The great majority of travelers will see San Pedro Sula [1] either arriving or leaving by plane or making bus connections, with at most a night’s stay. A handicrafts market [2] and a regional history museum [3] merit an afternoon, and there are plenty of high-quality restaurants [4] and nightlife [5] for a great evening out. One worthwhile naturalist day trip or campout near San Pedro for those with time to spare here is at the cloud forest of Parque Nacional Cusuco [6].
The vicinity of Lago de Yojoa [7] is an excellent place to spend a few days in a lush, tropical setting, with plenty of opportunities for naturalist expeditions like boating and fishing [8] on the lake, world-class bird-watching, hiking in nearby cloud forests, visiting pre-Hispanic ruins, and checking out a roaring waterfall. Accommodations are not fancy, but comfortable enough to suit most tastes.
Santa Bárbara [9] and several attractive towns and villages nearby, tucked among the green hills on the other side of a mountain from Lago de Yojoa, are worth spending a couple of days exploring, for a more off-beat experience.
For highway travelers heading toward Tegucigalpa [10], Siguatepeque [11] makes a good place to spend the night for highway travelers, with lots of low-priced hotels [12] and restaurants [13], as well as a pleasantly cool climate. Comayagua [14], just an hour from Tegucigalpa, was Honduras’s colonial capital city, and it deserves an afternoon to admire the art and architecture, or a day to do some nearby hiking as well.
The area around Pico Pijol [15] and Yoro [16], in central Honduras, is far from the beaten path, where exploration of the small cowboy towns and mountain country requires several days at least to explore.
Although Cusuco Expeditions (tel. 504/9907-4605 or 504/9771-9049, cusucoexp [at] yahoo [dot] com) formalized just recently, the group of more than 40 community guides for Cusuco National Park [6] has been bringing people through the park for more than five years. They can also provide information on transportation to the park.
With its office in the lobby of San Pedro’s Copantl hotel, Maya Temple Tours (tel. 504/509-0555, U.S. tel. 877/467-1692, www.mayatempletours.com [17]) has day trips around San Pedro Sula [1], as well as full days farther afield (Comayagua [14], Copán [18], Lago de Yojoa [7], the north coast) and overnight and multiday trips.
MesoAmerica Travel (tel. 504/557-8447 or 504/557-3258, www.mesoamerica-travel.com [19]), based out of San Pedro Sula, has trips similar to those of Maya Temple Tours. MesoAmerica has a top-notch reputation, with prices to match. A day tour of San Pedro Sula and a banana plantation costs US$60–89 per person, depending on how many are going. A similar trip with Maya Temple is US$79 per person, minimum two people.
In the Puerto Cortés-Omoa area, Yax Pac Tours (tel. 504/658-9082, www.yaxpactours.com [20]), run by Roland Gassmann of the hostel Roli’s Place in Omoa [21], offers customized tours in English, German, Swiss, or Spanish throughout Honduras [22] and Guatemala, including “adventure” and “budget,” as well as day tours for cruise shippers arriving in Puerto Cortés [23], and shuttle bus services.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/san-pedro-sula
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/san-pedro-sula/shopping/arts-and-crafts
[3] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/san-pedro-sula/sights/museo-de-antropologia-e-historia
[4] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/san-pedro-sula/food
[5] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/san-pedro-sula/entertainment-and-events/nightlife
[6] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/san-pedro-sula/parque-nacional-cusuco
[7] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/lago-de-yojoa
[8] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/lago-de-yojoa/birding-and-boating-lago-de-yojoa
[9] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/santa-barbara-and-vicinity/santa-barbara
[10] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/southern-honduras/tegucigalpa
[11] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/siguatepeque
[12] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/siguatepeque/accommodations
[13] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/siguatepeque/food-and-entertainment
[14] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/comayagua
[15] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/pico-pijol-and-yoro/parque-nacional-pico-pijol
[16] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/central-honduras/pico-pijol-and-yoro/yoro
[17] http://www.mayatempletours.com
[18] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/western-honduras/copan
[19] http://www.mesoamerica-travel.com
[20] http://www.yaxpactours.com
[21] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/the-north-coast/puerto-cortes/omoa
[22] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras
[23] http://www.moon.com/destinations/honduras/the-north-coast/puerto-cortes