Honduras Travel

By Charis Atlas Heelan

Honduras remains a bit of a Central American secret when it comes to tourism. The result is a destination less than three hours flight from Miami, that boast fewer tourists than its neighbors, pristine beaches and world class diving. It’s also culturally diverse with numerous indigenous and mixed origin language groups, a rich heritage of art and music and a friendly welcoming population. English is widely spoken in cities and in resort areas. Eco-tourism is on the rise here with local companies trying to maintain the country’s lush jungles and pure environment. This relative secrecy won’t last too much longer as Honduras is experiencing a tourism growth period with a 78% increase in visitors over the past three years.

COPAN RUINAS, Honduras

Men in jeans and straw hats walked along the highway that snaked through the mountains from San Pedro Sula to Copan Ruinas; fruit stands and shantytowns speckled the route.

A small landslide caused by some heavy rains made part of our drive difficult, but my local guide, Eli, told me this was nothing – there had been times when he was unable to bring tourists to Copan because labor strikes blockaded this road.

In my mid-20s, this was my first solo trip. And to a country where I didn’t speak the language, no less.