Honduras travel tips
 

A small group of friends and I are traveling to Honduras for 1 week in late May.

We are flying into SAP, then heading to La Ceiba. We all will have arrived by 11:40am, and were planning on taking the 2:45 Hedman Alas bus to LC to save a little bit of money versus a flight. But that pretty much wastes the first day, as we wouldn't arrive at LC until 5:45-ish.

My questions are these:
1. Is it worth the flight to LC to squeeze a little bit more out of the day? Would we still have time -- if we stayed at Coco Pando or Omega Jungle Lodge -- to go hiking or horseback riding in the late afternoon? How much would a flight cost on Sosa?
2. If we do take the bus, would it be advisable to stay somewhere like Gran Hotel Paris in town, or stay at Omega or Coco Pando?

A few additional details: we are leaving the following morning for 2 days at Cayos Cochinos/Plantation Beach Resort. Then we're spending one night at Pico Bonito Lodge, followed by 3 nights in Roatan. (Are also considering 1 night at Omega or Coco Pando and 2 nights in Roatan, to get in a little more rainforest time.)

Thanks for your help!

With so little time I'd fly if you can swing it. That way you don't have the taxi or shuttle to the bus station in San Pedro Sula, just stay at the airport and hop the next flight. We didn't reserve ahead because conventional wisdom said we wouldn't need to, but didn't get to La Ceiba until after 10 at night because the earlier flights were full, so reserve ahead. We paid about $60 each for the flights last summer.

Even if all your stars line up you probably won't be able to fit in an organized hike or horses that first afternoon. It starts getting dark by 5:30 or 6 that close to the equator. If you choose to fly and after you have your reservations, you could email Omega and see.

You're mentioning 4 or 5 places to sleep in just a week, which is way too many, IMO. 2 nights=1 day to explore. The transition days can be interesting but they are often long and more tiring than you'd expect because of the heat. Also, nothing ever goes as scheduled in CA, in my experience. You may not want to hear this, but I'd pick 2 spots, one for jungle and 1 for beach and have time to enjoy each before heading home. Maybe overnight at Coco Pando, head to Cayos Cochinos for 3 nights, the spend your last 2 or 3 at Omega (my recommendation) or Pico Bonito. Or fly into La Ceiba, head straight to Omega for 3 nights, and 4 to spend on the Cayos Cochinos or Roatan. If you choose Roatan you can fly back to SAP from there.

Just my 2 cents' worth!

Thanks for the feedback, especially regarding the flights. We're working with someone in Honduras to arrange our flight from SAP to LC, if necessary. But since that day seems like it would be a wash anyway, we may just do the bus. Not sure how much we'd be able to do even if we fly, realistically...?

As a couple of people are only coming for 4 days (leaving on the 5th day), we structured the trip in such a way that we had a taste of beach (Cayos), plus a sampling of rain forest. Then the rest of us will finish our trip at the beach for sun + bars and then catch a direct flight to NY from Roatan.

I guess really we're staying in 3 places -- the 4th place (Gran Hotel Paris in La Ceiba) is just a place to crash for the night after traveling. Have chalked the first day up to a travel day.

Would love to stay at Pico Bonito a second night, but it's just a little too pricey. We could stay at Omega instead perhaps.

hopefulist --

I'm particularly interested in your insights into Omega vs. Pico Bonito. You indicated you prefer the former and not the latter. Can you talk a little bit more about that?

Certainly, we could afford more nights at Omega than we could at Pico Bonito, so that could tweak our plans a bit. We've limited our jungle time a bit because of the expense of Pico Bonito.

I've only seen Pico Bonito on the internet and I'm sure it's lovely - way too pricey for us and just not our style to be so pampered.

At Omega we had fabulous food and adventures, great conversation with guides, owners, and other guests, comfortable, rustic lodging, and a wonderful, wild, jungly landscape. Lodging is free if you pay for an adventure, or pay a bit more for more amenities. We paid $15/night to have the Creek Cabin which was perfect for us but quite a walk to the bathroom. There are lovely suites with private bathrooms also available.

Here's the link to our travelogues in case you haven't read them:

2005: http://sidewalkmystic.com/CopanRuinas.htm

2006: http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/me...d=0&from=1

Happy trails!

Sugar -

The flight should cost around $62 US per person one-way. As Hopeful said, it gets dark early and quick in Honduras, 5:30-6:00 PM with very little dusk time. If you are going to arrange any excursions on your first day you'd be rushing it which sort of defeats the purpose of a relaxing vacation.

Be careful that you don't run in to Carnaval in late May. Flights, rooms and possibly bus seats will be very hard to come by unless you reserve early.

Charlie Meador, Coco Pando, La Ceiba, Honduras

Thanks, Charlie, for the info on flight costs and the heads up on Carnival. We're going to La Ceiba the following week.

Good for you Sugar. The tourist board folks in La Ceiba are pretty certain that it wll be the week starting May 14 (with festivities ending on the 19th), unless its the following week (with festivities ending on the 26th).

Charlie Meador, Coco Pando, La Ceiba, Honduras