San Pedro Sula

Introduction

San Pedro Sula is the second biggest city in Honduras with around 1 million inhabitants. It is located in the northwest of the country and is a major gateway to the Caribbean islands and the Maya Ruins near Copan.

Note: The area around San Pedro Sula has had a reputation of being dangerous for both locals and tourists alike, and gang violence has earned the city the dubious distinction of "murder capital of the world" in recent years, beating out Ciudad Juárez. Just like everywhere in Honduras, common sense should be used. The Parque Central should be avoided at night. There are certain areas of the city, including neighborhoods in the outer parts of the city, which should be avoided even during the day, but these areas are off the tourists' trail.

Sights and Activities

• Museum of Anthropology & History - This museum has a selection of pre-Columbian pottery, grinders and other items up through colonial times. Some Spanish would be helpful since few items have English labels.
• People watching at Parque Central, the main square.

Events and Festivals

Feria Juniana

Held the last week of June in San Pedro Sula, this festival has a host of live musical performances, eating and drinking. The climax is a parade down the thoroughfare of Avenida Circunvalacion on June 29.

Weather

San Pedro Sula features a tropical savanna climate, with year-round relatively high temperatures and plentiful rainfall year-round. San Pedro Sula has experienced hurricanes and tropical storms and is prone to them during the hurricane season usually when the storms form in the southern part of the Caribbean or Western Africa.

Getting There

By Plane

Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (SAP) is the busiest airport in Honduras, slightly busier even than Toncontín International Airport near the capital Tegucigalpa, with around 600,000 passengers a year. It offers a wide range of domestic and international connections, including to most countries in Central America and cities in the USA like New York City, Atlanta, Miami and Houston.

By Bus

Bus service links it to other cities and towns in the country.

Getting Around

The centre is fairly compact and can be gotten around by foot; cars, taxis, and buses run around the city and the surrounding area. The airport is about 8-16 kilometres from the city centre, yet taxis are plentiful at the airport.

Eat

A few restaurants have sprung up recently: for meat try La Estancia and El Portal de La Carne. You can eat Mexican food in Cebollines and Fogoncito and for authentic Italian food try Tre Fratelli, Bel Paese and Dai Santi. All popular American fast food chains are available in the city, however, try Pollo Campero, a Guatemalan fried chicken chain and Pollos el Hondureño, autentic Honduran fast food chain. The Skandia cafe at the Grand Hotel Sula is open 24 hours with a good selection. Most selections are good but the rotissery chicken is great. Skip the scrambled eggs or omlets.

For a wide selection, go to City Mall food court with lots of choices, both US fast food and Honduran versions. Another great option only found in San Pedro Sula is Power Chicken, the most popular location right in front of the City Mall. Here you can try familiar food with a Honduran twist. Very good and very cheap.

Antojitos Mexicanos has 2 popular locations, one downtown in Central Park the other on the Circunvalacion near Zona Viva. Antojitos is one of the cheapest places to eat in the city, with Mexican style tacos, enchiladas, tortas and so on. The Circunvalacion branch has its own groups of Mariachis who strum and blow their stuff in the evenings for the patrons, nice place to eat cheap, drink a beer or two and to soak up some local atmosphere. Meal prices: US$2 to US$5.

Drink

San Pedro Sula is home to a lot of bars. A fun night can be had in Zona Viva going from bar to bar. A local favorite and fun place to hang out is La Cava in Barrio Los Andes 2 and 3 Calle, 16 Ave NO. Great Karaoke nights and occasional live music on the weekends packs the people in. Jerry the owner mixes a range or cocktails. Watch out for the Barcardi 121 or ask if he has some Guaro for a fire packed drink. There is a good selection of music and the patrons are always happy to have a chat.

Sleep

Learn

• University of San Pedro Sula

Keep Connected

Internet

No matter where you are in Honduras, you should find Internet access, either in a cafe, mall, or cybercafe. Most hotels, even hostels, have their own Internet service, and more and more are beginning to have Wi-Fi service. Roughly 90% of these hotels offer Wi-Fi for free, yet some international chain hotels in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, as well as a few resorts on Roatán, charge a fee that ranges between US$6 and US$15 per day. If the hotel does not have Internet service, the hotel staff can usually point out where to find it. Expect to pay approximately 20 lempira per hour.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The emergency numbers are 199 (police), 195 (ambulance) and 198 (fire). The international area code in Honduras is 504. All local phone numbers are eight digits, including the area code. Numbers either start with a 2 (landline) or a 9 (cellular).

Kiosks and convenience stores throughout Honduras sell phone cards with individual instructions on long-distance dialing, and phone booths at telephone centers will provide instructions on dialing.

Honduras's largest phone companies, such as Telefonica, operate on a GSM 850 or 1900 MHZ frequency, which several large North American carriers also use, though these frequencies are rare in other parts of the world. Any dual or multiband GSM cellphone will work in Honduras, but you might pay expensive roaming rates; it's better to buy a local SIM card and install it in your own cell phone for cheaper rates.
You can also rent a phone at kiosks located on the arrival level at the San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa airport; they are open daily from 6:00am to 9:00pm. Depending on your service, you may be able to insert your own SIM card, though you'll likely still pay regular roaming rates. Some cellphone companies in Honduras will rent phones with prepaid calling cards.

Post

Honducor is the country's national postal service. Post offices are open from Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm (though generally with a long lunch break) and on Saturday from 8:00am to noon. Sendings standard letters or postcards internationally start at around US$1 and take 10-14 days at least. You can get stamps at a post office and at some gift shops in large hotels. The Honduran postal service is renowned for being considerably more reliable than in other Central American nations, though if you are sending anything of value, it is still recommended to use an international courier service like DHL, UPS, TNT or FedEx, which have offices in larger cities.

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