Copan Ruinas: Gorgeous place, well worth the stop but beware of the "helpful" young locals who accost tourists as they step off the bus hot and weary. These kids are genuinely helpful but you will end up paying about 30% more than average for anything they set up for you. However they do tell you prices up front and if you are not confused about the worth of Lempiras to dollars then you will realize the expense immediately. If you stay in a Hotel in Copan be sure to inquire if they have a tank for water because the town is currently without water every day from about 4pm onwards. Do NOT let anyone tell you that it is only for one day.
Eve Eidelson (May 98)
I would highly recommend anyone traveling to Utila to immediately go in search of lodging. When I was there, my friends and I started to look at the dive shops and lost 2 hours in hotel hunting. We did not realize that the island very often fills up...completely. There are not enough rooms on the island for the rising demand of backpackers in search of cheap scuba diving. So get your room fast!! If you are in trouble, Lucile, the owner of Freddy's place, may help you out by renting a room in her house. She did that for us and got us out of a bind. We thought we were going to sleep on the beach!
Kerry Jackson (April 98)
You really need to advise travellers that loud firecrackers and rockets are a 24 hr occurrence, especially in Honduras. Nicaragua and El Salvador are pretty bad too. Screeds of tourists, like us, have been terrified at night by lots of shouting and what appears to be gunfire. The locals (Copan was especially bad) delight in kicking up a fuss all night long. You would never know if a revolution really had started, but travelers would sleep a little easier if they knew the situation.
John & Rochelle Lea - New Zealand (March 98)
Regarding Honduras: We were told by some peace corps folks that the American Embassy tested the bottled water"Agua Azul" and that it was not really that safe to drink. We started treating it right away, having both been ill already from who knows what!
Megan Smith (Aug 98)
Please make sure that you warn people in TELA that beach walks are now extremely unsafe and risky. Me and two girls, we got robbed very badly, we lost a lot of things (cameras, shoes etc.) and it was a very scary situation because 5 people had these long machetes.
Guido Lehnen (March 98)
I would like to give serious warning to beach goers traveling to Trujillo. The beaches in town tend to be unpleasantly filthy and most tourists end up wandering (walking) westward in search for nicer and cleaner sites. Unfortunately, the coast in that direction is riddled with crime and unsuspecting foreigners are the targets of assault and theft. This warning is particularly pertinent to women because they are regularly raped during these assaults. It is important to note that nearly all expatriate women living in the area only walk the beach when armed with a pistol and have given up on the cooperation of the local police. Women, even when accompanied by other women, are not safe walking the beaches no matter what time of day or night. One woman I spoke with expressed her conclusions very bluntly, "It is not a question of whether you'll be assaulted but of when this will happen, it is a sure thing."
As a recent victim of such a crime, I assure you that the police are not interested in putting an end to this trend. Because the victims of these crimes are primarily tourists, the police do not feel any urgency to take action and consider the case closed once the tourist-victim has left the area (and country).
Katerina Horochowski - US (March 98)
HONDURAS
