Featured Country: Honduras Welcome to BootsnAll's first Central America Newsletter! As we publish both this and our other regional newsletters, you'll learn about different countries throughout each region, and we'll focus on one country per newsletter. For this debut Central America Newsletter, we'll give you info and resources on Honduras, from Honduran organizations to BootsnAll articles and advice from our own Insiders. Snugly squeezed between Guatemala and Nicaragua, Honduras also shares a border with El Salvador and still finds space for a coastline on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Not bad for a country only slightly larger than the state of Tennessee. The setting for Paul Theroux's The Mosquito Coast, Honduras can also lay claim to fantastic diving off the Bay Islands and to some of the most stunning Mayan ruins at Copán. Dosh-wise, the official currency is the Honduran Lempira (HNL), and there are 100 centavos to a Lempira. Current exchange rates (approx.): US$1=La16.75 AU$1=La8.56 CA$1=La10.49 GB£1=La23.86 EU€1=La14.59 Well, those are a few nuts and bolts. Keep reading for more info on Honduras, as well as other travelers' experiences there. What's in this issue? Airfare Deals Featured Content Featured Message Board Thread What Our Insiders Say Links & Resources Tell a Friend and/or What Do You Want? AIRFARE DEALS Brought to you by the BootsnAll TripPlanner Plan and book your round-the-world or multi-continental trip! By the way, we're not talking about air-hotel-and-car-rental stuff, but multi-destination air tickets, so packaged to help get you a better deal. Perhaps you don't like trains or buses; perhaps your schedule is tight; in any case, use BootsnAll's TripPlanner to build your itinerary, not only for getting to Central America, but for flying from country to country. Here are some examples we found: $1990 US New York City - Guatemala City - Overland On Your Own - San Pedro Sula - San Jose - Lima - La Paz - Lima - Miami - New York City $2475 US London - Miami - Mexico City - Guatemala City - San Jose - San Pedro Sula - San Jose - Panama City - Miami - London $4575 US Sydney - Auckland - Nadi (Fiji Is.) - Rarotonga (Cook Is.) - Papeete (Tahiti) - Los Angeles - San Jose - Buenos Aires - Rio de Janeiro - Lima - Cusco - Lima - San Jose - San Pedro Sula - Overland On Your Own - Mexico City - Hong Kong - Bangkok - Manila - Sydney Now, log on to the TripPlanner and put together an itinerary of the places you want to see! More Specials & Deals The only thing better than flying to Central America, is getting a bloody good deal on the ticket. We work with other companies to bring you low, hard-to-beat round-trip fares, to help you fly not only to Central America, but to wherever you want to go: BootsnAll Farebeater Hotwire Cheap Ticket Links Back to top FEATURED CONTENT Fantastic scuba diving, beautiful beaches to work on your tan or ancient Mayan civilizations to explore. What more could you want in a country? Like a Fish to Air - Roatan is reknown for diving, but it also forces Kristina Johnson to confront her fears. Dead Pirates and Frozen Fish - Battling a fever in Honduras, Christine Michaud uses the only thing at her disposal to cool down: a frozen fish. Copán Ruins - Allan Taylor visited the southernmost of the ancient cities of the vast Mayan civilization and found that the kings of Copán make the House of Windsor seem very boring and commonplace. If you would like to submit an article on your travel experiences, check out our Writer's Guidelines, then send it along. Back to top FEATURED MESSAGE BOARD THREAD Utila On the Central America board, Ruth is asking if anyone has been to the island of Utila. Sarah's also looking to go for the diving and relaxed atmosphere and would like recommendations on good (cheap!) places to stay and dive. Log in or register your handle, then jump into the discussion and throw down your two centavos on Utila. Be sure to check out the other discussions on our boards as well: http://boards.BootsnAll.com/ Back to top WHAT OUR INSIDERS SAY BootsnAll Insiders are a great source of information, and they can tell you what the guidebooks can't. We asked Insider Kristina Johnson for her take on Honduras, and here's what she had to say: San Pedro Sula Airport The airport has car rental counters, Wendy's fast food, a frozen yogurt counter, a cigar shop, and a coffee kiosk. We were able to use our ATM card (as opposed to using a credit card) in the ATM machine to get Honduran cash. There was no baggage storage. At a pay phone I was able to use my MCI card to call the US. Upon arrival, once you exit customs you are immediately outside. Expect to be approached by taxi drivers. If you want to use the services of the main terminal (as listed above) upon arrival, you must walk around outside of building (to your right as you exit) to go inside the main departure terminal. Staying in Copan Copan is one of those wonderful towns where travelers seem to gravitate and stay. The town has a charm that is missing from many of the other towns we passed through: cobblestone streets, whitewashed buildings and a central plaza. Check out Justo a Tiempo Lavanderia for laundry service (7L/pound, 20L min). They, along with a few other stores have a book exchange as well. Copan also has many of the things travelers are looking for: internet access, good food (check out Via Via, Tunkel, Las Carnitas), and a small nightlife mixed in with the local expatriate community. Copan Ruins, Honduras At the Ruins, guides are available through an official "association" and cost $20 for a 2½-hour tour. They definitely give you more information than you would gather just walking through on your own. If you can (we didn't and wished we could have) talk to a couple of the guides first and see who you like. Bring water (and maybe a lunch) and use the bathroom before you go in. Wear a hat. The tunnels are overpriced for what you get at this point, but the fee does go to support the site in general, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Roatan Dive Resorts If you stay at one of the dive resorts, try to get into town to buy drinks and snacks, which will otherwise be really overpriced. Internet access is available, but limited. Our resort had no online connection, but for a hefty fee would allow you to send and receive email using their account. No way to check your own email. In town, online connection is available, but extremely slow and costly. We were told that most people on a budget were going to Utila (a neighboring island) to dive. Back to top LINKS & RESOURCES Use the following sites to learn more about Honduras, what it offers to travelers, and how to plan your trip. Honduras This Week Online version of a weekly independent newspaper in Honduras. San Pedro Sula hotels Sort out your hotel accommodation for San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa, before you even arrive. Our BootsnAll Farebeater will help you find some great deals as you start exploring Honduras. Honduras Tips A great resource, with plenty of information on just about every place in Honduras you could ever want to visit. Travels in Paradise - Honduras Very detailed nuts and bolts of visiting Honduras' most popular sites. A little older, but fantastic information and photos. Back to top WRITE AN ARTICLE If you have a story of your own that you would like to submit on Honduras, have a look at BootsnAll's Writer's Guidelines: http://writers.BootsnAll.com And then send it along. We're always looking for new content and new perspectives, and we hope to get yours soon. TELL A FRIEND If you feel that BootsnAll.com is a valuable resource, or that others might think so, please tell your friends about us. As many of you know, we respond personally to every email we receive in an ongoing effort to build a true traveller's community. Many have responded positively. If you have comments both positive and constructive, we would love to hear them. Tell us what we have done well and how we can improve. We would appreciate it greatly. Back to top