Cangrejal River Valley

February 7 2019

getting to La Ceiba, hotels in la ceiba, National Parks Cangrejal River Valley, La Ceiba, Lodges in La Ceiba, Saopin Bridge 0

Planning your trip from La Ceiba to the Cangrejal River Valley for a few days?

So you are passing by La Ceiba on your way towards or from the Bay Islands of Utila or Roatan and have decided to stop a couple of days to enjoy the area around the Cangrejal River. You are now trying to figure out the best way to get from La Ceiba to the Cangrejal River Valley.

If you are traveling from the Bay Islands to La Ceiba on the regular ferry service, and will stay at one of the local lodges for several night, your best bet is to contact the inn you will be staying at and have them arrange for your transfer. Many hotels, for example, La Villa de Soledad B&B will provide complimentary round trip arrival and departure transfers from La Ceiba if you are staying with them for three or more nights. If you are planning on a shorter stay, you can arrange the transfers with them. The cost should be about $20.00 US. This fee applies from one to four persons each way.

Others, such as Omega Tours Jungle Lodge have a deal with some of the local taxi drivers that will charge you a very reasonable $20 US dollars. The transfer time from the ferry terminal to your lodge at the Cangrejal River will shorter than 40 minutes.

Are arriving on a bus, or already in town, and are really on a budget? Or perhaps you are looking for a more adventurous option? You can hitch a ride to the “Saopin Bridge” over the Cangrejal River. This one of two bridges in La Ceiba that crosses over the Cangrejal, and is the one on the main CA13 highway. There is a paved street just after crossing the bridge on the mountainside of the road. This is where you can wait for a bus. The area is safe, and there are usually different persons here waiting for the bus. There are only 3 or 4 buses every day. The first one going up towards the communities departs La Ceiba at around 8:30 a.m. The last bus usually passes by around 3:30 in the afternoon.

If you miss the last bus, you can always hitch a ride in a pick up truck. There are many pick up vehicles going up into the mountains towards the villages that will give you a ride. A few of them usually charge a fee to give you a ride. It is always a good idea to ask if you owe them anything once you get off. Since you are in the back of the pick up, you will have to keep your eyes open for the lodge that you are headed towards. Make sure you knock on the side of the truck to let the driver know you are getting off. Do so even if you have communicated with him and let him know where you are going. Be on the lookout, as he may forget that you are in the truck and want a ride only to a certain point.

Getting a ride in the back of the pickup truck is a great way to get from La Ceiba to the Cangrejal River Valley. There is one drawback with this very affordable way to get to your lodge in the Cangrejal River. When the road is dry you will bite some dust. If it’s raining, you will be getting wet in the back of the pickup truck.

If you end up hiring a cab to get from La Ceiba to the Cangrejal River Valley, keep in mind that they will try to charge you as much as they can get away with! Remember that your lodge can arrange for the transfer in a cab for around $20 US. Certainly do not pay more than $30 US, unless it’s after dark. Then up to $40 would be the maximum acceptable. If you take the bus, the fare should be around 10 lempiras per person each way.

February 6 2019

Best of Atlantida, Best of Honduras, Best of La Ceiba cangrejal river hotels, Cangrejal River Valley, Hotel in La Ceiba, La Ceiba Hotel, Nombre de Dios National Park, Pico Bonito National Park 0

Chatting with one of our guests this week he described La Villa de Soledad as a Jewel in the Jungle! I of course could not resist to write about this, so here I go…

The truth is that we are in the jungle and we do have a special place.

Getting to our Personal Jewel in the Jungle.

As is customary, I picked up our guests, Keith and Dana at the ferry dock. They arrived from Roatan on the Galaxy Wave ferry at 3:30 p.m. It took them a while to collect all their bags. The Ferry operation is outstanding; but they do need to work on the baggage collection. After meeting with them, we headed towards the Cangrejal River Valley. In total, we travel a distance of about 8 miles from the ferry to La Villa de Soledad.

Although a short drive, most of it is on a dirt road, which delays the arrival a few extra minutes. En route, it is normal for guests to reach a state of awe with the lush jungles and lovely river. About ten minutes after boarding the car, we are in a jungle road which follows the Cangrejal River. There is a dense forest coverage on both sides of the river. To the right is Pico Bonito National Park, to the left is Nombre de Dios National Park. It is easy to wonder where the heck it is you are headed for!

Keith shared with me that he did at one point ask himself if he had selected the right property to stay in. It seemed like we are on our way to a remote location, and the dense jungle made him think he would need to rough it out. He was looking for a nice place in the jungle, but was not particularly excited about rustic lodging!

First Impressions are Always Important!

A jewel in the jungle — Nestled in the tropical jungles of Nombre de Dios and Pico Bonito National Parks.

After about 20 minutes up the Cangrejal River Road we arrived at our destination. A steep drive up the hill usually gets our guests wondering if the car will make it up. The truth is you do need a four wheel drive vehicle to make it up. Half way up the hill you finally are aware of the place you chose to stay in. Our lovely Hacienda style home sits on a small bluff overlooking the Cangrejal River. It also faces the lush green mountains of Pico Bonito National Park.

I love it when guests finally walk into what we call our living room and acts as the lobby for our Bed and Breakfast. High cathedral ceilings and open porches blend into the natural surroundings. They always draw some awe inspired sighs! “Wow”, and “Oh My God” are common expressions when our guests walk in.

We are proud of the photos that we have in our website, but the general consensus is that we need better photos. What we have does not do justice to our property! The truth is that we are proud of our jewel in the jungle. We love seeing the impression on our guests faces when they first arrive! It does make for great first impression! Of course, we work hard to keep that good impression throughout their stay.

So now you know… if you are looking for a special place in the tropical rain forests of Central America. Consider staying at La Villa de SoledadBed and Breakfast in Honduras. You will find that it is a true jewel in the jungle. Go ahead and book now, to make sure that you can enjoy this lovely paradise that we call home!

April 2 2016

Best of Atlantida, Best of Honduras, Best of the Bay Islands, Copan, National Parks, tourism in Honduras Atlantida, Bay Islands, Cangrejal River Valley, Copan, Copan ruinas, Guanaja, La Ceiba, Roatan, Tela, Utila

Honduras Travel, the New Honduras Travel Blog!

La Villa de Soledad B&B is happy to be associated to the new Honduras Travel Blog. This new site, which is the result of over 23 years of traveling around Honduras and being part of the tourism private sector in the country is yet one more effort to change the image of Honduras abroad and educate the potential traveler so that they can feel more secure and at ease when planning a trip and visiting Honduras!

This blog is meant to have a full, regularly updated section about the different destinations in the country, highlighting the different things to do, the unique National Parks to visit, as well as tips about where to stay, where to eat and how to be a better traveler within Honduras and Central America.

Honduras travel will also have regular travel posts, which will make up the blog, and share the experiences of someone who has traveled extensively throughout Central America. If you love Honduras, and feel that potential travelers are not getting a fair image of the country, pitch in, Honduras and the different tourism service entrepreneurs need all the help they can get!

Initially, Honduras Travel is offering information on the three most important and popular destinations in Honduras: Atlantida, with its hubs in the Cangrejal River, La Ceiba and Tela; The Bay Islands, including Guanaja, Roatan and Utila, and Copan, which includes Copan Ruinas and Santa Rosa de Copan. They will be expanding this initial limited information progressively, and are confident that they will soon become “The Travel Blog for Honduras”, with updated travel info on all of Honduras .

We are happy to share this breaking news with you, and invite you to visit the Honduras Travel web page and send Honduras Travel your comments and suggestions, as well as sharing the tips with your friends. They now have a facebook page as well as a twitter (@hondurastravel) account which you can follow. Surely Honduras Travel will become an important tool to market Honduras!

February 22 2016

Best of Central America, Best of Honduras, tourism in Honduras Cangrejal River Valley, Caribbean, Central America, Roatan, Utila

A asked our guests: Why Honduras?

I picked our guests from Victoria, British Colombia yesterday to bring them to La Villa de Soledad. After our brief, auto introduction to each other, I blurted out: Why Honduras? (Poor Honduras has such a bad, unfair reputation, that most travelers go out of their way not to visit us, so it is always interesting and learning to listen to the reasons they decided upon visiting Honduras.)

As it turns out, Lauren has been to pretty much the rest of Central America, however for her husband Tristan this is the first time to Central America. It turns out that Tristan wanted to visit the Caribbean, and Lauren wanted to visit Central America. This basically left two options: Belize and Honduras.

For the adventure traveler, there is just so much more to see and do in Honduras than in Belize that they quickly decided on visiting Honduras. With only a week to enjoy vacations in Honduras, they decided that La Ceiba and Roatan seemed like the ideal destinations. This is of course absolutely true. You can enjoy the best of tropical Central America around La Ceiba, especially along the Cangrejal River Valley, where hiking, zip line canopy tours, white water rafting and swimming in one of the most beautiful rivers in Central America are all possible and within walking distance of several different lodges and accommodations, including La Villa de Soledad B&B.

With only a 30 minute drive from the Cangrejal River to the port facility in La Ceiba, you can catch one of two daily departures from La Ceiba to both, Roatan and Utila, and be in an authentic, Caribbean setting within one hour if headed to Utila and 1½ hours if headed to Roatan! Diving in the Bay Islands is absolutely spectacular: you see the Bay Islands of Honduras are actually on the southernmost end of the Meso American Barrier Reef, the most biodiverse barrier coral reef in the World! It also offers the best preserved conditions in all of the Caribbean, allowing you to dive in near pristine conditions. Add the fact that Utila is world famous for its affordable prices to get scuba certified and to spot the majestic whale shark year round, and Roatan is famous for its spectacular West Bay beach and you find the perfect match! The above seems sum up the answer to my why Honduras question!

Best of all, Honduras is not overrun by tourists, you will enjoy hiking in trails in peace and quiet, snorkeling and diving with small groups, and most importantly, you will discover that Hondurans are friendly, charming people that will go out of their way to keep you safe and make memorable vacations out of your time in Honduras! Now you know why Honduras. No more reasons needed, hurry and book your Honduras trip before everyone discovers the truth about why Honduras is the best travel destination in Central America and the Caribbean!

January 6 2016

Best of Atlantida, hotels in la ceiba, National Parks Atlantida, award winning hotel in La Ceiba, Cangrejal River Valley, La Ceiba

Top Reasons to Travel to Atlantida:

Atlantida, the destination in Central America that offers the best National Parks in Central America, and the friendliest people in the region d is also the Gateway to the Bay Islands, the most popular Caribbean destination in Central America is probably the most complete destination in the Central American Isthmus.

You see, it is hard to get so many things into one single destination. This alone is certainly one of the top reasons to travel to Atlantida.

But here is a short list of a few other reasons to travel to Atlantida:

It is easy to get to! You can fly from the major gateways in the USA nonstop to San Pedro Sula and or Roatan International airports. From there you are just a short distance from the main hubs in Atlantida: Tela and La Ceiba.

Many people in Atlantida speak your language: English. You see, Atlantida began a swift development over 100 years ago, with the arrival of two competing US based fruit companies: United Fruit Brands (Chiquita Banana) and Standard Fruit Company (Dole). These companies brought in many English speaking executives and workers, and the locals also were quick to learn this second language. In addition, the proximity to the English speaking Bay Islands of Honduras has always encouraged locals to learning that second language!

There are a total of 8 protected areas within Atlantida. Of these, 7 are easily accessible to travelers. These areas are so diverse, that you will have a blast visiting the different habitats, and learning more about how they interact. They include rugged mountains completely covered with tropical rainforests, marine estuaries surrounded by mangrove forests, with both fresh and salt water canals, ideal for a diversity of land and marine life; and finally marine sanctuaries with some of the best preserved coral reefs in the Caribbean. You can choose between visiting any one of these or better, yet: all of them!

A magnificent white water river: the Cangrejal, which rushes rapidly from the high mountains of Pico Bonito and Nombre de Dios National Parks on its way towards the Caribbean Sea. Here, in the Cangrejal River Valley, you will find a variety of different lodging options, such as the award winning La Villa de Soledad B&B. Come and see it for yourself!

A port facility with regular ferry service to the Bay Islands of Utila and Roatan, both unique, and yet so very different between themselves! You choose which you prefer to visit, or better yet, visit them both!

Atlantida is a safe destination. Thousands of tourists visit it regularly, both to stay and explore Atlantida as well as on their way to the Bay Islands.

Traveling to and from Atlantida within the region is easy and affordable. With an international Airport in La Ceiba, the port facilities that give you access to the Bay Islands, and good paved highways that provide easy access to the region, there are also several different bus companies and tour operators that offer services between the area, including regular connections towards Antigua Guatemala, and Leon Nicaragua.

I believe the above are all good reasons to travel to Atlantida! You will find that you will Atlantida offers a great variety of activities and lodging options to choose from. It will certainly become a highlight of your trip to Central America.

December 3 2015

hotels in la ceiba, tourism in Honduras Cangrejal River Valley, La Ceiba, Nombre de Dios National Park, Pico Bonito National Park

Looking for the best small nature hotels in Honduras?

Honduras is one of the great nature destinations in Latin America. The fact that is located right in the heart of Central America, that narrow isthmus of land that connects both major American continents, and right on the Caribbean coast provides for a rich biodiversity and lush tropical vegetation.

Considering the above, it is no surprise that the Caribbean Coast offers the perfect setting for some of the best small nature hotels in Honduras. An area where you will find a variety of protected areas and national parks as well as some of the most beautiful and pristine jungle mountains in the Americas, including the famous Pico Bonito National Park. It is here, in this area known as Atlantida, where you can find the best small nature hotels in Honduras! Best of all, they are all easy to get to via the port city of La Ceiba, which is the gateway to the Bay Islands of Honduras.

Without doubt, the most famous of these small nature hotels is the Lodge at Pico Bonito, located just west of La Ceiba. The Lodge, a member of the small luxury hotels of the World, is truly a unique property where you will enjoy great bird watching, outstanding food, and great service. However, there are many other properties that easily qualify as some of the best small nature hotels in Honduras nearby.

Take for example, the Cangrejal River Valley. In a small area you will find different alternatives that include community owned lodges, charming and award winning boutique hotels and lodges and even a set of villas within a beautifully manicured tropical setting.

La Villa de Soledad B&B is one of the award winning properties in this area, and certainly qualifies as one of the best small nature hotels in Honduras. With a total of 5 unique, and distinctly appointed rooms, each with its own original artwork, private bathroom, terrace porch with hammock and direct access to the great outdoors of Nombre de Dios National Park, it is the perfect spot to relax in nature and enjoy the many diverse activities available at your doorstep.

November 19 2015

Best of Atlantida, Best of La Ceiba, tourism in Honduras, Tours in La Ceiba, World Heritage sites in Honduras Cangrejal River Valley, Chachahuate Cay, Garifuna, Nombre de Dios National Park, Pico Bonito National Park

Community Tourism in La Ceiba, great alternatives at a magnificent value!

Few Central American destinations offer such a great variety of options for community tourism as does La Ceiba! You see, La Ceiba is right on the Caribbean Coast of Central America, and is the gateway to the Bay Islands of Honduras. La Ceiba is the capital of Atlantida, the new up and coming destination that offers the most extensive alternatives for Honduras Travel!

The Garifuna culture is one of the brightest highlights in Atlantida, and for that matter, all of Honduras. This unique, Afro Antillean culture has been given the status of Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO. There are several places within the destination where you can experience the Garifuna community tourism in La Ceiba: The Garifuna villages of Corozal, and Sambo Creek are located only a few miles east of La Ceiba. You can easily drive to these communities and experience first hand the highlights of Community tourism in La Ceiba. For a more complete experience, consider traveling to the Cayos Cochinos Marine Reserve, a unique National Park that offers a pristine Caribbean setting with the added benefit of boasting the most authentic Garifuna community in the World: Chachahuate.

This small community lives on a tiny cay, with the same name: Cayo Chachahuate of Chachahuate Cay, a sand bar where you will find rustic cabins made of wood, thatched palms and a lively Garifuna community all set in a white sand beach completely surrounded by the turquoise blue Caribbean Sea!

For those looking for a full immersion in the Garifuna culture, you can even plan on staying on the very primitive and Spartan accommodations in Chachahuate, or you can also plan on staying at the Cabanas Laru Beja in East End, another small Garifuna community in the Cayos Cochinos, which offers much better facilities.

Cayos Cochinos is located a few miles off the coast of Sambo Creek, and can easily be seen from the mainland. Travel time to Cayos Cochinos is a mere 40 minutes is a motor boat, making a trip to the Hog Cays very easy!

Other options for community tourism in La Ceiba can be enjoyed in the Cangrejal River Valley, in the vicinity of the community of Las Mangas. Here you can visit a small rural community, sleep in their community owned cabins, and enjoy a series of hiking tours around Pico Bonito and Nombre de Dios National Parks. Visit a grass roots community organization, Guaruma that offers computing and environmental education to local kids, who will personally give you a tour through some of the trails they maintain!

Community Tourism in La Ceiba truly offers many different alternatives! Come and stay with us at La Villa de Soledad B&B and have a memorable experience interacting with the local communities!

November 13 2015

Best of Central America, Best of Honduras, Best of the Bay Islands Cangrejal River Valley, Caribbean, Central America, Roatan, Roatan Ferry

Are you dreaming about the perfect vacation?

A perfect vacation… We all work hard throughout the year to be able to take a much needed vacation. In addition more and more psychologists are saying that true happiness and well being is best provided by the pleasant experiences achieved during out times of travel. All this being said, it seems really important to be able to plan and enjoy the perfect vacation!

But where can we go to have the perfect vacation? Being able to visit different sites that complement each other is usually one of the top factors to take into consideration when planning the perfect vacation. But then you do not want to spend half of your vacation time traveling from one site to the other …

Nestled just off the coast of Central America, in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, you will find a beautiful small archipelago of islands known as the Bay Islands of Honduras. The largest and most developed of these islands is called Roatan. With a population of 60,000 souls, it has an international airport that is serviced by the most important US airlines, who offer flights from Miami, Atlanta, Dallas – Fort Worth and Houston. Flying time from these gateways is less than 2 ½ hours, making it a short, easy, and most of all affordable trip.

Roatan offers everything an idyllic Caribbean island is supposed to have: white sand beaches fringed with palm trees, friendly people, outstanding coral reefs that are truly healthy and unique, friendly people, beach bars and lovely island resorts. The one island drawback, the fact that it is an island and therefore somewhat isolated from other places does not apply to Roatan. You see there is a state of the art water jet catamaran ferry that runs twice daily between Roatan and mainland Central America, with a travel time of approximately 90 minutes!

Pico Bonito National Park: how to get there & What to expecto — Roatan Ferry arriving in La Ceiba

This means that getting to from Roatan to the coast of Central America is a “piece of cake” Within less than 20 minutes from the port in La Ceiba, you can find yourself in a true tropical paradise, where the rain forests of Central America are within majestic, green clad mountains, with cristal clear rivers and creeks rushing towards the nearby Caribbean. Truly the setting for the perfect vacation: Tropical paradise and Caribbean beaches… What more can you ask for? The Cangrejal River Valley offers outstanding lodging facilities, such as La Villa de Soledad Bed and Breakfast, a lovely, unique boutique hotel in the forests of Nombre de Dios National Park.

The setting in the mainland is ideal for white water rafting, zip line canopy tours, hiking in the rain forests and bird watching, amongst many other activities. Go ahead and plan the perfect vacations, come to Honduras, and have the vacation of a lifetime!

August 9 2015

Best of Atlantida Atlantida, Cangrejal River Valley

Atlantida Turistica Quality Seal awarded to Restaurants in Atlantida!

Visit Atlantida, the Destination Management Organization that is in charge of the development, marketing and growth of Destination Atlantida, has been steadily working for the past couple of years to upgrade the quality of the different establishments providing tourism services to travelers visiting our destination, which consists of the cities of Tela, La Ceiba and the Cangrejal River Valley.

Efforts have been concentrated in three different categories: restaurants, lodging and tour operators. The most advanced of these groups are the restaurants and it was precisely last Thursday, August 7^th when Visit Atlantida held an event in Tela to honor the first 30 eateries that have been awarded the Atlantida Turistica Quality seal.

The event took place in the century old accounting building of the Tela Railroad Company, the most historic building in Tela, which dates back to 1917. There a total of 30 businesses, including some of the most iconic resorts in Atlantida received their awards. It was a true pleasure to see the large resorts, such as Induras Beach and Golf Resort, Telamar Resort, La Ensenada, The Lodge at Pico Bonito, The Hotel Quinta Real and Palma Real Resort, all leading resorts in Atlantida, participate in the event. Even more so where a series of small family owned restaurants that have put their hearts and souls into achieving the leap towards quality receive this award.

Atlantida Turistica Quality Seal — Authorities of Visit Atlantida present the Atlantida Quality Seal

Within the Cangrejal River area, the Restaurante La Jungla at Omega Tours Jungle Lodge received this award. Our congratulations to Udo and Silvia from Omega Tours!

The lodging awards will soon follow, and we at La Villa de Soledad are striving to insure that we qualify for this important seal of quality. Keep your eyes open, we will be letting you know when the Atlantida Turistica Quality seal is awarded to lodges and tour operators within Atlantida that provide quality service!

July 20 2015

Best of La Ceiba, La Ceiba general information, National Parks Cangrejal River Valley

Planning on visiting and wondering what the do’s and don’ts when visiting La Ceiba you should be aware of?

Do plan to stay for several days and explore the surroundings. For locals, La Ceiba is a great party destination, but international tourists are most impressed with the variety of National Parks.

Do hire a local guide when visiting one of the national parks. Their fee is minimal, and even though their English might not be the best, they will help you spot interesting things along the trail, such as snakes and insects, or identify birds, such as the keel billed toucans that abound in the jungles of Pico Bonito and Nombre de Dios National Parks. In addition, by hiring a local guide, you are helping a local family to make a living by protecting the forest, rather than forcing him to cut it down to plant crops such as beans and corn for subsistence.

Do negotiate with your taxi before you get in. Although the local fair within town is 25 lempiras per person, it is always a good idea to set the fare before the trip begins. Keep in mind that taxis in La Ceiba are “colectivos” in other words, they may pick other people up. If you want a private service, you will have to pay him for the four seats available in the car. If this is the case, let him know that you want “servicio privado”. Even better, ask your hotel for a taxi they recommend and use him to get you around town and take you to the different places you wish to visit.

Do visit the Cangrejal River Valley. This is the perfect spot for adventure and nature activities. Even if it’s only to enjoy the natural swimming holes, you should make it a point of visiting this area that is only 6 miles out of town. If interested in nature and adventure, skip the downtown hotels and stay at one of the lodges in the Cangrejal River, you will be glad you did so! There are a total of 10 lodges in the Cangrejal River Valley, and there is surely one that will be a perfect match for you!

Do visit the hot springs at Sambo Creek. These are absolutely spectacular, and you will be glad you did visit them. You can combine your visit there with either a tour to the Cacao Lagoon, to Cayos Cochinos, or to the local canopy tour in Sambo Creek.

Do make use of your common sense! It is surprising how doing this will keep you out of harm’s way!

Don’t make the mistake of passing through La Ceiba on your way to the Bay Islands of Roatan and Utila and miss spending a couple of nights in the area. Although it is true you will never know what you have missed, it would be a real shame to be so close and completely miss it!

Don’t listen to the Bay Islanders when they say that La Ceiba is dangerous and you will be mugged. This is far from true, and it is just a gig by the islanders to keep you on the island spending your money there. Hey, the islands are great, but there are truly unique areas on the mainland that will blow your socks off! The Cangrejal River Valley is one of them!