I loved the ruins in Copan. They have amazing stories, these places. This is one of the Maya sites that had the best preservation, thanks to the special kind of stone they had in that spcific area. So you can see today – the writings that the kings had on their sculptures. Every year now, historians understand more and more about the Mayan history, thanks to the knowledge we uncover from these writings. Fascinating.
The small town near the ruins is really cute also. Small places to eat and to hang out. Not too many people – just enough.
I LOVED the locals, but you have to speak Spanish. They have no clue in English.
The big cities were not that nice. People warn you of crime everywhere you go, so get advice and read carefully about it.
You’ll get to know the food. Not my taste at all. But the kids there hate Pasta and Pizza, and enjoy only eating rice with beans – so I guess you can grow to like it :).

Enjoy your trip!

I’m from there so I’m a little bias, but know everything about Honduras. First, be warn of the crime it still a third world country so you will encounter poverty, but hopefully no crime if you are careful and aware of your surroundings. The people are one of the friendliest in Central America, but there will be people who will try to use your newness to the place to rob you or lead you into a dangerous situation. Ok that’s out of the way, the food is delicious, but I grew up eating it so it all depends on your taste if you don’t like Honduran food the only places you will be able to find American food is in the big cities. Don’t worry the food is not so exotic and will be able to find good familiar food like fried chicken or rice. There are so many beautiful places to go, my favorite is Lago de Yojoa. The lake is so beautiful and the places you can eat at are so fancy you just have to look for the big hotels at the shore. The islands are beautiful and speak mainly English and the food from the cost is delicious. Enjoy your trip!

some nice places are Pulapanzahk, the waterfall, and you can walk behind the curtain of it with a guide (or at least you could when I went last, I doubt the rules have changed).
There’s also the Mayan ruins in Copan, if you like that kind of thing (if there are young members in the group, this will drag on for them). It’s interesting and you really get to see some different culture there.
There’s also some white water rafting in La Ceiba (or right near there).
I’d say you could just visit the major cities, but I honestly don’t think that they are so different that it’d be worth the traveling time for this trip. Better to stay on one side of the country and explor that (even tho it’s a small country).
Don’t be afraid to try different kinds of food either! So many people worry about the water and stuff…and don’t eat the good food b/c they don’t want to get sick. Ok, if you’ve got a decent immune system, you’ll be fine, but since it’s all going to be new food for you, you’re probably going to get the runs once or twice no matter what. So you might as well be eating well, right? And you probably want to take a few alka seltzer doses and possibly some pepto…which ever.

Remember sun screen to. I know you’re going to the islands and it sounds really obvious. But people forget that the closer you get to the equator, the stronger the sun gets…so some amount of time in the sun there will burn you a bunch more than the same time here.
And repellent! don’t forget that either! Mosquitos (and other bugs?) seem to really love foreign blood.

Have a great trip!
Mary Catherine

I spent most of my trip on Utila getting my scuba certification. There wasn’t too much to do there during the day unless you are diving. Visit Treetanic Bar.

I also spent two days in La Ceiba river rafting on the Congrejal and taking a zip line tour through part of Pico Bonito rainforest. These were both fun little tours, but I don’t know what the weather will be like in either place. I was there in October.

carrie,

i spent a week in roatan and split the time between physical and sloth activities. roatan is primarily a diving destination, but there are other things to do (http://www.roatanonline.com/ and http://roatanet.com/index.php are decent places to start). here are a few notable takeaways (aside from the obvious that you should try to dive / snorkel / kick it on the beach): getting there: you can take a ferry (90 minutes) or fly (we came in from IAH…flights from the mainland canbe rough). insects: bring your DEET as you’ll get eaten alive without it (even on the beach). cost: the island is comparatively expensive to the rest of honduras, so don’t get too caught up with looking for tremendous deals (almost every activity is going to cost you more than you’d expect). food: there are a number of great restaurants, but they tend to be on the more expensive side (the view, palmetto bay—where i stayed, rick’s, the argentian grill, and gios were all great spots…we were there with family who were more than willing to pick up the tab). the dolphins: my fiancee (a doctor working for a month on the island) loved swimming with the dolphins at anthony’s key resort (she was bummed, however, that they weren’t free to roam the sea…not unexpected). weather: i was there in january (for a week) and it rained occasionally for brief periods with plenty of sun and the temperature was in the mid-80’s. language: because roatan is such a huge tourist spot / there are indegenous english speakers, poor spanish isn’t a problem (dated french worked for me, although my fiancee is fluent in spanish and was able to negotiate better deals). i hope that this helps and that you have the chance to check out roatan.

srv