The travel information in this section was updated on April 15, 2009 and is presented only as a guide and service to assist our guests in planning their trip to Utila. While we have tried to make the information as accurate as possible we do not accept any responsibilities for any inaccuracies or any problems that might arise due to the use of this information. Please remember that we are not travel agents and are not acting in that capacity. All information should either be verified by you or by a professional travel agent. Please let us know if you find any information to be incorrect or if you have any suggestions for improvements.
Do I Need a Passport to Come To Utila? C. What Airlines Fly From San Pedro or La Ceiba to Utila? E. What do I Do If I Miss My Flight or I Get Delayed? F. Hotel Options in San Pedro Sula or La Ceiba: G. Taking a Taxi from San Pedro to La Ceiba: H. What About Taking A Bus from San Pedro? I. Can We Charter a Plane for Group? J. What is the Utila Ferry Schedule? K. What About Coming from Roatan? L. Anything Else I Should Know?
Central America
Utila is off the Northern Coast of Honduras
Utila is one of the Bay Islands, located off the coast of Honduras, in Central America. Of the 3 Bay Islands, Utila is the closest to the mainland of Honduras, about 18 km to La Ceiba. It is accessible by small chartered aircraft from La Ceiba or Roatan, scheduled aircraft from La Ceiba/San pedro Sula or by a one-hour ferryboat from La Ceiba or sailboat from Roatan. Do I Need a Passport to Come To Utila? YES! To come to Utila, you will be entering Honduras, and to enter Honduras, you must have a valid passport. For USA Citizens: "A USA passport valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry is required to enter Honduras. A visa is not required (as quoted from http://www.hondurasemb.org/) For Other Citizens: From what we understand, only a passport is also needed for citizens of Canada, Italy, and Spain, however if you are from those or other countries, you need to check with your nearest Honduran Consulate for specifics, as we do not keep up to date on travel requirements for all countries. If You Are Coming Into San Pedro Sula/La Ceiba 1) Make your flights in/out of La Ceiba if you can. Then either: 2) Take the 9:30am or 4pm Utila Princess ferry from La Ceiba to Utila. 3) Take a charter flight (organized by Alice of Worldwide Travel or Frank with Morgan's Travel; see contacts below) to Utila. The charter will run until sunset (no lights on runway here), so that’s about 5:30 pm. 4) Take the regularly scheduled plane, SOSA, to Utila on Mon, Wed, Fri, at 3:30pm. (see flight schedules below and arrange through travel agents Alice or Frank). 6) On Mon, Wed, Friday, there is the local SOSA airline flight to Utila, departing San Pedro Sula at 2:30pm. The flights may stop in La Ceiba first, but you can buy the ticket all the way to Utila. We have found it is easiest to make reservations for these flights with Alice of Worldwide Travel or Frank with Morgan’s Travel as opposed to booking direct with the local airlines; see contacts below. 7) On any day, take a local airlines SOSA or Islena/Taca to La Ceiba, and then take a charter to Utila. 8) Or Take a private taxi or bus from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba (3 hours) to catch Utila Princess ferry which leaves promptly at 4pm. We can help arrange a reliable taxi. 9) If flying into Roatan, see Roatan information below. Click HERE for a summary of airlines and their direct flights to Honduras.
B. Travel Tips and Reminders: 3) If you do come on alternate days OR if you have late afternoon arrival in San Pedro Sula, you can generally still get to La Ceiba the same day with SOSA or Islena/Taca. If its early enough, you can then can take a private charter from La Ceiba through Celine (see A1-b above) or take the Utila Princess ferry from La Ceiba at 4pm. 4) If you need to spend the night in San Pedro Sula or La Ceiba, we have some suggested hotels below. 5) If flying out of San Pedro Sula, determine if you want to fly to Utila the same day, or want to get to San Pedro Sula 1 day earlier to avoid any travel delays. 6) Scheduled planes leave Utila for La Ceiba / San Pedro Sula only on Tues, Thurs, and Saturday at 6:00 am, then you can connect with SOSA flight to San Pedro Sula at 8:30am. If you have a later flight out of San Pedro, you can also take the Hedman Alas bus, which is very safe and comfortable, and about $20 for the 3 hour ride.
C. What Airlines Fly From San Pedro or La Ceiba to Utila? Once in San Pedro Sula (SAP) ,the local carrier SOSA provides service to La Ceiba (LCE) and also Utila. In addition, Islena/TACA also provides later afternoon and evening service from SAP to LCE. Once in LCE, you can also connect with the ferry to Utila which leaves promptly at 4pm.
Costs: These are approximate, current costs and are subject to change at any time. Please use them only as a guide and check with Alice at WorldWide Travel or Frank at Morgan travel for current pricing. SAP to Utila: $122 - one way; $222 Round Trip LCE to Utila: $58 one way; $107 Round Trip SAP to LCE $81 one way ($154 Round Trip As we’ve noted, guests have found it much easier booking with Alice or Frank below. TIP:GET A PRINT OUT of your reservation confirmation. Do this even if you are being assisted by one of the travel agents above, as we’ve had guests who have said their reservation got lost at the desk of the airlines. Without some type of verification, if the flight is full, you are basically out of luck until the next day.
1. Alice Gabourel – Owner of Worldwide Travel - Alice has very good follow-up and can arrange flights with either SOSA or Taca, transfers from Roatan, charter flights and your international flight. Alice does a great job arranging charters. Web: http://www.aboututila.com/Travel Info/World-Wide-Travel/Index.htm Email at UtilaMorgansTravel@yahoo.com.
E. What do I Do If I Miss My Flight or I Get Delayed?: If your plans are delayed, try not to worry too much - you will get here the next day. Think of it as an opportunity to get a feel for the mainland! If you have booked with us and we are meeting you at arrival, please give us a call. Vicki: 504-3-245-1837 Jim: 504-3-334-1395 If you can't reach us by phone, leave a message and please send an email to info@destinationutila.com If we don’t hear from you, we will try and find you the next day, but since we may not know when you are coming, as a back up plan, stop at the Utila Realty office, when you come in. It is in the center of town, just above the ferry ticket office. Tell them you are guests of Destination Utila and they will call us. If you get delayed in La Ceiba or San Pedro and need to stay the night, see the next section for suggested hotels F) Hotel Options in La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula Gran Hotel Paris – Center of town, just off the town park. This is a clean, nicer hotel for La Ceiba, with nice pool area with a nice, small bar that serves food. Some rooms can be a little run down but all are clean. A lot of expats from Utila regularly stay here. Prices are about $50 -$70 a night. La Quinta is somewhat nicer than the Hotel Paris and is located close to the Mega Plaza Mall so it is very close to to shopping and dining. It's priced at about $65 per night. http://www.hotellaquinta.net Quinta Real – Probably the nicest hotel in La Ceiba is this new beachfront resort. Beautiful grounds with great pool area. Located in the Zona Viva, which is the La Ceiba entertainment district. Prices start at about $100 per night and include breakfast http://www.quintarealhotel.com Hotel Rainbow Village - We haven't stayed here yet but it gets great reviews from both our guests and friends on Utila and it's only a few minutes from the airport. The comments we keep hearing are "very nice people", "rooms are large and clean", "great food". Price is around $40 a night. http://www.hotel-rainbow-village.com/
Hotel Options in San Pedro Sula Isabella Boutique Hotel- We recently had the pleasure of staying in this new, boutique hotel and had a great visit. If your choice is a small, upscale hotel then this is a great choice in San Pedro Sula. It has a wonderful minimalist design with a zen like feel. The room was very confortable with large, wall-mounted TV, very comfortable bed and nice bath. Meals in the restaurant were delicious and all the staff were very friendly and helpful. Breakfast and wireless internet are included in the base rate. The hotel is located just off the Avenida Circunvalacion, close to shopping and restaurants. As of December, 2009 the price is $105/night. http://www.hotelisabellahn.com/inicio.html Hotel Intercontinental Real is located in one of the more upscale areas of San Pedro and next to probably the best shopping and restaurants in the city. It is what you would expect from an Intercontinental Hotel in the States or Europe with comfortable rooms with very nice baths and very comfortable beds. There is an excellent buffet in the restaurant and a very nice bar. Service has been very good on all our visits. Rates start at about $130/night. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/overview/sapha Crown Plaza - A very nice hotel in a good location and is the same quality of Crown Plazas in the States. The service has been excellent when we've stayed with them. Metrotel - We have not stayed here but we have been told that it is a decent, very clean, safe hotel with good service and it is near the airport. Rates start at about $60. G) Taking a Taxi from San Pedro to La Ceiba: A private van or taxi will cost about $100-120 US dollars from the airport and take about 3 hours. This is for a normal car; it may be more for an SVU or a van. Coming out of the airport, you will see some gentleman at the taxi station; most are from the association COTRALMYH that operates a safe fleet. Be sure to take a look at their badge to make sure they are with this group. The current phone number is 504-506-1027. We can also help you arrange a taxi with Curtis who is located in La Ceiba and has a brother in San Pedro with a taxi. They may cost a little more but the advantage is both speak perfect English and are very reliable. Curtis works with a lot of expats from Utila on a regular basis. We use Curtis every time we are in Ceiba and have used both him and his brother for trips to San Pedro. His phone number is 9-891-5305 or we can contact him for you. If you call him direct let him know that you are guests of Jim and vicki on Utila. H. What About Taking A Bus from San Pedro? The direct Bus (Hedman Alas) from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba is quick (3 hours) and definitely an affordable option ($23 USD) . This is a reliable, secure bus company that services Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, the Copan Ruins and La Ceiba. This direct bus is very clean, accommodates lots of luggage, shows movies and the seats recline nicely; not a bad way to travel. For an extra $5.00 you get the "Ejecutivo Plus" which is the equivalent of flying first class with fully reclining seats and is much more spacious. We highly recommend it. Departures from the San Pedro Airport to La Ceiba are at 6:00am, 10:20am, 2:45pm, and 6:00pm The main San Pedro Sula number is 504-557-3477 and you can buy in advance and also look at schedules at www.hedmanalas.com.
I. Can We Charter a Plane for Group? Sure. For charter information and reservations we suggest working with either Alice or Frank who are listed above. A small plane can take up to 3 passengers if you are traveling with only a carry-on or 2 passengers if there is a lot of luggage. Charters can also be arranged for larger groups. Prices will vary, depending on the charter company and number of people. Both Alice at WorldWide Travel and Frank at Morgan Travel can give you pricing. Charters can be arranged from Roatan, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. We now have a great new charter option for up to nine passengers. Guanaja Air, www.guanajaair.com is now based on Utila and is offering charters between Utila, Guanaja, Roatan, La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula. Captain Angelo Lagonia is from the US (Memphis) and is offering some very attractive pricing. Capital Angelo can be reached at 504-9-558-8683. Reservations can also be made through Alice at WorldWide Travel or Frank at Morgan Travel. (For Photos of Capital Angelo and Guanaja Air's plane, click here).
The Utila Princess is the only passenger ferry servicing Utila at this time. It costs 450 lempiras or $21 usd each way, and takes about 50 minutes to travel the 18 miles from La Ceiba to Utila. For more information you can visit the Utila Princesses web site at www.utilaprincess.com Schedule: Utila - La Ceiba: 6:20 AM and 2:30 PM
It can actually be simpler to get to Utila by flying into Roatan vs. San Pedro Sula. You can also usually be assured of getting to Utila without having to spend the night on the way. There are three options if you are flying into Roatan. (1) You can charter a plane through Alice or Frank. (2) Do the "double ferry" and take the 2:00pm Galaxy ferry from Roatan to La Ceiba and then walk next door to the Utila Princess and take the 4:00pm ferry to Utila. (3) You can take a catamaran with Captain Vern that leaves Roatan daily for Utila at 1:00pm. It departs Utila for Roatan every morning at 6:30am. The trip will be about 3-4 hours depending on weather and costs $55 per person. Actually this can be a lot of fun and we can make arrangement to have Vern drop you off right at our dock. You can contact Capital Vern at 9-910-8040 or e-mail at vfine@hotmail.com.
L. Anything Else I Should Know? |
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