US Travel Alert for Honduras?

[SandyUT]

Hi all, as many of you will be as well, we will be on the Bay Islands within a few weeks. the USA has issued a travel alert for Honduras. I think its primarily for the mainland, but to keep the group calm I would like to hear others opinions and or recent experience. We were on Roatan a few years back and I would not have felt all that comfortable leaving the resort. Which is fine and kinda what I expect on Utila. We are flying through San Pedro Usla as our resort recommended. I expect that to be slightly adventurous from what I have read here.

thanks!

Honduras Travel Warning

 

[tursiops]

I led a group there last November, to CoCo View. Our strategy was to fly directly to Roatan if possible, but if going through San Pedro Sula to stay in the airport. Secondly, while on Roatan to stay in the resort, to avoid touring around especially at night, and to avoid Coxen Hole.

 

[Doc]

Sandy... You forgot to mention one very critical element: Where are you staying?

My crystal ball (and a quick )says Utila Lodge.

Go, have fun, act responsibly, enjoy. Do not fret.

The US State Department has been grinding an axe since Ms Clinton objected to the Honduran's dumping their deposed President on his (and her) best friend, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Many spiteful things came from DoS subsequently, including the wholesale lumping of the Bay Islands into the mainland travel warnings. Yes- on the mainland of Honduras, do not go "exploring" out of the airports. (as above from tursiops)

The Bay Islands are not the mainland, Utila is barely "the" Bay Islands. It is in its own world.

Try not to believe everything you read on TwitAdvisor. I see you went there for resort/hotel advice- the posters there are not really SCUBA oriented in any fashion... they may know room quality, food things, but diving? No.

 

[SandyUT]

thanks! Much appreciated. and yes Utila Lodge it is! We are very excited and looking forward to many dives followed by many beers, and repeat!

 

[AdivingBel]

Sandy... You forgot to mention one very critical element: Where are you staying?

My crystal ball (and a quick )says Utila Lodge.

Go, have fun, act responsibly, enjoy. Do not fret.

The US State Department has been grinding an axe since Ms Clinton objected to the Honduran's dumping their deposed President on his (and her) best friend, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Many spiteful things came from DoS subsequently, including the wholesale lumping of the Bay Islands into the mainland travel warnings. Yes- on the mainland of Honduras, do not go "exploring" out of the airports. (as above from tursiops)

The Bay Islands are not the mainland, Utila is barely "the" Bay Islands. It is in its own world.

Try not to believe everything you read on TwitAdvisor. I see you went there for resort/hotel advice- the posters there are not really SCUBA oriented in any fashion... they may know room quality, food things, but diving? No.

Doc, did you read the update? It says the same things you are saying. The Bay Islands are not lumped in with the mainland, but there seems to be a slight uptick even there. Just use your common sense and stay out of Coxen Hole after dark. Are you saying something different? I, for one, respect (and appreciate) your insights into Bay Islands and the Caribbean as a whole (and your humor), but please leave your politics in The Pub. Thanks.

 

[Doc]

Doc, did you read the update? It says the same things you are saying. The Bay Islands are not lumped in with the mainland, but there seems to be a slight uptick even there. Just use your common sense and stay out of Coxen Hole after dark. Are you saying something different? I, for one, respect (and appreciate) your insights into Bay Islands and the Caribbean as a whole (and your humor), but please leave your politics in The Pub. Thanks.

It isn't "pub" politics, just plain facts. Follow the historical timeline. One can politicize it if needed, certainly the US State Department already had beaten the both of us right to it.

Yes, I know that the DoS had, after some lengthy time, finally adjusted the warning to mollify the concerns of the Bay Islands. I also know exactly how that happened, and it wasn't DoS recognizing and correcting an error on their own. But that part wasn't important to the story.

And you can't "un-ring the bell", the folks at TripAdvisor are still all atwitter.

Staying out of Coxen Hole after dark is a grand idea, but irrelevant to the needs of the OP, they will not have a chance to visit that town. There are, on Roatan, also a dozen other places that one might avoid after dark- or in bright Sunlight. But that also was not important in the Utila based query.

 

[tursiops]

thanks! Much appreciated. and yes Utila Lodge it is! We are very excited and looking forward to many dives followed by many beers, and repeat!

One of our CCV group went over to Utila Lodge for a week after our CCV week. He's an English fellow from Switzerland, loved it.

 

[SandyUT]

One of our CCV group went over to Utila Lodge for a week after our CCV week. He's an English fellow from Switzerland, loved it.

Great news!!! Thank you for the feedback!

 

[AdivingBel]

Really Doc...saying " Ms Clinton objected to the Honduran's dumping their deposed President on his (and her) best friend, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela" isn't political?...come on, man. You have the boots on the ground experience on the current crime situation, but really. That comment has nothing to do with Utila or anything that the OP asked. That is a "Pub" comment. IMHO.

 

[gwklein]

The travel warning states: Roatan and the Bay Islands are geographically separated from Honduras and experience lower crime rates than the Honduras mainland. The national government of Honduras, Roatan authorities, and businesses took measures in 2014 to improve tourism security. However, as on the mainland, thefts, break-ins, assaults, rapes, and murders do occur, and you should exercise caution, especially at night. If staying at a hotel resort, book tours and sightseeing through the resort or reputable tour companies. Coxen Hole on the island of Roatan should be avoided after dark.

If you follow this simple advice, your group will feel safer in the Bay Islands than they would in the downtowns of most major U.S. cities.