Honduras Travel Tips
One of the most important Honduras travel tips which is actually applicable to any destination is to be aware. This means understanding the main local customs, Knowing any specific law such as those relating to consumption of alcohol and how to dress appropriately. Some areas of Honduras are rural and poor and this tip also applies to less affluent parts of towns and cities, so being sensible about personal belongings is a good consideration for safety and security. There’s no need for outward displays of wealth. Excessive jewellery and conspicuous cash are unnecessary.
Health considerations for the trip are simple. The Government’s website can be checked for the current recommended vaccinations and there’s no need to load up with pharmaceutical supplies as Honduran pharmacies are well stocked with proprietary drugs. Honduras is a very poor country and it can be a shock to the Western visitor. Potential visitors should consider how to react if approached for money in the streets. This is a matter of personal choice but it’s best being prepared than being caught off guard.
Honduras Travel Tips for women
Women should not consider travelling alone around Honduras. It is a Roman Catholic country with traditional values and has different views on the liberation of women to many western countries. Even if accompanied, when out and about, females should dress conservatively and not expose a lot of flesh. Beach wear, bikinis in particular should be reserved for the beaches and when visiting churches appropriate dress is even more important. The latter dress code tip applies to men also. In some of the more rural areas it is best to avoid direct eye contact with Honduran males as it is seen as an “invitation”.
Follow these simple Honduras travel tips and have a good time in a beautiful country.
Filed under Honduras | Tags: Caribbean, Honduras, Travel Tips | Comment (0)Honduras: Ecological Hotspot
With coasts on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean and a massive area of tropical rainforest, the ecology of Honduras is crammed full of biological resources. Its significance to regional and indeed world ecology is recognised and Honduras is tagged as being a Biodiversity Hotspot.
Flora
The plant life of Honduras is so vastly varied that over 6,000 individual species have so far been catalogued, many of which grow in the rainforests. Just over 40% of the total land of Honduras is forested although this is significantly depleted and deforestation is still an issue. Much of the Honduran forest is what is known as Cloud Forest. Trees grow on land over 2,500 metre and they poke through the clouds, hence the name. Common trees of Honduras are kapok, cedar, balsa, rosewood, rubber mahogany, lignum vitae and rosewood. As well as trees, there are 630+ species of orchid recorded in Honduras and large areas of the country are covered with mangrove swamps as well as there being large patches of savannah grassland and coastal palm forests.
Fauna
All of this marvellous vegetation provides a wide range of habitats to support a massively diverse wildlife including tapirs, jaguars, armadillos, sloths, butterflies and the national animal, the white tailed deer. The bird population of Honduras boasts over 700 different species including the highly coloured scarlet macaw and over half the 100 mammal species are bats. Reptile and amphibian species number over 250. There is also a varied marine life off both coasts including those that make their homes in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System such as dolphins, rays, parrot fish and whale sharks.
The importance of the ecology of Honduras has been recognised and there are large areas of national parkland and conservation and preservation programmes.
Filed under Honduras | Tags: Caribbean, Ecology, Honduras | Comment (0)The Climate of Honduras
Honduras is a democratic republic in Central America and its 43,200 square miles of terrain is a mountainous interior with flat coastal plains on both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific. Its rainforests, mangrove swamps and coral reefs have huge biodiversity significance and the country has a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
As a country, the climate of Honduras is described as tropical, with all land mass falling within the tropics but there are four distinct physiographic regions where the climate diverts from the standard definition; the Caribbean Lowlands, the Pacific Lowlands, the Tropical Interior
The Caribbean Lowlands
The climate of Honduras in the coastal plains on the Caribbean Sea is typically tropical with consistent high temperatures and high humidity. Temperatures have an average daytime high between 28°C and 32°C. Rainfall is heaviest between September and February then distributed fairly evenly throughout the remainder of the year. The Honduran Caribbean coast is also subject to hurricanes.
The Pacific Lowlands
The Pacific coastal plains are similar to those on the Caribbean, experiencing a tropical climate but with a more distinct wet and dry tropical climate. The dry season is between November and April, with the latter having the year’s warmest average temperatures.
The Tropical Interior
As with all tropical areas, the climate of Honduras relates to elevation.
Applicable to land that lies between 1,000 and 2,000 metres above sea level, the mountainous and forested interior of Honduras enjoys a pleasant temperate climate with an average high temperature of 30°C in April and coolest of 25°c in January. The higher land areas, above 2,000 feet also enjoy a temperate climate but with a greater extreme at the cooler end of the scale with temperatures that can fall to near freezing at night and early morning frosts.