Rent a car?
May 18th, 2008, 03:28 AM
#1
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Rent a car?
so we have finally committed and bought our tickets to honduras this june. i am so excited but have a few questions i'm hoping you can help with. We are flying into san pedro sula around noon and were planning on renting a car to drive to Copan. My main concern is safety. i've read warnings about people getting carjacked and being held up at gun point.... we wanted to be able to explore copan and surrounding areas on our own, but is it better to just take one of the luxury buses? we are also worried about getting lost and not being able to speak too much spanish. Also where can we get the best directions for driving before we leave? we are waiting to confirm our reservations for 3 nights with hacienda san lucas.
Then we are planning on driving to la ceiba and spending 1 night at casa cangrejal..... the next day we'll take the ferry to roatan spending 3 nights at lilypondguesthouse and our 3 final nights at barefoot cay...are there local buses we can take on roatan? how much? are they reliable? or should we rent a vespa? how much would that be a day. we are wondering how close the dock from barefoot cay is to west end village or west bay? would we be able to take local buses into town from there? how much? are they reliable? or should we rent a vespa?
Then we are planning on driving to la ceiba and spending 1 night at casa cangrejal..... the next day we'll take the ferry to roatan spending 3 nights at lilypondguesthouse and our 3 final nights at barefoot cay...are there local buses we can take on roatan? how much? are they reliable? or should we rent a vespa? how much would that be a day. we are wondering how close the dock from barefoot cay is to west end village or west bay? would we be able to take local buses into town from there? how much? are they reliable? or should we rent a vespa?
May 18th, 2008, 03:40 AM
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We've never chosen to rent a car in CA - too much added stress for all the reasons you mention and more, like finding secure parking, where to drop it off, and cost. In Copán it's easy to explore on foot and in mototaxis (like golf carts) and most hotels can provide or arrange shuttles; some of the areas to explore are more safely visited with a guide, anyway. You'll travel more comfortably in the Hedman buses anyway, getting to enjoy the scenery more and you might want to fly from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba to save time, and from Roatán back to SAP for your return flight. Taxis and buses are readily available on Roatán. A vespa might be a fun way to explore but curvy roads combined with less than safety conscience drivers doesn't sound worth the risk to me.
We have really enjoyed our trips to Honduras and look forward to another month this summer. Happy trails!
We have really enjoyed our trips to Honduras and look forward to another month this summer. Happy trails!
May 18th, 2008, 04:09 AM
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We too have never rented a car in Honduras. It seems less work to let others do the driving. And I've always enjoyed the trips by bus more than the ones where we've hired a car and driver. It feels safer.
Copan and Roatan are easy to explore on foot and with taxis.
The buses are amazingly comfortable.
Copan and Roatan are easy to explore on foot and with taxis.
The buses are amazingly comfortable.
May 18th, 2008, 04:29 AM
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I would not want to rent a car in Honduras. I agree with all the above. Crime and crazy driving are the main reasons, plus I do not want to sit and worry about the saftey of the vechile each time I left it. Finally good negotiating skills in Spanish are required in case you get stopped by the police.
May 18th, 2008, 04:34 AM
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We also decided against renting a car in Honduras. We hired a driver for one leg of our trip and enjoyed the freedom of being able to stop when we wanted. I was also a bit nervous about carjacking.. even in his van but once we were on the road I felt very safe. We didn't have any problems in Honduras at all. We drove past Casa Cangrejal. It looked just wonderful. Have fun.
