Best Places to Retire
...Best Places to Retire in the US and Abroad
The Best Places To Retire Special Report
Click Here
Best Places USA
Best Places Overseas
Best Places to Retire in Asia
Search the Best Places to Retire
Free Best Places to Retire Newsletter
Signup to receive the latest on the best places to retire along with helpful retirement planning tips.
Free Best Country to Live and Retire Reports:
Mexico
Uruguay
Argentina
Ecuador
Honduras
Best Places to Retire - Honduras
Honduras is the second biggest country in Central America. It has colonial villages (Gracias, Comayagua), ancient Maya ruins (Copan), natural parks (Moskitia), and Pacific and Caribbean Sea coastline, and the Bay Islands, with great beaches and coral reefs where snorkeling and diving is a must. The country is neighbored by Guatemala to the northwest, El Salvador to the west and Nicaragua to the southeast.
Top Cities to visit in Honduras:
* Tegucigalpa - The capital and largest city of Honduras (1.5 million). It has international airport and offers connections by plane to San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba, the door to the Bay Islands and the Caribbean Coast.
* La Ceiba - The door to the Caribbean Coast and the Bay Island. Great beaches, and daily ferries to either Utila and Roatan, where snorkeling and diving is a must.
* Comayagua - The former capital of the country is today a quiet colonial town with a beautiful cathedral and historical town center.
* Gracias - This nice colonial mountain town hosts Parque Celaque in which the highest mountain of Honduras and a wonderful cloud forest can be found.
* Omoa- A small beachfront town with Spanish colonial fortress to the west of Puerto Cortés.
* Puerto Cortes - The main harbour of Honduras in the Caribbean Coast
* Puerto Lempira- Departamental capital of Gracias a Dios.
* San Lorenzo - The main harbour of the whole Central America in the Pacific Coast. Close to Amapala, the historical port based in the Isla del Tigre.
* Tela - Turistic city about 1 hour from San Pedro Sula has beautiful coastline.
* Trujillo - This is where Columbus first set foot on mainland America, founded in 1525, overlooking a beautiful bay with nice beaches against mountainous backdrop with nature reserve.
* San Pedro Sula - Second city and industrial center in the north of the country. It has international airport and is close by car to Tela and La Ceiba, the door to the Bay Islands and the Caribbean Coast.
* Santa Rosa de Copán - This city is in the western part of the country, not to be confused with Copán Ruinas (the town, one of the most toursity in Honduras) nor with the actual ruins of Copán.
The climate of Honduras:
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.
The language of Honduras:
Spanish is the primary language spoken. English is hardly spoken outside of the biggest towns or Bay Islands. In some areas such as Utila, Spanish and English have hybridized in the context of low educational attainment to produce a pidgin tongue that can at times be indecipherable even to native speakers of both languages. Native languages (Lenca, Miskitu, Garifuna, among others) are spoken in various parts of the country.
Stay safe in Honduras:
Take special care at night. It is common from time to time for a foreigner to be robbed on the streets of Tegucigalpa at night. Thieves will stake out areas in front of tourist hotels, especially the Hotel Maya in Tegucigalpa. Crime is getting higher, especially in tourist areas. The best tip is not to risk yourself by walking through the poor parts of any towns or taking public transportion. You should cooperate with burglars if one is being robbed. This problem is mainly in big cities. In small towns, robbery is not a great issue. On main cities be sure to never be walking alone (especially at night), but it is definitely better to avoid walking in large cities. The best solution is to travel by car. It is also very important to know that there are parts of the city especially dangerous, and parts which are relatively safe (always ask people). Note, that the situation is completely different in smaller towns. This is type of issues are mainly common on Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and a bit less in La Ceiba. Ask local people about which places are safe and which are not, and follow their advice.
The murder rate in Honduras is 53.0 per 100,000 population. In comparison, the murder rate in the U.S.A. is 5.6 per 100,000.
Stay healthy in Honduras:
Purified water is used in big-city hotels and restaurants, but bottled water is definitely recommended for outlying areas.
Malaria occurs in rural areas, Roatán and other Bay Islands.
Dengue fever is endemic in both urban and rural areas.
It is not recommended to buy much food in the streets (people who are selling food just by the sidewalk). Remember Honduran food can be spicy too, so be careful if you are not used to it.
Many travel agencies and different places will tell you that Honduras is a dangerous country concerning illnesses, this is not true. People are just as ill all over Latin America (nothing out of what is normal), just take the necessary precautions. HIV is a problem in Honduras so be careful as you would in your own country.
Carry a first aid kit and have contact phone numbers with you.
If hiking or spending significant time in the great outdoors, be prepared for a wide range of natural threats and nuisances including snakes, spiders, scorpions, and mosquitoes. On the upswing, however, you can actually pick fruit off the trees.
Best Places around the World:
Lake ChapalaSan Miguel
Belize
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Cyprus
Bahamas
Barbados
Malaysia
Cayman Islands
Italy
Greece
Best Places in the US:
St. George, UtahBellingham, Washington
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Savannah, Georgia
Largo, Florida
Franklin, Tennessee
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Fort Collins, Colorado
Portland, Oregon
McCormick, South Carolina
Seneca, South Carolina
Sumter, South Carolina