Page 3 of 4 Airport and Boat Dock at La Ceiba
An hour north of Tela is the significantly larger city of La Ceiba. La Ceiba has an airport and is the main launching point for boats to the bay islands.
The airport was actually our destination, as we were planning on going directly to Utila, the smaller of the three islands off the coast of La Ceiba. The airport is before the actual town, so make sure you tell the driver you need to go there.
The airport is smaller than we expected, with fairly old planes strewn about, but quite modern inside the terminal. On a side note, the airport terminal isn’t air conditioned, but the airport bar sure is. Go in and pay twice the normal price for a drink, but you’ll need it after you find out the rest of the planes out this week are full. There are two airlines that service Utila. They both run two flights a day, and from what we could gather, are always full.
The other (and significantly cheaper) way to get to the islands is on a ferry. The one daily ferry leaves for Utila at 10am and the cost is $10 USD. We inquired as to renting a boat’s services, the man at the dock said that he would do it for $140 USD – way too much for our budget. We were obviously stuck in La Ceiba overnight….what a pity.
Sunset in La Ceiba, looking over the Caribbean Sea
Sometimes things in life are just meant to happen and this failure to get to Utila resulted in some of the best memories of our trip. The taxi dropped us off in front of a bar called Cric Cric, within sight of the beach. We immediately were invited upstairs by a couple of guys, who put us in that place that all traveler’s know…the place between trust and suspicion, where trusting can lead to bad situations.
The bar was like a tree house, with narrow circular stars to the top, and provided a wonderful view of the city. Undaunted, we bounded up the stairs to see about 8 guys at two tables, drinking beers. We put down our gear and ordered a couple beers.
Lodging in La Ceiba
The loud guy was hispanic, but with a Caribbean flare, and immediately likable. He and his cousin, who was fully Carib, worked for an Australian guy who ran a private hotel on the beach named Cabanas del Caribe Dantillo. It was only 5 USD per night and there were cheap, filling meals if we wanted them. This sounded too good to be true, and possibly a scam, but our guts said go with it. There story was validated by a Brit named David, who had stayed there the previous night.
Dantillo Cabanas on the Caribbean
And here’s the kicker. As part of the cost, we would have Cardie and Doyle and their car, as chauffeurs. We drove a ways off the beaten path, until at one point, we were having second thoughts, and thought our end was near. But eventually, we turned into a drive and up emerged a wonderful seaside bungalow hotel , the Cabanas del Caribe Dantillo.