Copán is one of the most popular destinations in Honduras due to the archaeological site of the Maya civilization where you can see some amazingly preserved temples close to the border with Guatemala.
Copán is an essential place to add to your Honduras itinerary. View my tips for visiting Copán and plan a memorable trip today.
Getting to Copan
From San Pedro 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.
The airport should be ready in 2003 offering flights to San Pedro and further on to Roatan. The aim is to draw in package tourists from Roatan.
There are several options to go to Copan from Guatemala city:
The easiest way is to take a tourist bus. It’ll take 7 hours to get there from Guate and it’ll cost you an arm and a leg: 40 US$ 1 way. The round trip is even offered in 1 day if you wish, but this is hardly advisable since you’ll spend 14 hours on the bus.
Or you could take the same bus and spend the night in Copan which is already better. There are tours being offered which take in Quiriga and cost 110 US$ everything included (accomodation, entrance fees etc..).
If you have less money to spend, it’s much cheaper to go by public transport. We did it leaving from Guate, Rutas Orientales busstation. We left at 6.30 am and took the bus to Chiquimula, this takes 3 hours, 18 Q. There you need to change to an old bus and the rough road to El Florido (border post) begins and takes about 2,5 hours, 15 Q. You’ll arrive there around noon. Cross the border and take a pick up to Copan.
There’s now also a direct public bus from Guate to Copan, namely Monarcas bus company. They leave Guate at 4 am and return Copan at 2.30 pm.
Another more popular option is to go to Chiquimula and spend the night there. Next day go to Copan. First bus for El Florido leaves at 6 am. If you take this bus, you could go to Copan and come back in 1 day. You could also combine this with a visit to Esquipulas, although this is hardly worth it.
Where to Stay in Chiquimula
For some people, Chiquimula is a hop off point when going to Copan.
Pension Espana is extremely basic and charges 20 Q for a double room (8/97).
Hotel Hernandez is much better, got 3 good reports and charges 40 Q for a double room with shared bathroom, 60 Q for room with bathroom and TV. Staff is friendly, and they even have a swimming pool in the back!
Hotel Centro Americano is at 100 meters of the Hernandez, quiet and recently refurbished. They charge 36 Q for a room with bathroom (1/98).
There are plenty of small restaurants around the Hernandez.
Crossing the Border from Guatemala
If you only go to Copan from Guatemala, the border post will just give you a small paper with a stamp, costing 10 Q for 1 day.
Make sure you get a stamp from the Hondurese border post at the back of this paper, otherwise you’ll have to pay again when you return: 30 Lempiras.
There are moneychangers giving you 2 Lempira for 1 Q which is the right exchange rate. You’ll need 130 L as entrance fee in Copan (but you can pay in US$ ). Then you need another 10 L (another more recent report said the price was 20 L !!) for the bus to Copan which takes 20 to 40 minutes. A private car will cost you 100 L (price starts at 200 L).
If you want to go straight to the ruins, get off in “Copan”, if you want to go to the village, ask for “Copan Ruinas” (strange..). You’ll first pass the village, the ruins are a 15 min. walk further.
Restaurants
The Belgian run Via Via travellers café has new owners since 2002 and has now become an excellent place to eat. Check them out! They have a nice terrace, and service is excellent.
La llama del Bosque is nice with a good plato typico for 50 L. Apparently it’s the most popular place in town (just in front of Via Via), but when we were there it was deserted (just like everything in Copan).
Vamos a Ver is a pub run by a Dutch guy where you can get a Dutch breakfast. They have a nice garden, and (if your interested) the latest results in the Dutch soccer competition. You can also make an appointment here for a horseriding trip, they had the cheapest price on offer (12 US$).
Where to Stay in Copan
The Via via now has 12 beds and a nice budget-place to stay. However, it’s necessary to book ahead since they are often fully booked with Belgian and dutch budget tours. you can also book trips with them:
• Horse riding is 10 $ for a 4 hour ride
• Trip to Aguas Calientes: 25$ for the truck which can take up to 8 people
• Visit of a biological coffee field (half day)
Hotel Posada Real belongs to the Best Western chain and is definitely the nicest place to stay. They are 3 km outside the center of town, but their minibus will pick you up for free. They have a nice swimming pool in a patio, and and rooms are excellent with AC, TV, nice bathroom etc… Price is around 90 US$ (5/2000). Second best, but much better located and only slightly less in quality is the
Hotel Copan. They charge 80 US$ but are willing to make a deal in low season (60 US$). They also have nice rooms and a swimming pool (5/2000). Hotel Copan charges 90 L for a double, rooms are rather small and have no hot water, but the atmosphere is quite nice with rooms around a courtyard. No meals.
Via Via travellers café also has 4 double rooms with private bathrooms. They charge 14 US$, breakfast is extra at 2,5 US$.
Hotel Las Brisas is a nice hotel one block off central park. They have clean rooms charging 25 US$ for a double. however, they don’t always put on the hot water in the morning (12/98).
Attractions
Temples
The main tourist ruins to see are a 15 minutes walk out of town. They open at 8 am. Entrance is 10 US$ or 140 L (5/2000). Keep your ticket, it’s also valid for the museum in town. There’s a nice museum next to the entrance open since 1996. This is 5 US$ extra.
The ruins are quite nice, but if you’ve already seen Tikal, you will be probably disappointed. You can see everything in about 2 to 5 hours. There’s now also the possibility to visit a tunnel underneath the visible structures. I didn’t do it, but this is a report I read on the LP thorn tree. Price is 12 US$.
The tunnels go inside of a currently visible structure to reveal an earlier structure called “Rosalila”. Sounds pretty neat, huh?
It is quite interesting on an intellectual level, but the tunnels are very limited and the view is very limited. You may have the idea that the tunnels are extensive (they are not) and that you will see the vivid reds of Rosalila (you will see a hint of pink).
If you are absolutely hung up on Mayan Ruins, by all means pay the money to enter the tunnels, but if you are questioning whether or not you want to spend the additional money and is it worth it, my opinion is that it isn’t really.
You can hire a guide for about 20 US$ for your group.
It is possible to go horseriding. Virtually everyone in Copan will offer you this trip. It takes about half a day, and costs between 12 to 20 US$ depending on your bargaining power.
Getting back to San Pedro Sula
There are different buses with different companies: Casasola at 7 am Transporta Gama at 6 am and 3 pm Etumi at 4 am and 5 pm
Getting back to El Florido
There are buses leaving El Florido at noon, around 1.30 pm and the last one leaves at 3.30 pm (though you better check this again when you’re there).
The prices for a pick-up truck varied between 10 L to 20 L depending on the report I got, so it’s clear that it’s a big business for the locals. Private cars even charge 100 to 200 L.
Safety in Copan
There have been reports of youngsters in the streets of Copan getting a way with bags of tourists, and afterwards asking for “a fee to carry the bag”. So be careful for them and avoid them.
Check out my other travel guides in this country:
• Bay Islands
• La Ceiba
• Tela