voyager61

Hi,
We're considering a trip to Honduras in late June with our teenage son and his school group. Accommodations will be at Anthony's Key Resort and in Copan. My main concern is the bugs/humidity this time of year. I've read conflicting info on what the weather will be like then. Also, do visitors take anti-malarials or get other vaccinations? I noticed the CDC mentions some of this.
Thanks for any advice.

hopefulist

We were in the Copán area for a few weeks in June of '05 and spent a month between LaCeiba, Utila, and Roatán last July/August. In Copán it didn't seem to hot/humid and poured in the night (sometimes starting late afternoon, usually after dark) nearly every day, which cooled things down for sleeping. I think the highs were in the mid 80's. La Ceiba is HOT and muggy but the breezes and proximity to water made the islands more comfortable.

We always take chloroquine and protect ourselves with long sleeves/pants and Sawyer's Time Release Deet as needed to avoid malaria in places the CDC site recommends. Malaria, once contracted, can be a life-long plague and we've never experienced side effects from chloroquine. In my opinion, all travelers should have Hep A and B series and updated tetanus shots; high school students are sometimes out-of-date on their shots as the schools don't exclude students that age who need boosters like they do in the early grades. Honduras doesn't require the shots, though.

Hope you and your son and his group enjoy Honduras as much as we have! Here are some links that might be of interest:

http://www.cdc.gov/travel/regionalma...tm#malariarisk

http://sidewalkmystic.com/CopanRuinas.htm (2005 trip report)

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/me...d=0&from=1 (2006 trip report)

Happy trails...

voyager61

Thanks for this information. I'm also reading the State Department advisory on Honduras and Lonely Planet postings, and the crime issue has me concerned. Can anyone allay my fears about crime in Honduras? The advisory seems to be stronger for this country than for either Costa Rica or Belize.

hopefulist

Those state department postings are terrifying - I'm planning to head to Guatemala again next summer and you should see those warnings! As a woman traveling alone, then to Honduras again last summer with my husband (but more than a week on my own) I felt really safe in Honduras.

The main dangerous areas are the big cities, esp. San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, and tourists aren't the most common targets anyway. Most of the crime outside of those areas is petty crime - pickpocketing, etc., that is unlikely to affect you if you don't pack much around with you and are mindful of where you are.

I head straight out of San Pedro Sula, take Hedman Alas buses instead of chicken buses (which I've loved in the past), don't walk around much at night (though I did this on Utila and in La Ceiba and Copán Ruinas without incident), don't wear jewelry (even my wedding ring), and try not to flash my camera around a lot. I think you'd find the areas you're planning to go very safe.

Go! Have a blast!

hopefulist

Oh - and I should have given you our standard warning: the most dangerous thing about exposing kids to the culture and pace of life in CA is that they'll become addicted to travel and leave you! The last 2 trips were sans kids but we've enjoyed traveling as a family, too. All of our kids spent the 2004-5 school year living overseas and 2 seem likely to settle outside of the US. Beware!