Restaurants
Arriving at the airport
We arrived on a Saturday, with all the banks closed. Getting through customs was fairly easy, in fact we were one of the few tourists on the plane, and we weren't checked at all.
Once you get out of the exit hall, you'll be approached by money changers. If they see you're new, they'll try to rip you off with a lousy rate. If you don't know the rate yourself, simply go to the entrance hall, and you'll find 3 exchange boots where the rates are shown. Then go back to the money changers, and they'll give you the right rate, but don't expect more then that. We finally got it at 14,7 Lempiras for 1 US$ (they first offered 14 L).
There were only few taxis waiting there, the rate was 140 L (5/2000). The airport is at 12 km from the city center.
Where to stay
We stayed at the Hotel International Palace. This is a family run hotel, so don't expect an "international palace". It's a middle class hotel, they have a small swimming pool on the roof, as well as a bar, restaurant, pool table and table tennis. The rooms have AC and a TV as well as a bathroom. Standard rooms go for about 500 L. Small disadvantage is that it's about 5 blocks from the center, so at night it's safer to take a taxi. They also have a website, although the picture of the entrance looks more fancy then in reality. The son of the house speaks excellent English. A more fancy place is the Gran Hotel Sula, member of the Best Western chain. They charge 115 $, although in low season they'll go for 84 $. Its location is excellent (at the central square). The rooms look a bit old for this class of hotel (especially the bathroom), but they are clean and have AC, fridge (pretty rare in Honduras), TV and telephone. They have a nice swimming pool, and 2 restaurants. We ate at the Skandia café, where they have excellent hamburgers for 50 L.
A place which I didn't see myself, but which was recommended by other travellers was the Hotel Bolivar. It's centrally located and costs around 30 US$ for a double. The Copantl hotel is in a residential area on large grounds. It has several restaurants, price is about 125 $/night including an immense buffet breakfast. First class hotel, also serves as private club for San Pedro residents (at least some of them). (4/2001).
We only spent a couple of hours there, so we only went to eat at the Gran Hotel Sula. Their Skandia cafe has good food, and is pretty cosy. Prices are reasonable.
What to do
There's not that much to do in San Pedro. You can just walk around a bit and have a look at the streetlife. People don't mind at all if you want to take pictures, on the contrary.
At night, be very careful and restrict yourself to the area around the central marketplace.
We also inquired about visiting the Chiquita banana plantation, but we were told that after hurricane Mitch, these trips were no longer possible. So we hired a taxi (bargain hard, a trip to El Progreso costs 200 L) to bring us to a banana plantation and further on to El Progreso for 250 L. However, the driver obviously didn't know exactly where to take us. We finally arrived at a plantation along the main road, but we had to get a permit a bit further, and then wait till 1 pm till the office opened, so we didn't bot
her and went away. So I can't tell you whether it's nice, it's just not as easy anymore as it used to be.
Getting around
A taxi in town costs 30 L. To El Progreso count on 200 L, to Tela it'll be 600 to 700 L (5/2000).
Changing money
You can apparently change money on the street at the central market, but we weren't approached so we changed our money at the bank.
We changed at the bank next to the Gran hotel Sula and got a rate of 14,7 L for a $, the same as at the airport. Traveler's cheques and cash were treated the same.
Getting out by bus
There's no real busstation in San Pedro, all the companies leave at different places. Have a look at the Hondurastips book for details.
To Copan
We went with Transportes Gama. They have 2 buses a day, one at 7 am (leaving in fact around 7.20 am), and one at 3 pm. Price is 50 L, the trip takes about 3 hours including multiple stops along the way. Don't expect AC or reclining seats (as their advertisements suggest). Casasola has a bus at 2 pm, and Etumi one at 11 am and 1 pm.
To Tela
You can either take a bus to La Ceiba and get off at the intersection for Tela.
Viana Clase Oro leaves at 5.30 am and 9.30 am.
Catisa Tupsa has more frequent buses: each hour from 5.30 am till 1.30 pm and each 90 minutes from 2.30 pm till 6.00 pm.
Cotuc has buses at 9.30; 11.30; 13.30 and 16.30.
Or else you can take a taxi to El Progreso (200 L) maybe visiting some banana plantations along the way, or else a bus to El Progreso, and from there take a direct bus to Tela.
A taxi to Tela will cost around 600 L (5/2000).
To Tegucigalpa
This was the only destination to which AC buses where available at the time of writing (5/2000).
Numerous companies ply this route, so it's useless to give detailed schedules here. Just look at the "Honduras tips" booklet for details.
To San Salvador
There's a daily bus at 6.30 am.
To Puerto Cortes
There are buses from 4.20 am till 9.30 pm.
To La Ceiba
See schedule to Tela
To Trujillo
Cotuc leaves at 6.30; 8.30; 10.30; 11.45; 13.30; 14.45; 16.00.
Cotraibal leaves at 7.30; 9; 12; 15.00.
Getting out by plane
I refer to the general info 1 section for details on this.
Go to Copan
