First stop: Roatán, Honduras

Our most recent trip took us to Honduras and Guatemala in late January/early February 2013. The plan had been to go to Thailand since we had almost two weeks for the trip, but along with the flights filling up, my husband and I were both suffering from some back problems, so we decided a shorter flight and a slightly shorter trip would be better. 

Our excitement at the thought of traveling to the islands in Thailand led us to search other islands/beaches for our destination. We also wanted to see and do more than just beaches and we started to feel that our parameters were excluding most plausible ideas. We were almost ready to give up on the beach portion of the trip when we ran across the flight from Houston to Roatán, Honduras. After doing a little more research, we decided we would spend a few days in Roatán and then travel through Honduras to Copán, and then to Antigua, Guatemala before flying out of Guatemala City. We decided on a Thursday morning that this is where we would travel, and we left on that Saturday. Although we had just 48 hours to plan this trip, I don’t think we could have done a better job if we’d had more time; it was perfect. 

We stayed in West End on Roatán Island at Posada Las Orquideas. The hotel was basic, but large and very clean and had a deck that overlooked the water. It also had a kitchenette. It is a 5-10 minute walk from West End which can be extremely muddy. A flashlight was necessary to traverse the road at night, but we enjoyed staying there and would recommend it.

Walking up to the hotel

Walking through West End

West End is a great small town that sits right on the water (Half Moon Bay). The town has a relaxed feel to it, and it’s easy to see why so many people vacation there and decide never to go home. Many of the restaurants appeared to be owned by ex-pats, not locals and the price for food at restaurants there was about what you would expect to pay in the States (140-260 Lempira, equivalent of about $7-13 for dinners, less for lunch). There was a great deal of variety. We had some amazing fish tacos and some decent Thai food during our stay.

But the best food we had was at Cindy’s, a small hut serving mostly local Honduran food right in West End. It was run by a very friendly Honduran woman named Cindy, unsurprisingly. Our favorite thing there was the baleada, which is a popular Honduran food. It is a thick flour tortilla folded in half with fried beans, cheese and a variety of toppings. We tried the chicken and avocado baleadas there and loved them both. Cindy’s wasn’t open for dinner, but we did go there for lunch three times during our four day. Sadly, Cindy’s is one of the only places we didn’t get a picture of in West End. I assume this is because we were so focused on our hunger and eating the food as we walked up and full and happily distracted as we left. 

Sundowners Bar on the beach in West End

The sunsets over Half Moon Bay were amazing, and there were a few great bars from which to watch them. The beers were pretty cheap almost everywhere, about $2 each for local beers, cheaper during happy hour. The three most abundant local beers are Port Royal, Imperial and Salva Vida. We preferred Port Royal, but Salva Vida was also good. 

 

Sunset over Half Moon Bay in West End