Honduras travel guide

The cheapest meals are the comida corriente, or the sometimes better prepared and more expensive comida típica, which usually contain some of the following: beans, rice, meat, avocado, egg, cabbage salad, cheese, bananas, potatoes or yucca, and always tortillas. Carne asada is charcoal-roasted meat and served with grated cabbage between tortillas; it is good, although rarely prepared hygienically. Make sure that pork is properly cooked. Tajadas are crisp, fried plátano chips topped with grated cabbage and sometimes meat; nacatamales are ground, dry maize mixed with meat and seasoning, boiled in banana leaves. Baleadas are soft flour tortillas filled with beans and various combinations of butter, egg, cheese and cabbage. Pupusas are thick corn tortillas filled with chicharrón (pork scratchings), or cheese, served as snacks with beer. Tapado is a stew with meat or fish, plantain, yucca and coconut milk. Pinchos are meat, poultry, or shrimp kebabs. Sopa de mondongo (tripe soup) is very common.

Most Roman Catholic feast days are celebrated.

1 Jan New Year’s Day.

14 Apr Day of the Americas.

Mar/Apr Semana Santa (Thu, Fri and Sat before Easter Sun).

1 May Labour Day.

15 Sep Independence Day.

3 Oct Francisco Morazán.

12 Oct Columbus’ arrival in America.

With the popularity of the Bay Islands as a diving destination, mainland Honduras is often missed in the frenzied rush towards the sea. And, while the beauty of the islands cannot be overstated, picking a route that takes in some of the smaller towns of Honduras gives a far better understanding of the country as a whole.

The capital, Tegucigalpa, has an old, colonial sector and a new section with modern hotels, shopping malls and businesses. Across the Río Choluteca is Tegucigalpa’s twin city, Comayagüela, the working heart of the city with the markets and bus terminals. Around the capital, there are colonial villages, old mining towns, handicraft centres and good hiking areas, including Parque Nacional La Tigra, which will make ideal trips for a day or two.

West of Tegucigalpa, near the border with Guatemala, is Honduras’ premier Maya archaeological site Copán, where new discoveries continued to be made, and some fine Maya art can be seen. A short distance from the site, the well-restored town of Copán Ruinas is a colonial gem and, nearby, the site of El Puente is beginning to reveal treasures hidden for centuries. Closer to the capital, quiet colonial towns such as Gracias and graceful Santa Bárbara are the site of opal mines, Lenca indigenous communities and the national park of Mount Celaque. There is lots of good hiking in the vicinity of the popular colonial city of Santa Rosa de Copán. A good way to explore this more traditional part of the country is to pick a route, travel in short distances and soak up the calm and tranquillity.

From Tegucigalpa a paved highway runs north to San Pedro Sula, the second city of the republic and the country’s main business centre. The road passes the old colonial capital of Comayagua and beautiful Lago Yojoa. Northwest of San Pedro Sula, the north coast has a number of centres of interest to the visitor. The main port is Puerto Cortés, to the west of which is Omoa, an increasingly popular beach and fishing village with an old fort, from which an overland route enters Guatemala. East of San Pedro Sula are Tela, a more established resort, and La Ceiba, a good base for visiting the nearby national parks of Pico Bonito and Cuero y Salado, whitewater rafting trips on the Río Cangrejal and departure point for the Bay Islands and La Mosquitia. Further east, Trujillo, sitting at the southern end of a palm-fringed bay, was once the country capital.

Curving in an arc off the cost near La Ceiba, the Bay Islands of Utila, Roatán and Guanaja, plus the smaller Hog Islands, are some of Honduras’ main tourist destinations. Travellers visiting just one part of Honduras often pick the islands. The diving is excellent and Utila is currently the cheapest dive centre in the Caribbean. The islands also have good beaches.

Northeast of Tegucigalpa is the province of Olancho, an agricultural and cattle-raising area that leads eventually to the Caribbean coast at Trujillo. Juticalpa and Catacamas are the main towns, and the mountains of the district have cloud forest, hiking trails and beautiful conservation areas. Beyond Olancho is La Mosquitia, most easily reached from La Ceiba, which is forested, swampy and almost uninhabited. Efforts are being made to promote sustainable development among the Miskito and the Pech. Ecotourism initiatives have been set up in some coastal communities and inland, making for adventurous and rewarding travel where the main ways of getting around are by boat, small plane or on foot.