Copan Ruinas Cheap Travel Guide
The Honduran village of Copan Ruinas lays 12km south of the Guatemalan border and three hours west of San Pedro Sula. This town is often just referred to as “Copan,” as its namesake is the great Mayan ruins of the same name, which are around a kilometer outside of the village. This is a tourist town, and if you take the easy route to visiting you will have to spend far more than a vagabond’s fare. These fieldnotes are intended to help you travel through this great little village on less than $10 a day.
Cheap Travel Map of Copan:
Click the above Copan map to make it bigger. Be sure to print it out. Eating in Copan Ruinas:
Finding cheap, good food in Copan Ruinas can be a little challenging, but, like most tourist towns, there are local alternatives outside of the expensive central area. The village is built around a central plaza with a big Catholic church. But though this central area is an interesting place to while away some hours just chatting and hanging out, it is not a good place to find cheap food. Rather, there are two restaurants outside of town in which you can get a great plate of grub for half the price of the tourist restaurants.
Tacon Tento Restaurant:
One restaurant is called Tacon Tento and is located around a kilometer from the city center on Street. Just walk from the central park east passed the church until you get to the next street and then take a left. From here walk up the hill for around ten minutes and the restaurant is on the right hand side. Just look for a small sign with a smiley face painted on it. The restaurant sort of looks like a garage and is painted yellow. Look at the below photo. Tacon Tento serves empanadas of beans, chicken, and squash in the morning (until 11 AM) and dishes of fried chicken (pollo) and porkchops (chuletas) throughout the rest of the day. Each of the dinner dishes comes with a salad and fried bananas and the breakfast empanadas come with cabbage and spicy vegetables. Closed on Sunday.
Prices: 6 Lempira (35 cents) per empanada
35 Lempira ($2) for a chicken dish with salad and bananas
40 Lempira ($2.25) for a porkchop dish with salad and bananas
5 Lempira for coffee
15 for a refresco natural
Below are photos of the Tacon Tento restaurant in Copan Ruinas and a plate of the chicken that they serve, just look for the smiley face on the sign.
Dona Elena Bed and Breakfast Restaurant:
Another cheap and really good restaurant is the Dona Elena Bed and Breakfast. Keep in mind that this is not a restaurant proper and does not even have a sign on the door. It is more of an eating house that serves local workers lunch. But Dona Elena told me to tell all of my friends to come on over, so I will. These lunches are by far the best in town and Dona Elena is a wonderful host. There is not much choice of what you can order, just take whatever she gives you and eat it. The meals will be excellent, and plentiful. You will get filled up here. Don’t complain, don’t be picky, and do not ruin this ace in the hole eating house for other travelers. As of now, the Dona Elena Bed and Breakfast is not a formal restaurant, but I think that they will soon expand. I think that she is only open only for lunch, but if you request dinner, I am sure that she will cook for you. She often has foreign students from the Guacamaya Spanish school staying with her, so she is use to providing food to travelers. Get there around noon if you want food. Nice people.
Directions: Walk north from the Central Park on Ave. Centro Americano for around 10 minutes. It is a big yellow building on the right hand side. Refer to the below photos and the map (maybe print out the map?). Enter through the door of the big yellow house that has the name Gonzales-Melchor written over it. Introduce yourself and enjoy a good meal.
Price: 30 Lempira ($1.70) for a big plate of good food, as much tortilla bread as you want, and refresco natural. Best eating in town.
Below are photos of Dona Elena Bed and Breakfast in Copan:
The above photo is of the intersection that you turn off on to get to Dona Elena's bed and Breakfast.Chrispy Chicken:
Cheapest beer in Copan Ruinas. 17 Lempira for local Honduran beer. Next door to the Guacamaya Spanish school. Refer to the above map for directions, or just walk north on Ave. Copan passed the Manzana Verde Hostel and then turn right (do not walk up the dirt road). Chispi Pollo is on the left.
Cheap places to sleep in Copan Ruinas:
Hotel accommodation seems to be expensive in Copan Ruinas. My advice is to get a dorm bed at En la Manzana Verde hostel for $4. This seems to be the cheapest bed in town. This hostel is located on Ave. Copan a block and a half north of the central park. It is on the left hand side. May have to ring the bell to enter. It is run by the same Belgians who own Café Via Via which sends out a horrid barrage of awful Euro-trash dance music on a nightly basis. Hopefully they are not playing any music in the hostel. Beware. This music is awful.
The Dona Elena Bed and Breakfast also has rooms that are available to rent on a nightly, weekly or monthly basis. They are nice places and cheap. For a room with a private bathroom the cost is 150 Lempira ($8) a day, for a room with a public bathroom, 100 Lempira ($5.50). You cannot find a room any cheaper than this in Copan.
So there you have it: A cheap travel guide to Copan Ruinas. If you have anything to add to this information please comment below. Thank you.
Walk Slow,
Wade from Vagabond Journey.com
Copan Ruinas, Honduras
March 24, 2008
Please read my blog, Song of the Open Road and look at my travel photos on Traveler Photographs.com
