no reservations....or reservations?

I am starting to plan our family trip to Honduras in July. We are flying into Guat city and then immediately heading to Copan for 12 days. I am trying to book a few tours and put together a loose itinerary but I am not sure if I need to reserve accomodation in La Ceiba or Tela. The tour company says that things will be busy and we should book...especially for Tela. I am not sure I want to really give up on the flexibility of just wandering and looking for a hotel....but we also have two kids (6 and 9 years) in tow. If we were to book...is there a recommendation for a reasonable and safe hotel for a family in La Cieba for under $35 per night? What about Tela? The Mango is already booked and the Mayavista seems expensive....
L

When we traveled as a family I usually booked ahead. Truth is, I still do. I tend to fall in love with places and most of them are great values - the first type to fill up in any price range. In most of Honduras you can just show up and find a room, but I was never willing to haul kids around from place to place or find something for them to do (that I was missing out on!) while I did the leg work, only to settle for less than we could have had if we'd booked ahead. It's true I've given up flexibility but I have absolutely loved every lodging choice I've made in CA during 6 vacations there so far and I've never felt I missed by much in terms of how much time I wanted to spend in a specific area.

The 2 places we stayed in/near La Ceiba (other than the most wonderful Spanish school host family I've ever met) were Cocopando and Omega Lodge; photos and itineraries are below if you're interested.

Did you mean 12 days in Copán or 12 days in Honduras? 12 days in Copán is a lot imo unless you're attending Spanish school. If it's 12 days in Honduras I'd keep it to 3 spots and end with some blue water time on Roatán. That's my 2 cents' worth...

Keep us posted!

I gave up the flexibility of no reservations when I started traveling with my kids. I at least need to call ahead to make sure we have beds for the night. I'm not sure if it's because it's harder to find places for 4 or because the kids aren't as resiliant as the adults or because there are enough other things I have no control over when I'm part of a group.

In any event, we liked the Iguana Azul in Copan (hostal but it has a few double rooms) and Caesar Marisco's (sp??) in Tela. We stayed in a hostal that is related to the Jungle Lodge in La Ceiba but I've forgotten its name - Banana something??? The Canadian owner has kids the same age as yours as I recall.

thanks for the feedback...that was the way I was leaning. Not 12 days in Copan...12 in Honduras before we skip over to Guat, sail for 7 days and then do the trip up to Tikal and back down to Pana et all, stopping at Coban for a couple of days. 5 weeks in total..trying to not to move more than we can handle so reserving is also probably good.

thanks for the accomodation suggestions... I will try them out.

I stayed at the hotel monserratte in la ceiba for a few nights in february. I liked it but if I was going back I would try the hotel gran paris, it has a nice pool and a poolside bar. The restaurant at the monserratte was too formal for me and I didn't even have any kids with me! Hotel gran paris is very central and there's lots of restaurants and grocery store and market not far away

We stayed at the Acropolis Maya in Copan Ruinas. It was a very nice, very clean hotel with helpful staff. The rooms all have 2 double beds, air-con and TV, as well as private bathroom.

I don't want to rain on your parade at all, but have you been to Tela before? My husband and I were planning on staying there but after we drove there from Copan and had a little look round, we decided it wasn't for us. Sketchy is the word that comes to mind. Although, I'm sure other people will have different views.

We are planning to stay in Tela so that we can see some of the parks, visit some of the Garifuna communities and see the "L..something or other" gardens. We plan to sleep in town but that is about it. I just booked the Grancentral Hotel...looks pretty safe....not low budget...