Trip Advice for a 2 + half week holiday to Honduras

well, I think your friends are just repeating, focussing on, only the negative things they've heard; I mean, is petty crime a nuissance in Honduras? Yes, it is, but a certain amount of your typical travellers' caution takes care of that. Plus be very careful about paying for anything ahead of time and talk to other travellers about certain companies' (hotels and diving schools) reputations (research that here). No, I heard all those kinds of remarks before I went down for the first time, and much worse!! And I've loved it everytime. I will say, however, that I thought Utila was a lot cheaper than Roatan where, I fear, places aren't very cheap at all (for Honduras). As for beaches, I'm not a beach guy so I can't recommend but I do hear people say that they're the best in Central America on the islands. Anyway, I'm jealous as hell, have fun and write a good trip report for us landlocked pobrecitos

Oh yeah, your itinerary sounds fine time-wise have fun!!!

Your plan sounds great to me. There are sandflies , but only mornings and evenings....use Jungle Juice. They sell it is dive shops in the states and on Roatan....works great! I loved Honduras!!!! Roatan has gorgeous beaches! I have never been to Utila.....heard it is nice! You can find plenty of hotels in the $ 30- 40 range. Don't listen to negative people...I never do! Go relax...have fun!

I can only speak for Roatan If you have any sense about travel at all..if you do not flaunt your valuables and don't leave anything in plain view in your sleeping space chances are you will not get robbed. If you are the silly arse guy that leaves his passport and rolex watch on the night stand...chances are someone will give it a new home. If you are the silly person that leaves your swimsuit and sandals outside over night chances are someone will notice. Just have some sense and all will be fine.

I have been coming down for eight years never had a single thing stolen and have nothing but good things to say about the locals. Understand I am a solo female wandering the island alone.

The bugs abound in this place. For some people more than others.. some have very bad sores resulting from what ever bit them other people don't have so much as a red spot. Most of us are using some kind of bug spray. I use the deep woods of morning and night and nothing in the middle of the day. Ya gotta find the bug spay that works best for you.

There are many many people sitting, standing, walking and sunbathing on the beach here. The most used beaches are raked every morning to keep the bugs down.

As said above there are plenty of places to stay in the 30-50 dollar range from what I understand. Oh wait, when are you planning this trip.

I spent over two weeks traveling in Honduras as a single, caucasian, 25-year-old woman who spoke little Spanish.

I encountered no problems at all.

Spent most of the time on Utila--it's fantastic. When I was there in Nov/Dec there were sandflies, but that just meant that i spent more time actually IN the beautiful Carribean sea, sunbathing on the roof of my hotel (the mango inn), at the pool at the mango inn, or relaxing at a bar with a great deck.

Mango Inn was totally fantastic when i was there and super cheap ($7/night for a room with four beds).

You'll have a fantastic time. Don't worry!

Thanks guys, your such prompt replies are really encouraging and greatly appreciated. We are travelling on the 28th of June for 2.5 weeks. I cannot wait, it sounds amazing.

I'm heading back for a 3rd visit to Honduras, a total of 11 weeks after this summer's 4-5 weeks. I've never felt threatened or been a theft victim and (gratefully) the gentle breezes have kept the sand flies at bay so no problems there so far. Your itinerary sounds good, though plan for some challenges getting to and staying around Yojoa as the infrastructure is more limited there. I'd stick with Roatán instead of trying to do 2 islands with your limited time frame.

If you're interested, check out my travelogues and photos below. Have a great trip and be sure to tell us all about it when you get home!

We just got back from two weeks in Honduras. San Pedro isn't safe. In fact, we were in the cathedral and the caretaker told us that there were thieves everywhere, even in the church. We didn't have any problems though, and as long as you travel smart, you will be ok. I don't even think you will have to go into SPS; Hedman Alas should have a bus from the airport directly to Copan Ruinas. Check their website for departure times. Copan Ruinas is a great little town, and very safe. A lot of travellers around and the entire town is geared toward internationals. We didn't do the lake this trip, but passed by it on the SPS-Tegus highway. Looked nice. You will have a great time. Cheers.

True, even locals think SPS is unsafe...but I had to transit through twice and encountered no difficulties at all, even being the sore thumb a solo Asian gal with huge backpack is. Both times needed to kill several hours waiting for a bus. It doesn't sound like you're spending much time there anyway, but I didn't get half the stares there that I did in smaller towns.

Roatan is definitely not cheap by Central American standards, but it's cheap by Caribbean standards. Maybe not ideal for backpackers, but for a vacation for employed people--not a problem. I stayed at Chillies, good location on West End. It was $26 for a hut (I stayed with a stranger I met there to pay $13 each). Food not terribly cheap but you can make up that cost on the mainland. My understanding is that there are no sandy beaches on Utila, if that's what you are going for...it's better for diving and backpacker vibe. Much cheaper, definitely. Hope you realize unless you rent a boat you cannot travel between Roatan and Utila....must go back to La Ceiba.

I traveled about 12 days alone and thought Honduras was wonderful. Very friendly people, beautiful scenery. I greatly preferred the mainland but I had so much fun on Roatan as well. Great snorkeling ($5/day equipment rentals) and very relaxing.