Garífuna Villages Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Although you can walk along the beach from Tela to any of the villages, the walk is not always safe and should not be done alone or at night.

Buses to the Garífuna villages depart from the local bus terminal in Tela. There are two routes: one heading west to Tornabé, another heading east to Triunfo de la Cruz. Buses on both routes depart hourly from around 6am to 5pm; the fare is about US$0.50, and it takes about 30 to 45 minutes to reach the villages.

If you’re driving or cycling, you can get to Tornabé by the beach road heading west from Tela. Be careful where you cross the sandbar at the Laguna de los Micos between San Juan and Tornabé; vehicles regularly get stuck in the sand here. You may need a 4WD vehicle to get past Tornabé to Miami. You can also get to Tornabé from the highway; the turnoff, 5km west of Tela, is marked by a sign to ‘The Last Resort.’ To drive to La Ensenada or Triunfo de la Cruz, take the highway to the turnoff for Triunfo de la Cruz, 5km east of Tela. After 1km the road forks. Go left to La Ensenada, right to Triunfo de la Cruz.

Buses to Guadalupe leave from the old cemetery in Trujillo at 9:30am, 10:30am, noon, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm (Monday to Saturday), passing Santa Fe (US$0.75, 45 minutes) and continuing to San Antonio and Guadalupe (US$0.80, 1¼ hours).

Buses return from Guadalupe at 6:30am, 7am, 8am, 10am, noon and 2pm, passing Santa Fe 30 minutes later. On Sunday, just one bus leaves Guadalupe (at 7am) and returns from Trujillo at noon.