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Jaunted Field Trips

Getting to the Bay Islands

December 7, 2006 at 11:45 AM | 0 Comments

Jaunted contributing editor Paul Brady is on tour in Honduras, the original Banana Republic. We'll be posting stories this week about his travels in the tropics. Have any burning questions?

When you're a tourist in Honduras, there's one question that everyone seems to ask: Are you going to Roatan? That largest of the magical Bay Islands is probably best known for its SCUBA diving, but these days it's also known for its real estate bubble. No, I'm not going to Roatan. Utila is more my speed.

To get here, just a few miles west of Roatan, I flew on a "vintage" Fairchild turboprop operated by Atlantic Airways to La Ceiba, on Honduras's northern coast. Once in Ceiba, it was easy to grab a taxi to the ferry port, where the Utila Princess departs twice a day for the island. It's an easy one-hour cruise, but there's not much on the boat besides seats, so take provisions if you're interested in happy hour. On the other side of the cruise, the passengers and I were met by a handful of touts with SCUBA fliers. Funny thing was, with the sun beaming down and the water lapping the shore, I didn't mind.

[Photo: pnendick]