had enough time relaxing and soaking up the sun at Lago de Yojoa, it is time to continue your adventures. Haul your stuff out to the main road and take the bus back toward La Guama. In La Guama, wait where the bus from San Pedro dropped you off for a bus to La Esperanza. Alternatively you can take a bus to Siguatepeque and from there transfer to a bus to La Esperanza. Many volunteers are based in La Esperanza, but if you will not be, you should definitely make it a stop on your tour through the country. The bus from La Guama to La Esperanza should be about 60 lempira.

Tips for volunteers and travelers in La Esperanza, Honduras
If you have more money than you know what to do with, there is a very nice mountain resort called Cabanas de los Pinos just out of the center of town. The bus from La Guama can drop you off at the entrance to the resort, The resort has a pool and everything. It will cost you upwards of 800 lempira per night per room. Instead, I recommend staying at Hotel Ipsan-nah in the center of La Esperanza. It is the nicest hotel in town. It is very clean and run by a very friendly and service-oriented staff. It’s a big place with volunteer organizations so reservations might help. Their number is 783-2086. The hotel should cost about 400 lempira per night for a 2-3 person room. A cheaper option in town is Hotel Mejia Batres, which costs 200 lempira per night for a 2 person room, but it does have an early curfew. Mejia Batres is located one block off of parque central. Whichever hotel you choose in town, just take the bus from La Guama to the end of the line, to the station on the edge of town. Get a taxi at the station and tell the driver to take you to your hotel. Taxis in town should cost 11 lempira per person. If you want to go to Ipsan-nah, the taxi drivers will probably know the hotel by the name of the restaurant attached to it, El Pollito Indio.
There are a number of must-sees in La Esperanza.
1. The market. It is full of delicious and cheap fruits and vegetables. The strawberries and mangoes are particular highlights. If oranges are in season, buy one off a street vendor. The vendor will cut it in half and offer you salt. Take the salt, it’s an interesting cultural experience. Then dig right in sucking the juice out of the half orange. To get to the market, walk 2 or so blocks north from hotel Ipsan-nah and take a left. You should be able to see the market and follow it west for a block, then walk another block north and continue to follow the market west through the streets. Once the market ends, walk three or so more blocks west. You should see a big red sign for Banco Atlantida.
2. Banco Atlantida. Its the only bank in town with an ATM. True to form, it only takes Visa.
3. The “Licuado” (smoothie) stand across from Banco Atlantida in the commercial center. The friendly woman that runs it will make any fruit combination you dream up. You can get the smoothies either milk-based, orange juice-based, or water-based. They cost 20 lempira for a large.
4. Cafe Internet. After your licuado, continue walking west along that block until you see Mike’s fast food (It’s a bright yellow building with red letters) on your left. There is an internet cafe on the left just before Mikes that has a generator in case you have some immediate internet-related business and the power is out. If the power is not out, take a right at Mike’s and walk down hill 4 blocks or so until you come to a large open plaza with soccer fields in the middle. (This is plaza Lempira). When you see the plaza there will be an Internet Cafe on your left, Cafe Internet. It is the best internet cafe in town, and hugely popular with the volunteer types. They sell terrific coffee and deserts and it is run by one of the most friendly and helpful families in town. If you do go, please tell them that “Erline, la gringa que trabajaba con las mujeres en el Albergue, dice hola.”
5. Helping build homes. If you have a weekday morning free, go build homes with other volunteers in the hills around town. The driver (Pablo) leaves from Plaza Lempira (which you have just seen) at 7 (ok, 7:15) every weekday morning that volunteers are in town. It’s a 10 lempira ride in the back of a truck each way, but one of the greatest Honduran experiences you can get. You will be back in town around 1pm. The truck is bright blue and leaves from the upper left corner of plaza lempira when you look at it from the internet cafe (the northwest corner).
6. El Fogón. Walk right back up the road you walked down to get to the Internet cafe by plaza Lempira. Walk past Milke’s and on your right you will see El Fogón. This is where you should go to drink a couple of beers and meet up with other volunteers in town in the evenings, it has a great atmosphere.
7. Opalaca’s Restaurant. After you pass El Fogon, continue walking up hill to the end of the block and take a left. Restaurante Opalaca’s will be on your left. It is the best food in town. Get something alla plancha (on the grill) I recommend the beef steak, but the pork chops are also good. The meal will come with a salad (that is completely safe to eat) and french fries.
8. The kiosk in Central Park. Once you pass Opalacas, you will see central park on your right. The park is a great place to hang out, and the restaurant in the middle serves terrific food. Try a bunch of the sides, they are all delicious. Also be sure to try ‘una baleada con todo.” It will knock your socks off.
9. La Gruta. You may have noticed a white shrine up-hill from central park. Its worth taking a walk up there to look around. It provides a fantastic view.

La vista de la gruta, La Esperanza, Honduras
After a few days of wondering, eating, and helping build homes, its time to head to the coast.
Make your way back to the La Esperanza bus station. Get on whatever bus is leaving first because you are going to Siguatepeque (“Sigua” for short), and all of the buses from that main station go there. The ride is about an hour, to an hour and a half long, and should cost about 40 lempira. When the driver yells “Sigua, Sigua.” get off the bus, you will be at a Texaco Station. Take a right at the Texaco and walk about 15 minutes to a food place called “Don Tiki.” Wait for a bus there that is going to Tela. It should cost about 174 lempira. It is an express bus so it makes fewer stops.

Tela
If you can swing it, stay at hotel telamar for a couple of days. It will cost you upwards of 80 dollars a night for a room that could easily sleep 4, but its worth it. It has a manicured beach and a swim-up bar. If Hotel Telemar is out of your price-range, Hotel Mango-Inn in the center of town is clean and cheaper. Hotel Maya Vista is a mid-range place, up a huge hill, with a great view. Wherever you stay, there are two must-sees in Tela. Take at least one Garifuna tour. I recommend the one to Punta Sol, it includes a walking tour of the jungle, snorkeling, and a terrific fried-fish lunch. (you have to pay for the lunch separately, its about 100 lempira). The tour will cost 30 dollars, but its worth it. You are almost guaranteed to see Howler monkeys. I have also heard that people had a good time on the Punta Izopo kayaking tour, if that is more your style. Your hotel can get you hooked up with Garifuna tours or you can take a taxi to their office in town. Also while in Tela, I strongly recommend taking a day to explore Botanical Gardens Lancetilla. It’s the second-largest botanical gardens in the world and where Chiquita and Dole worked to make the banana as we know it today. You do not need to pay for a tour of the gardens, you can walk it on your own and can take a taxi to get there. Be sure you pay the driver the extra amount to take you all the way to where you buy your tickets and not just to the entrance gate, because it is a VERY long walk. If you have a few more days in Tela, try to take a taxi and walk to one of the garifuna villages close to town. I have heard that Miami is amazing.

Tela’s beaches

Copán
The ruins at Copán are very fun and educational. And the city of Copán ruinas is charming. However getting to Copán can be a definite pain in the neck and the ruin entrance-fee is steep. I strongly recommend going with a tour group, like Garifuna tours, from Tela. Garifuna tours goes every Thursday, if there is interest. It provides round-trip transportation in an air-conditioned bus, 1 night accommodation and a guided tour to the ruins (which, alone, would cost you almost 30 dollars). The full price is 99 bucks from Tela, well worth it, if you want to see Copán.

Copán
After Tela, or perhaps after your side trip to Copán, head to the islands. Take a bus from Tela to La Ceiba, you should be able to find a direct bus if you ask around. Leave Tela early enough so that you make it to La Ceiba in time to get to the islands. If you have a few extra days, I have heard that Cayos Cohinos, just off the coast of La Ceiba, are amazing. However, you will have to look into transportation and hiring a private boat, because there are no regularly scheduled ferries to the islands. If you just want to get to an island, head to Utila or Roatan. Both are relatively developed and expensive, Roatan is more of both. Utila has a slightly larger dive culture, and I think slightly better diving. It also has a younger and larger party atmosphere. You can get certified to dive in three to four days for less than 250 dollars on either island. Fun dives will cost you about 25 dollars a piece on either island. The ferries from La Ceiba leave ON-TIME, which is sort of an interesting concept in Honduras. At the time I wrote this, the ferry for Utila leaves at 2 pm, and for Roatan at 4:30 pm. Both ferries are expensive, and I would encourage buying your tickets “ida y vuelta” (round trip) so that you don’t accidentally run out of money with no way to get off the islands. The ferry to Utila will cost about 300 lempira each way and the ferry to Roatan is much nicer and will cost about 450 lempira each way.

Utila
Be sure that you have stocked up on cash before you go to Utila, as there is only one ATM on the island, and it only takes VISA, and tends to run out of money on the weekends.Cooper’s Inn is a good CHEAP place to stay right on the main drag. Private doubles with a shared bath for about 5 dollars a day. Try Freddy’s place for slightly nicer, though still budget, accommodations. Take a right at the end of the dock to get to either place. Countryside Inn (take a left at the end of the dock and follow signs) provides shared apartments with private rooms and a shared kitchen for less than 5 dollars a night. None of these places have air conditioning, though they should all come with fans. If you are interested in diving, be sure you check with a dive center about free accommodation. Most dive courses do include accommodation, either at the school itself or at another hotel on the island. The biggest and most well known dive schools are Utila Dive Center (UDC) , Cross Creek Dive Center, known for its international atmosphere, or the Bay Islands College of Diving, which caters to first-time divers with their swimming pool for use during the courses. Utila is known for whale-shark sightings. I recommend getting at least some of your dives on the north side. Most dive centers on Utila offer two-tank dives in the morning over to Northside, and many also offer them in the afternoon to other dive sites. I do not recommend the boat trips to see whale sharks, as they are rarely successful and you could end up spending a lot of money to just see ocean. If you are on a dive boat and a whale-shark sighting comes on over the radio, your captain will take you over to see them.

The streets of Utila

Roatan
Roatan has a number of ATMs that take a variety of cards. The ferry docks on the island’s capital and you will have to take a 15 dollar taxi (you can get it for 10) to where you want to stay. Gringos tend to cluster in two areas, West End and West Bay. West End has a better bar scene and lower prices. The best beaches are on West Bay, with the resort hotels. I recommend staying at West End and just taking a day trip to the beach at West Bay. For mid-range lodging on Roatan try Chillies , which also has its own dive shop or Posada Acro Iris. The dive shops on Roatan are more or less equal, though I recommend looking into the dive shop at Chillies, Native Son’s Dive Shop. Everyone on West End begins their evenings at the Sundowner bar, and for good reason. West Bay is full of nice resort hotels that offer all-inclusives for about 100 dollars a night. Henry Morgan Resort looked nice.
If you do stay at West End, be sure to take a day to see the pristine beaches of West Bay. You can combine your beach day with a highly recommended canopy tour and monkey encounter at Gumbalimba Park. Yes, you do actually get to hold “wild” monkeys. You can arrange the tour and transportation with Jimmy Miller at the information booth next to Chillies. Tell him Erin Miller sent you. After the canopy tour and monkey encounter, the van driver will probably drop you off at the beach at West Bay if he has time. Or it is only a 15 minute walk from where the tour ends. There is great snorkeling in West Bay if your bring your gear. Just be aware of the current against you on your way back in towards the beach.

Roatan’s West End, from Sundowner bar
Once you have had enough fun in the sun on the islands, head back to the mainland and on to San Pedro Sula for your out-flight. The ferry leaves Roatan at 7:00am or 1pm, and Utila at 6:20am, or 2pm. The morning or afternoon ferries will both allow you to get back to San Pedro Sula within one day, but the morning ferries will allow you to make the trip during day-light. Once you land in La Ceiba just ask the taxi driver for a direct bus to San Pedro and he will get you where you need to go.
Good luck, best wishes and have a blast! If you need any more tips, or have any questions about traveling or volunteering in Honduras, just shoot me an email: erinashleymiller(at)gmail.c0m