Honduras: The North Coast

"This guidebook by Maria Fiallos is the best coverage of Honduras available. All the dive sites, all the restaurants, and all the hotels from budget to luxury. The author is a real expert, and the information is fresh and complete." -- Melanie, Amazon reviewer. "A great new resource" --Travel + Leisure. "Bursting with relevant and exciting information..." -- Booklist. "These useful travel guides are highly recommended..." -- Library Journal. Pristine coral reefs, tropical waters, rainforests, and rivers meandering through jungles wait to be explored. Parks cover 24% of the country's area, where jaguars and giant anteaters reside. Coastal wetlands are home to monkeys, manatees, alligators and waterfowl. This guide zeroes in on the North Coast, covering Tela, Trujillo, San Pedro Sula, Puerto Cortes and beyond. The northern Atlantic coastline of the country boasts a 475-mile-long shore, characterized by humid tropical forests, lagoons, and mangrove systems. Several small bays, such as those found in Omoa, Puerto Cortes, Ulua, La Ceiba, and Trujillo, one of the deepest bays in Central America, dot the coastline, serving as harbors. In the northeast lies the Caratasca Lagoon, the largest in the country. The broad Caribbean basin known as the Gulf of Honduras is bordered by Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize. off the northern coast in the Caribbean are the Bay Islands, the Hog Islands, and farther east, the Swan Islands. Weekly open-air markets offer ripe mangos, oranges, bananas, avocados and tomatoes, adding charm and color to the country villages, where most people reside in whitewashed adobe houses with red tile roofs. This guide, by a lifelong resident, tells you everything about the history, the culture, the foods, how to get around, the recommended places to stay and eat, plus the activities and adventures, from cooking classes to monkey-spotting in the cloud forests. Honduras is just south of Belize and Guatemala, north of Costa Rica and Panama.