Mainland Honduras

[Lucy's Diver]

My wife and I will be doing a week in Roatan through our LDS in July. She wants to stay an additional week on the mainland. likely the La Ceiba area, for some diving and general eco-tourism.
Anyone have any good experiences with any decent resorts in that area?

 

[gcbryan]

The mainland is completely different than the islands. I'll let other's comment beyond that.

 

[okidoki]

You got some nice activities in the La Ceiba area like Pico Bonito and white water rafting or maybe Copan, but no diving as that is only possible on the bay islands.
Blend-in and enjoy.

 

[Batfish]

Mainland Honduras is indeed a whole other world. The Bay Islands exist in a kind of twilight zone. La Ceiba I always found a pleasant town, at least for a night away from Utila to do some shopping and eat at Pizza Hut Other than that, towns like Tela, Teguc, San Pedro are not real nice, indeed can be dangerous. I did like Tela, but mainly because a former dive instructor from Utila (Luis) had a tour agency there, so I met up with him for a few days. That was 1999 so not sure if he is still there.

I did also like Copan Ruinas (the town and the ruins), and also liked Santa Rosa de Copan. I did some hiking for a couple of days (nothing serious) in Celaque National Park, near the little town of Gracias.

But darn, for me nothing beats Utila. Plenty to do there other than dive. See

www.aboututila.com

 

[tboxcar]

Up in the hill above La Ceiba there is a jungle lodge with white wate rafting, kayaking and trekking, they also offer group tours down to La Mosquita Coast for some real adventure. I stayed 2 1/2 years ago with them, and just saw them again in La Ceiba back in October of '05
OMEGA Tours at 4400334 or try www.omegatours.hn email at omegatours@laceiba.com

Sometimes it takes them time to answer emails as they have to come to town to do their mail.
Nice place to go and stay, just to 'kick back' after some diving, !!

 

[DiversMom]

My wife and I will be doing a week in Roatan through our LDS in July. She wants to stay an additional week on the mainland. likely the La Ceiba area, for some diving and general eco-tourism.
Anyone have any good experiences with any decent resorts in that area?

options for you:

LaCeiba - beaches, snorkeling, no diving. Jungle tours, whitewater rafting.There was a dive shop at LaQuinta Real but it seems to have dropped off the radar. Their website no longer exists and friends who went to LaCeiba a few months ago could not find it.
Tela - beaches, snorkeling, no diving, Lancetilla Botanical Gardens (former experimental station for the Untied Fruit Company)
Peña Blanca on the north end of Lago de Yojoa - birdwatching, fishing, D& D Brewery - a bed and breakfast place run by an American from Oregon (has a swimming pool), Los Naranjos Ecoarcheological park.
Omoa/Puerto Cortes - beaches, snorkeling, rumors of a PADI dive shop at one of the Puerto Cortes hotels.
Copan Ruinas - the ruins, shopping, tubing the river, horseback riding, check for otehr activities and tours with Hotel Yaragua on the main plaza.
San Pedro Sula - shopping, English language bookstore in Mall MultiPlaza, transfer point for buses to other parts of the mainland.
Lago de Yojoa - fishing, boating. Honduyate Marina. Ain the area, hiking and birdiwatching in Parque Nacional Cerro Azul Meambar.
Taulabe Caves - just south of Lago de Yojoa. Do as part of a day trip to the lake area.
Pulhapanzak Falls - on the northwest side of the lake, do as a day trip from San Pedro Sula or Peña Blanca. Swimming, hiking trails to the mid falls level, the base of the falls, and behind the falls.


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[shadowdiver]

La Ceiba is a great place to spend some time. I believe there is now an dive op that offers dives to Cayos Cochinos. Sorry can't remember the name but contact Charlie Meador at the Coco Pando Hotel. He is extremely helpful and very knowledgeable about the area. Good canopy zip line in Pico Bonito as well as river rafting. Check out the Pico Bonito Lodge also. Great food!

 

[DiversMom]

La Ceiba is a great place to spend some time. I believe there is now an dive op that offers dives to Cayos Cochinos. Sorry can't remember the name but contact Charlie Meador at the Coco Pando Hotel. He is extremely helpful and very knowledgeable about the area. Good canopy zip line in Pico Bonito as well as river rafting. Check out the Pico Bonito Lodge also. Great food!

Some friends were in La Ceiba not too long ago and were unable to find the dive operation that is suposedly there and listed on the PADI website. They went to the hotel that the dive shop operated out of (La Quinta Real) and were told they had closed up operations. If Charlie knows where they moved to, that is great but no one we know was able to find them. The shop also has a web address (in German): http://www.real-diving.com/ which is now defunct (at least tonight it was).

 

[hopefulist]

Here's a link to my trip report from the weeks I spent in Copán Ruinas last summer:
http://sidewalkmystic.com/CopanRuinas.htm
and here's the link to Charlie Meador's site:
http://www.cocopando.com
We'll be staying there when we're in LaCeiba this summer, and the site has many useful links. Happy trails!

 

[Charlie at Coco Pando]

Hi Folks -

The scuba diving outfit which had been in La Ceiba, Real Diving Honduras, is unfortunately no longer in operation.

La Ceiba is still a great spot for unwinding and with three national parks nearby, the Pico Bonito National Park, the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge as well as the Cayos Cochinos Marine Reserve, there is plenty to do in the "Eco-Tourism Capital of Honduras". Kick me, I almost forgot to mention the Cangrejal River for Class III-V rafting which runs on the east side of town.

The town is 10 minutes by air from Utila and Roatan and less than 2 hours by ferry.

Have fun, enjoy Honduras!

Charlie Meador, Coco Pando, La Ceiba, Honduras