Getting from Managua or Leon Nicaragua to la Ceiba, Honduras

Last year I did somehow the opposite, after La Ceiba I went to Trujillo and to Nicaragua through Mosquitia or Moskita, a very interesting but long trip. As you go towards the Mosquitia, there are no more buses, but a couple of times per day (it was Sunday) a 4x4 or something passes, so I took it with some more people, and we went on the top of all the stuff they brought along the coast on the. We got stuck crossing one river, stopped for many hours after another car came to help us. So at the end we reached Batalla and took a panga to the villages on the other side of the lagoon, where the Garifuna villages finish and the Miskito culture starts. Next day I spent the whole morning waiting for the small plane and talking with the people, when it came, I flied to Puerto Lempira. However, there are some very interesting excursions to be done in the area, to Las Marías for instance.

From Puerto Lempira, the same, the Laguna de Caratasca is quite spectacular. I took a 4x4 to the border in Leimus. Some pangas waiting to cross the river and another transport to Waspám, in Nicaragua. The bus wasn't leaving until the next day. Next morning, I went to Bilwi/Puerto Cabezas, and from there another short flight to Bluefields. If you want, an adventurous trip, many hours to wait and so on, but a way to know another part of Central America, much less known, as well as two (or three, including the Afroamerican) cultures.

Otherwise, the easiest way is of course an early bus Managua-Tegucigalpa and another one to La Ceiba, which might be done in the same day.

About Belize, I can't tell you, but if you stop for some time in La Ceiba you might find out how to go there. When we were in Dangriga we read that there was something leaving (on Saturdays, I think) to Puerto Cortés, not sure if from Dangriga or Placencia, and there might be some boat from Omoa to Punta Gorda. Otherwise it is not the difficult to go overland to Puerto Barrios and from there to Punta Gorda (although, in my opinion, it would be a pity not to stay at least one day in Livingstone).

Thank you...how many days would you say it took you to get from la Ceiba to Bluefields?

About how much did the small flights cost?

I've heard the Moskita region is fascinating but perhaps...unwelcoming? Any advice or support/denial to this statement?

I would love to make it over to that side of Nicaragua--I'm just concerned about time. But if I went that way up and around the coast it would be a great trip, I just wonder about time and expense with flights.

Thanks again!

Am planing to spend some time at the copan ruins and perhaps some time in the neibouring towns, Flying in from the international airport and catching a bus from there.
Have u had the time out, to scope these places?
Can't wait to go gunna be a big adventure.
Cheers...

I made it very quickly, but I managed to know the timetables of the flights, specially the one from Bluefields to Bilwi/Puerto Cabezas, since there are about 3 per week (otherwise, you might fly directly from Managua to Puerto Cabezas and leave Bluefields, it is somehow a special town but you'll find the Caribbean in Honduras, too).

So, after leaving Puerto Cabezas (which can also be reached by road, after a long journey), I guess you'd be able to reach Puerto Lempira the same day if you're lucky, anyway, if not, the next day sure. From PL you have to take a cheap flight (much cheaper than the one to Puerto Cabezas, cannot remember the fare), to the Western part of the Moskitia or even to La Ceiba (if you're in a hurry, but it is not so fun!). So, yes once in PL you can choose to spend more or less time in La Moskitia, and, as said, it is doable in one or at most two days from Puerto Cabezas. Once in the western part of Moskitia, you might choose to take the trip to Las Marias for a couple of days, or simply go walking to the neighbouring villages in Brus Laguna. Once you reach Batalla or Palacios, you have to ask when there is some kind of transport to the asphalted road (still 6-8 hours away), and the day you decide take it to Tocoa or Trujillo. From there, La Ceiba is about 3 hours away.