Roatan / Honduras safety?

[drbill]

I am interested in possibly going to Utila Honduras in March / April to hopefully see some Whale Sharks. Has anyone been to this Island? My husband has safety concerns because he read reviews on Honduras and Roatan. I can't seem to find any good reviews on it so any input would be helpful.

Spent some time in Utila. Seemed perfectly safe to me (especially compared to some other areas I was in). I wouldn't worry about it... much safer than Los Angeles I'm sure!

Dr. Bill

 

[drbill]

Too bad, there is no way to dive there [Los Roques] any longer.

I've heard there is a Dutch charter boat owner who plans to do trips to Las Aves, Los Roques and some of the other Venezuelan islands from Bonaire starting this month. I can dig out his contact info from my e-mail if you are interested.

Dr. Bill

 

[Doc]

Can't find any good reviews? Try searching on ScubaBoard.

Click on

http://www.scubaboard.com/search.php?searchid=1076627

or http://www.scubaboard.com/search.php?searchid=1076632

or http://www.scubaboard.com/search.php?searchid=1076632

 

[Tanya in Copan]

All is calm and good here in Honduras right now, Headman Alas is the safest bus to take from San Pedro, You can get across the country for under $20!! Dont wear your dive mask on the bus, the driver gets a little nervious!

 

[DiversMom]

Hi all - my wife and I are going to CCV March 11th to 19th and then doing a 1 night tour of Copan (staying at the Madrugada) and flying back to the states on the 20th from San Pedro Sula. We've been to Caracas (over night before heading to Los Roques) so we've seen bad places and know how to watch ourselves. I am concerned though about safety during the bus ride to Copan. I could cancel the Copan trip if it isn't worth it or safe.

Anyone have any advice? Am I just being paranoid?

TIA!

Tony

oh good grief...my teenage daughter and I frequently travel all over honduras by bus. the first class busses like hedman Alas are perfectly safe. I live here in Honduras full time. We´ve been to Copan Ruinas twice, frequently go to San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa on our own, we travel out to the islands by our self. Common sense precautions take care of about 99% of your worries - don´t flash large amounts of cash, don´t wear expensive jewelry, be aware of your surroundings, etc. It´s the same advice I give to people wandering around Tacoma Washington - where I´ve suffered more as a crime victim than in Honduras.

 

[DiversMom]

A bus was machine gunned in Honduras a few weeks ago. Where was that?

I was asked to remove this post as it might alarm people. I will say that it happened on the mainland in a distinctly non-tourist area, and from all accounts the Bay Islands are as safe as they come. Wouldn't stop me going if I wasn't 100% committed here in Belize.

workers from an outlying barrio/colonia of San Pedro Sula into the City. It was definitely NOT a bus system tourists would be using. I was in San Pedro three days after the attack and had no problems. I´ve been in San Pedro since then, again with no problems.

I´ve been hassled more on Roatan by locals than any other place in Honduras.

 

[DiversMom]

We spent a few days in Copan at the end of our November trip. It is worth
spending a day at least and if you have the time try to get to the bird park- it used to be on Roatan, but now they have acres developed into an award winning park. The Hedman Alas bus is very safe and comfortable-definetly the way to go. I believe the bus incident reported in the news was between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula on one of the inexpensive "chicken" buses.

It was an interurbano bus from the outlying colonias/barrios of San pedro Sula into the city. Not a bus tourists would be using

There are some good places to eat in town- Twisted Tanyas is very good (yes- Tanya of Twisted Toucan fame sold the bar on Roatan and opened up a place in Copan- very good food), and there is a little place called Nia Lolas- it has wonderful grilled kebobs and a waitress who carries everything on her head.

Nia Lola´s was the only place I had room temperature food that should have been hot off the stove. There´s nothing worse in my book than room temperature eggs and bacon for breakfast and toast that was more like bread right from the bag. I didn´t think it was worth the price of food just to watch someone carry stuff on their head.

Make sure you take the little taxis out to the ruins- they only cost about 50 cents and will save you a long walk on a busy road- also they are kind of fun.
I'm sure you will have a good time!

We got a taxito for 5 lempira each when three of us took one out to the ruins this past Sunday from the center of town. (that´s under a dollar for three people). If you walk, there are other minor ruins and stellae all along the road.

We go out to Copan every three months. Horseback riding up to la Pintada or up to Los Sapos is also fun. $17/person for 3 hours. Bird park is excellent...and they have great roast coffee to take home. We buy the beans green since we live here and roast them at home.

 

[Doc]

---what she said---QUOTE]

I second all of the above. Be smart, be safe, enjoy Honduras.

 

[Tanya in Copan]

We just got in from a quick trip to Roatan last night. Weather was pretty good- a small front blew in one evening, but just caused lots of wind and blew out the next morning. It was in the 70's and the water was fairly clear for this time of year. We have always felt safe on Roatan, and if you are at CCV you are actually pretty cut off from the rest of the island anyway.
We spent a few days in Copan at the end of our November trip. It is worth
spending a day at least and if you have the time try to get to the bird park- it used to be on Roatan, but now they have acres developed into an award winning park. The Hedman Alas bus is very safe and comfortable-definetly the way to go. I believe the bus incident reported in the news was between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula on one of the inexpensive "chicken" buses.
Use common sense in both places and you will be at least as safe as anywhere in America (probably safer). There are some good places to eat in town- Twisted Tanyas is very good (yes- Tanya of Twisted Toucan fame sold the bar on Roatan and opened up a place in Copan- very good food), and there is a little place called Nia Lolas- it has wonderful grilled kebobs and a waitress who carries everything on her head. Souveniers are much cheaper in Copan- there is a much larger assortment of Lenca pottery at about 1/4-1/2 the price as Roatan (I love this pottery- had to bring back some of the cute fish) and hamocks are about $12-15.
The ruins are a lot of walking and climbing so wear good walking shoes and bring water. The private tour guide (I think the guide costs an extra $30) is well worth it. When we were there the museum was closed due to roof problems, and it sounded like it might be a while before it would be open again.
Make sure you take the little taxis out to the ruins- they only cost about 50 cents and will save you a long walk on a busy road- also they are kind of fun.
I'm sure you will have a good time!

Excelent write up there!!! Copan is Clean and very safe, and now its becoming a 3/4 day visit. Lots to do, coffee fincas and hours riding in the mountians. I also travel around on Hedman Alas and not had a problem in Honduras. Love it!!

 

[comgenboy]

Thanks everyone for all the excellent replies in this thread! My wife an I are very excited for our trip (just 3 weeks away!) and any fears we had have been answered.

-Tony