Last year, 341 ships and more than one million cruises called in Roatán and other ports
By
Rebecca Gibson |
More than one million cruise passengers visited Honduras in 2016, a 14.7% rise from 2015, according to new statistics from the Honduran Institute of Tourism and the port authority.
Last year, a total of 341 ships called in Roatán and other cruise ports in Honduras. The ships came from various cruise lines and many of the itineraries originated in the US at ports such as Houston, Texas; Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida; and New Orleans, Louisiana.
While in Honduras, cruise guests can visit the Spanish colonial cities of Gracias and Comayagua, and the Mayan archaeological site of Copán (also a UNESCO World Heritage Site). They can also go kayaking, water skiing, sailing, wakeboarding, diving in Utila, whitewater rafting on Rio Cangrejal river, or snorkelling and scuba diving in Bay Islands to see whale sharks, mantas, wild dolphins, sea turtles and fish.
Honduras is also home to 91 protected natural areas and national parks; the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982; Lancetilla Botanical Gardens, the world’s second largest botanical garden; and the widest expanse of virgin rainforest north of the equator.