Copan - what is the best way?

I think that yes you could visit copan on a day trip from Guatemala City, but you'd spend a lot of time on the bus. We left Antigua to Copan on a 4am shuttle. We arrived in Copan at around 10 am. From there you could take a 10minute taxi to the ruins, see the ruins in about 4hrs for the museum, ruins, lunch, and be back on a shuttle to Antigua or Guatemala City by 2pm or so, which would but you back in Guatemala City by 8pm or so.... more or less. I don't know anything Specific about Guatemala City only Antigua. There were a lot of companies offering day trips to Copan when we were in Antigua.

I can't tell if you want to go to Tegus or not. It is about 7hrs from Copan I believe. (we met someone on the bus to Copan who was making the trip.) If you do want to go there you can.... The people I met in Honduras told us there's nothing to see there. So I wouldn't go out of me way to check it out, but that's my personal opinion.

Copan is a great place to spend a few days, very relaxing, with some good restaurants. And relatively easy connections elsewhere.

Hope this helps.

peter

I'm sorry Brian, I try my hardest to ignore Bob's childish little taunts, but sometimes I'm not in the mood and I have to respond..... my apologies.

If I was unclear in my previous post -- I WOULD NOT -- recommend actually doing Copan as a day trip, it would be way too tiring. Copan is a great little town, much cheaper than Antigua, and worth a few nights in my opinion. However, it was unclear if you were asking if it was possible to do Copan as a day trip to Guatemala City... it is possible, and it seems like a lot of people do it. It's really up to you. If you don't have the time to make Copan more than a day trip it would be possible to do it as such. Though not too advisable.

By the way, Bob, the trip from Antigua to Copan is not 3hs. You'll need to double that.

totravelistolive is right about this. I did the same trip and it took 5-6 hours to reach Copan from Antigua. Then you'll need to go back... I would not recommend doing it.

OP, if you can, don't do this in one day. I did it (tight schedule mixed with being a mayan templenut), and still regret it.

The shuttle from Antigua to Copan will take 6-7 hours. The driver will stop for breakfast and there will time at the border. From Copan Ruinas to the ruins is about a ten minute walk. No need to return to GC or Antigua you can get a one way shuttle ticket.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>The driver will stop for breakfast and there will time at the border.<hr></blockquote>

Not just that but there are road construction here and there on the highway north of Guatemala City to Puerto Barrios which means heavy traffic most of the way from Guatemala City to about where the turn off is towards Chiquimula and El Florido crossing.

As indicated on #4 it would be to FAR to be done in a day trip. Better to check into a hotel and then go see the ruins. Then you can always leave to go back to Antigua (or Guatemala City) the next day. (Most shuttles leave around 12:30PM)