Honduras is the second biggest country in Central America. It has colonial villages (Gracias, Comayagua), ancient Mayan ruins (Copan), natural parks (Moskitia), and a Pacific and Caribbean coastline and the Bay Islands, with great beaches and coral reefs where snorkeling and diving are exceptional by any standard. The country is neighbored by Guatemala to the northwest, El Salvador to the south and Nicaragua to the southeast.
Honduras is a poor country where tourism is still underdeveloped. Good amenities can be found in cities like Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Copan Ruinas, and La Ceiba but elsewhere conditions can be primitive, especially in the rural areas. You can find good hotels even in small towns if you are willing to pay a bit more (Honduras is not really an expensive country). Nevertheless a visit is worthwhile, especially to the ancient Maya ruins in Copán, the colonial towns of Gracias and Comayagua and the fantastic Caribbean Coast.
Subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains. Natural hazards: extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast. However, the last damaging hurricane was in 1998. 13,000 lives were lost from Hurricane Mitch
Mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains. Has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast. Experiences frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes. Highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 meters.
Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation on 15 September 1821.
After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras was a haven for the anti-Communist contras fighting the Sandinista government of Nicaragua and an ally to Salvadoran government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.
The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused almost $1 billion in damage, affecting seriously the development of the country and its vital infrastructure.
Major international airports with daily flights to Miami and New York and Houston are in San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa (Toncontin) and Roatan. The main international airlines serving the region are TACA, Copa Air, Delta Airlines, Continental Airlines, and American Airlines. Iberia, Spain operates daily flights from Madrid to San Pedro Sula via Guatemala City (connecting with Taca). Maya Island Air also has a direct lfight from Belize to San Pedro Sula (phone number 011-501-223-1140 or info@mayaisland.com). For interior flights check Isleña, Atlantic and Aerolinas Sosa. Note that the interior domestic airlines frequently have flight cancellations, do not guarantee service, and are under no obligation to issue refunds if a flight does not occur. However, American carriers and their international code share partners listed above guarantee travel per U.S. industry standards. Hence, it is advisable not to rely on a domestic carrier to connect to an outbound international flight without having an alternative means to get to the departure point of the foreign bound aircraft in a timely fashion. For instance, if a flight cancellation occurs in La Ceiba headed to San Pedro Sula due to insufficient ticket sales (a common occurrence), a taxi can be hired for a $50-$100 spot price to run the distance in under two and a half hours.
