Things to do in Honduras
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Munchies
Located on the 1st floor of an island home built in 1864, this restaurant has a great Caribbean vibe, with pleasant outdoor seating on the front porch and at the back. The menu is a bit limited, but includes good vegetarian options and big breakfasts, which keeps it busy with travelers.
reviewed
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Parque Nacional Cusuco
Just 45km from San Pedro Sula, but remarkably difficult to access, Parque Nacional Cusuco is a cloud forest nestled in the impressive Merendón mountain range. The park has abundant wildlife, including parrots, toucans and a large population of quetzals, best spotted from April to June. Its highest peak is Cerro Jilinco (2242m). The park’s visitors center is the starting point for five different hiking trails. Two trails – Quetzal and Las Minas – pass waterfalls and swimming holes. Guides can be hired at the visitors center for around L$100 per trip.
reviewed
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Alton’s Dive Center
Longtime local shop – ‘Alton’ is Alton Cooper, Utila’s mayor until 2010 – with good equipment and a laid-back atmosphere. Courses include four night’s accommodation – in little, basic, cold-water rooms right at the shop – and two fun dives. The service can be a bit hit and miss. It also offers NAUI courses.
reviewed
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Driftwood Café
A way’s west of the ferry dock, this ‘yachtie’ hangout has decent pub grub. Try the ‘Monkeyball, ’ made with home-crafted Kahlua and a few other secret ingredients.
reviewed
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Café Welchez
Although it looks like money, the Café Welchez is a relatively affordable place.
reviewed
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Ten Napel Café
This cozy coffee shop is perfect if you need a caffeine or sugar fix (or both).
reviewed
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Diving Sites
Roatán has dozens of dive sites and most shops do a good job of making sure divers who buy multi-dive packages don't end up going to the same place again and again. If there's a site you are keen to try, don't be afraid to ask. At the same time, weather and water conditions dictate most site selection, and some dives aren't practical or diveable for days at a time.
Some favorites - among many, many others - include: Mary's Place: fissures in the coral form a deep, sheer-faced maze at this one-of-a-kind site. Winding through, you'll likely see jacks, lobsters and crabs, and huge schools of silversides; near the mooring, keep an eye out for seahorses. Mary's Place is near …
reviewed
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Finca el Cisne
Finca El Cisne is the well-run tourism arm of a century-old family farm, located 25km north of Copán Ruinas; trips combine beautiful scenery with an inside-look at a working finca and include horseback riding through coffee and cardamom fields, swimming in the Río Blanco, soaking at Agua Caliente hot springs and a stop at the coffee-processing plants (February to October). Lodging is in a homey solar-powered cabin. Per person costs (minimum two people) are: day trips L$1000; overnight L$1300; and two-night stays L$2100; they include transportation to/from Copán Ruinas and meals. The finca shares an office with Basecamp tours, opposite ViaVia Café in Copán Ruinas.
reviewed
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Hacienda El Jaral
The large, rather cheesy Hacienda El Jaral resort-hotel-waterpark-museum-foodcourt-minimall-movie theater (did we miss anything?)is a budget version of Disneyland. The water park has several high tubular slides that wind down to a somewhat dated pool, while the movie theater has one screen showing Hollywood flicks. Both are the only ones of their kind near Copán Ruínas, and the best reason to make the trip (and then only if you are really jonesing for some soft-serve diversion).
The much-hyped Museo de la Vaca, Museum of the Cow, is a glorified gift shop, while the hotel is way overpriced.
reviewed
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Macaw Mountain Bird Reserve & Nature Park
Set on 4 hectares of tropical forest, Macaw Mountain Bird Reserve & Nature Park has large enclosures with birds ranging from brilliant Buffon’s macaws to manic keel-billed toucans. The ticket price (a bit steep, but good for three days) includes a one-hour guided tour (English and French spoken). There’s also a 20-minute nature loop through an adjacent coffee plantation, a small swimming hole and a cafe. It’s 2.5km north of Copan Ruinas, mostly uphill; a taxi is L$20 per person.
reviewed
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RJ’s BBQ
Huge, cheap, well-prepared dishes attract a crowd here – it’s lucky for the other restaurants in town that RJ’s is only open three days a week. Choose from barbecued chicken, wahoo, kingfish, pork or beef, all of which are served with mashed potato and salad. The selections are written on a chalk board near the cash register, and erased one by one as the night wears on and the food runs out. Needless to say, come early. It’s across from Alton’s Dive Shop.
reviewed
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Chiminike
Chiminike is Tegucigalpa’s excellent children’s museum. Situated about 7km south of downtown, it caters to kids of all ages, from a peaceful infant/nursing area to adolescent-level displays on Maya history. It’s refreshingly frank: the area about the human body has exhibits on the hows and whys of farting, vomiting, sneezing and body odor, while a crawl-through digestive tract starts at the mouth and ends with a slide through an oversized rectum.
reviewed
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Canopy Tours
Canopy Tours provides a canopy tour with a 20-cable system about 500m past Sambo Creek, east of La Ceiba. The 20-cable tour (two to three hours) starts with a 35-minute horseback ride up a steep road to the first station and includes a stop at a natural hot springs where you can smear yourself with the possibly therapeutic, definitely sulfur-smelling mud there. Any east-bound bus from La Ceiba can drop you at the entrance; a cab there will cost around US$30.
reviewed
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Expatriates Bar & Grill
Aptly named, this is a longtime favorite of foreigners living in La Ceiba. The specialty is barbecue chicken wings, but just about everything is grilled and good – ribs, shrimp, chicken breasts, veggies. There’s also a full bar, occasional live music, book exchange, community board, large-screen TV with major sporting events, and high-speed internet.
reviewed
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Cross Creek
Owned by the Utila Diver Center, Cross Creek is a bit more expensive, but has friendly multilingual staff and professional instruction. Breakfast and accommodation are included with an Open Water course, and the rooms are some of our favorites on the island. All guests can use the big, shared kitchen and lounge.
reviewed
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Jim’s Pizza Copán
This thatch-roof restaurant serves some of the best pizza around. Choose from a variety of ingredients – pepperoni, ham, sausage, bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, olives – and it’s baked before your eyes in the open-air kitchen. A steady stream of clients keeps the place going late.
reviewed
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Honduras Caribbean Tours
Has tours similar to Garífuna Tours, but also sportfishing (per boat L$5491), trips to Lancetilla (L$550), Pico Bonito (L$1045) & Cayos Cochinos (L$1121) and rafting on the Río Cangrejal (L$1121). Enquire at Casa Azul Caribbean Café.
reviewed
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La Llama del Bosque
From the outside, this place looks forgettable. But eat one meal here and you’re likely to remember it for a long time. The menu is extensive and varied with dishes that are delicious, beautifully presented, abundant and cheap.
reviewed
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D
Carnitas Nia Lola
An American bar-and-grill planted firmly on the Honduran mainland, this restaurant feels a bit more upscale than other spots in town and draws an older – we mean ‘more mature’ – crowd.
reviewed
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E
ViaVia Café
A hip boho atmosphere with outdoor and indoor seating; the daily specials are the way to go at this place. Each day the chef takes a crack at various world-food dishes and often pulls them off with flair.
reviewed
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Pizza Hut
Don’t forget to eulogize Dom DeLuise, who played ‘Pizza The Hutt’ in Mel Brooke’s Spaceballs.
reviewed
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La Moskitia Ecoaventuras
Run by Jorge Salverri, an expert birder and one of the most knowledgeable guides to La Moskitia. Call ahead.
reviewed
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Café San Rafael
This tiny eatery 1½ blocks south of Parque Central sells coffee from the family finca.
reviewed
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Beach House
This is a fine hotel, but they’re simply overpriced – the last, spectacularly so.
reviewed
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