Honduras : Profile

Facts

Location - Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Geographic coordinates - 15 00 N, 86 30 W

Honduras' Pacific coastline on the Gulf of Fonseca is only about 70 miles long compared to a 400-mile shoreline in the Caribbean.
the Bay Islands are the country's prime sailing attraction, a perfect cruising ground whose popularity with yachts has increased steadily in recent years as an alternative to the Eastern Caribbean, and the Virgin Islands - less crowded, and scenically on a par with the Virgins. Provisioning and repair facilities are best on Roatan.
Roatan, Utila, Guanaja, on the Bay Islands, and La Ceiba on the mainland, are the ports of entry where officials are most used to dealing with yachts.
Facilities generally have improved as more cruising boats visit Honduras; there are two new marinas at La Ceiba. Lagoon Marina has 24 hour security and is a good place to leave the boat while visiting some of the attractions of Honduras' interior such as the Copan Maya ruins.
The rest of Honduras is less tempting to explore by sea and although the mountainous north coast is scenically attractive, the lack of harbours make cruising along it very difficult, while the western Pacific coast is featureless and uninteresting.

Weather

Climate - Subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains.

Rain is frequent on the Caribbean coast all year round, but heaviest from September to December. The drier months are April to May but these months are very hot. The east and north coasts have strong NE trade winds throughout the winter months. The best time to cruise the Bay Islands is at the end of winter or early spring when the northers of winter are no longer a problem.