Copan versus Santa Rose de Copan?

I will be travelling through Honduras in early January and hoped to stop and spend around 3 days around the Copan Ruins. Do people suggest staying in Copan or Santa Rosa de Copan? Or perhaps somewhere else in the area?

I will be travelling with my brother and we don’t need a party or backpackers scene, but are more interested eating in local restaurants, seeing the ruins, small museums/sites etc.

Thanks in advance.

Both are great places and it would be nice to stay in both. Santa Rosa is a much different town, much more historic, less touristy, laid back, with its own unique vibe. It's not as cute as Copan Ruinas but worth spending a couple of nights there.

If your goal is to see the ruins though and you only have three days... it might be easier to spend those 2-3 nights there at Ruinas, unless you want to go out of your way to soak p the ambiance in SRDC.

To put in perspective for the ruins_ they are a 15 minute walk from the town of Copan Ruinas..a bus ride (sorry can`t remember how far from top of my head) from Santa Rosa. Perhaps a couple of nights in Copan, then a night or 2 at Santa Rosa?
If your plan is to travel through Honduras, then perhaps Santa Rosa on way to Gracias, after the ruins? (have no idea of your route so take or leave that suggestion..)

My wife is from Santa Rita de Copan (just six miles or so from the ruins) and she says it takes the bus at least three hours to get between the Ruins and Santa Rosa. You've got to go through La Entrada.

She says Santa Rosa is a very safe town, though, if that's a concern, because there is a big military presence. Santa Rita, on the other hand, has pretty much been taken over by the narcotraffickers. But Copan Ruinas is OK, because they don't bother the tourists.