Trujillo-Banana Coast, Honduras

[Javelina87]

Hi Everyone,

 

I depart Saturday, October 11th on the Jewell. I will try to see what others enjoy during our visit to Trujillo (October 15th) and report back to you.

 

Larry

Thanks, Larry. We leave 11/1 so I'm looking forward to the info you will have to share.

[jenysmarin]

anyone signing up for the Banana Beach Resort pass? I am considering it because of the pools and i have two children but also considering Tranquility Bay because of their animals. Guess really looking for the one that would be more enjoyable for the kids as well as the parents.

[Caribbean George]

Hey Everyone,

 

I have been traveling for some years to Roatan , Copan and recently to Trujillo as well. There are few other options out there when it comes to locals and tours, the main issue is that the port is privately owned therefore the owner of the port has tried to tie down all tours through his tour company from what I gathered a few months ago that I was down there and with online monopoly comes higher prices.

 

A bit of information about Trujillo since you wont find much on the net. Trujillo is a small town not much going on there, they have some historical sites and beautiful beaches lots of eco -stuff to do such as nature trails, horse back riding and you get the picture. Ive been to the new port and its a bit on the small side for my taste and not much going on inside yet. I would definitely recommend going to downtown trying some of the local food especially the traditional conch soup. There are a few restaurants in town but I've never been disappointed with my meals in town.

 

The best hotel around is called the Columbus, Banana Beach is nice as well the rest are a bit more like motels for my taste. Im not much into the rustic charm but to each its own.

 

Here are a couple links that with articles and tours from a few with online presence. Dont expect to find WIFI everywhere in Trujillo since electricity and cel coverage is very sporadic. I hear there are several tour operators from Roatan which I have used will soon be offering their services in Trujillo such as MC Tours and John Bodden tours. You will surely find independent operators outside but take your translators since english is not widely spoken in Trujillo as it is in Roatan. Most of the independent tour company owners do happen to be expats mostly Canadian.

 

 

http://www.honduras.com/trujillo/

 

http://www.trujillohonduras.com/tourism.htm

 

http://www.hondurasconcierges.com

 

http://www.bananacoasttours.net/

 

 

Any questions you might have or if you need any suggestions glad to help !

[Rudyard]

Thanks for posting :)

[Grand & Nana]

Hey Everyone,

 

I have been traveling for some years to Roatan , Copan and recently to Trujillo as well. There are few other options out there when it comes to locals and tours, the main issue is that the port is privately owned therefore the owner of the port has tried to tie down all tours through his tour company from what I gathered a few months ago that I was down there and with online monopoly comes higher prices.

 

A bit of information about Trujillo since you wont find much on the net. Trujillo is a small town not much going on there, they have some historical sites and beautiful beaches lots of eco -stuff to do such as nature trails, horse back riding and you get the picture. Ive been to the new port and its a bit on the small side for my taste and not much going on inside yet. I would definitely recommend going to downtown trying some of the local food especially the traditional conch soup. There are a few restaurants in town but I've never been disappointed with my meals in town.

 

The best hotel around is called the Columbus, Banana Beach is nice as well the rest are a bit more like motels for my taste. Im not much into the rustic charm but to each its own.

 

Here are a couple links that with articles and tours from a few with online presence. Dont expect to find WIFI everywhere in Trujillo since electricity and cel coverage is very sporadic. I hear there are several tour operators from Roatan which I have used will soon be offering their services in Trujillo such as MC Tours and John Bodden tours. You will surely find independent operators outside but take your translators since english is not widely spoken in Trujillo as it is in Roatan. Most of the independent tour company owners do happen to be expats mostly Canadian.

 

 

http://www.honduras.com/trujillo/

 

http://www.trujillohonduras.com/tourism.htm

 

http://www.hondurasconcierges.com

 

http://www.bananacoasttours.net/

 

 

Any questions you might have or if you need any suggestions glad to help !

 

 

I received email correspondence (yesterday) from Linda, who is originally from Canada and owner of Tranquility Bay Beach Retreat. Yes, the town of Trujillo is scrambling in preparation for all the cruise ships scheduled to begin arriving in October. Yes, the cruise lines have a monopoly on most businesses in the port - very few independents. I could ask, but the only known beach is the public park that closes when the ships are in port, and the park becomes a beach for ship excursions.

 

I'm happy we prepaid a day @ Tranquility (in December) based on what I've researched and found online. My communications with Linda has escalated from general business to learning about some of their staff and their children, adding a personal touch. Linda will answer any questions, that's how one thing has led to another in our communications. My only concern about this visit is that our 3 and 5 year old grandkids will try to stuff Chimi (a resident & pet monkey) in their backpacks, to smuggle home.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Grand & Nana

[danfiveoh]

George:

Is there a public beach near the cruise ship dock or is the only one the park that will be closed to only the ship excursions?

[Caribbean George]

@danfiveoh there are plenty public beaches nearby! Trujillo is a small town and it doesn't take much to cross it from one end to the other. Tranquility Bay, Banana Beach , Cristopher Colombus and many other "resort" have their "private beaches" but you could easily go to the beach next to the resorts if you find an access road to the beach for free. With that being said Trujillo is all a big public beach.

 

granted there are pros and cons to this it just depends the type of traveler you personally are. When I cruise I enjoy being on my time schedule and getting to know what I want to know not what the pre arranged tour wants me to see, but thats just me. Some people like having the sense of security of a pre arranged tour and that is ok as well, in that case my recommendation would be Banana Beach or Tranquility Bay, Campo del Mar is being sold exclusively through the ship and its nice but not nicer that the other two ive mentioned and much more expensive. If you dont want a pre arranged tour, get off the boat and get some transportation there or simply pre arrange transportation for the day online.

 

Hope that helped

[danfiveoh]

Great help George, thanks for the info!

[tanyaheart]

Hello All,

 

We are on the Jewel leaving Houston on Nov. 29th. We have reserved the 3 bedroom condo with hot tub, roof top terrace & mini bar at the Banana Beach Resort. The reservation is for Tuesday, Dec. 2nd so that we can access the condo as soon as we get in to port. Check out is at 3p. Rental for the condo is $183 divided by 3 couples - $30.50 per person. Banana Beach Resort is providing transportation to and from the ship. We will enjoy a day in a regular sized space on the beach unlike our inside cabin on the Jewel. There are 3 pools, bar and restaurant, as well. The owners are from Texas. We cannot wait!:D

[Rn2travel]

Just following this thread for notifications and info.

 

We will be on the Jewel leaving Houston 11/14/2014 so looking for something to do on Trujillo. Was looking at the excursions offered by NCL but don't really want to spend $60 each for a few hours on the beach. My daughter read that a beach and several restaurants were within walking distance of port but after reading some of these posts I am wondering if all the beaches will be closed on port day and the only option is one of the ship's excursions.

 

Appreciate any updated information.

[themiamicruiser]

Just booked an all inclusive with unlimited beer and drinks for me and my group of 12 from one of the links above. Did something similar in Roatan a few months back and worked out perfectly it has lunch , transport and booze all included to a private beach for 75 bucks a person. Ill write up a follow up on Saturday when I get back

[PatnJudy]

There is no way i would pay $75/person for an all inclusive beer/drinks and a meal day. Sorry, but just is NOT happening.

[tanyaheart]

There is no way i would pay $75/person for an all inclusive beer/drinks and a meal day. Sorry, but just is NOT happening.

 

 

I've paid $40 before and I felt that was fair. $75 is pretty high.

[Rn2travel]

There is no way i would pay $75/person for an all inclusive beer/drinks and a meal day. Sorry, but just is NOT happening.

 

Me either! Same as purchasing the alcoholic beverage package on board. That would be about 10 daquri's a day way over my limit of 1 or sometimes none a day. But I guess it would benefit some people, just not for me!

[tanyaheart]

Me either! Same as purchasing the alcoholic beverage package on board. That would be about 10 daquri's a day way over my limit of 1 or sometimes none a day. But I guess it would benefit some people, just not for me!

 

The drink package is more than what we paid for the cruise.

[Rn2travel]

Hi Everyone,

 

I depart Saturday, October 11th on the Jewell. I will try to see what others enjoy during our visit to Trujillo (October 15th) and report back to you.

 

Larry

 

Please do! We will be cruising 11/15/2014 and will welcome first hand information. Thanks!

[Rn2travel]

The drink package is more than what we paid for the cruise.

 

I know, that is crazy!

[mollygirl61]

Nancy I am following with interest your questions, as we are also on the Jewel in December. We are 11, with 6 of them young adults probably interested in some more exciting excursions than the more sedate older ones. We may be interested in joining in something on Belize, and are looking at Honduras for options. Please keep me posted! Molly

[lifes-a-beach]

hey tanyaheart, how did you contact them? ive emailed twice and the emails failed each time. thanks for the help.

 

Hello All,

 

We are on the Jewel leaving Houston on Nov. 29th. We have reserved the 3 bedroom condo with hot tub, roof top terrace & mini bar at the Banana Beach Resort. The reservation is for Tuesday, Dec. 2nd so that we can access the condo as soon as we get in to port. Check out is at 3p. Rental for the condo is $183 divided by 3 couples - $30.50 per person. Banana Beach Resort is providing transportation to and from the ship. We will enjoy a day in a regular sized space on the beach unlike our inside cabin on the Jewel. There are 3 pools, bar and restaurant, as well. The owners are from Texas. We cannot wait!:D

[Grand & Nana]

Nancy I am following with interest your questions, as we are also on the Jewel in December. We are 11, with 6 of them young adults probably interested in some more exciting excursions than the more sedate older ones. We may be interested in joining in something on Belize, and are looking at Honduras for options. Please keep me posted! Molly

 

 

Hi Molly. If you go to the Jewel Roll Call for your date, you may find others who are forming groups...our sail date is December 27th. We also have a wide range of ages in our group of 11 (3 to 69):

 

Cozumel: we prepaid the Royal Dolphin Swim and Manatee Swim in January - we're planning a day at Chankanaab Park

 

Belize: I'll be joining my DD-in law with my 2 GDs for cave tubing with cavetubing.bz....I've posted on the CC board to form a private group w/van and a special discount for a group of 10 or more @ $40pp.

 

7 in our group (ages 15 to 69) are going with Cavetubing.com for cave tubing and ATVing (which I would love to do, but with a 3 & 5 yr. old...we have do separate tours). If they would of liked zip lining, I would have selected Charlie or .bz Price: $70pp for the combo with 5 or more.

 

Banana Coast: we rented a cabana for the day on a secluded beach. Tranquility Bay Beach Retreat is private, not affiliated with the cruise lines and they ONLY offer 20 day passes per day, so we booked a cabana (for two free day passes) and purchased 9 day passes @ $20pp. This port is new so they're scrambling to get tours in place, however; the majority have committed to the cruise lines...I've heard that Bodden Tours is private and is beginning to form tours so as far as I know, not many options at the time we booked our private excursion.

 

If you're sailing the 27th, please go to this cruise date for details...we'd love to have you join us in Belize.

 

Nancy

Edited October 13, 2014 by Grand & Nana

[mollygirl61]

Nancy, thanks for the reply. We are sailing the 27th also, with my mom for her upcoming 85th bd, my brother and gf and their 5 kids, ranging from 31 - 16, and my husband and I with our 16 year old. The 16 year olds are both girls, so a little boy company would probably make them smile!!

I will look for the other thread and join up there. I think the cave tubing in Belize looks great for many of us.

[kabbie]

Banana Coast: we rented a cabana for the day on a secluded beach. Tranquility Bay Beach Retreat is private, not affiliated with the cruise lines and they ONLY offer 20 day passes per day, so we booked a cabana (for two free day passes) and purchased 9 day passes @ $20pp.

Nancy

 

Hi! I'm on a different Jewel sailing, but also going to Tranquility Bay. I'm curious about the transportation options that are being offered. I've heard that I'm looking at $15 per person which is rather high I thought.

 

Anyone heard about taxi costs in Trujillo?

 

Thanks!

[Grand & Nana]

Hi! I'm on a different Jewel sailing, but also going to Tranquility Bay. I'm curious about the transportation options that are being offered. I've heard that I'm looking at $15 per person which is rather high I thought.

 

Anyone heard about taxi costs in Trujillo?

 

Thanks!

 

Ouch! Where did you hear $15pp?? I was told approx. $15 for a cab with 4 to 5 people per cab? An October group is meeting Larry (owner) about a block away from the port at a nearby restaurant, and they're being transported by boat (easier & faster by water). But no reference to the cost. I would write a note to Tranquility Bay Beach Retreat for the answers. We're booked for December so it's a ways off for us...so you may need an answer sooner.

[kabbie]

Ouch! Where did you hear $15pp?? I was told approx. $15 for a cab with 4 to 5 people per cab? An October group is meeting Larry (owner) about a block away from the port at a nearby restaurant, and they're being transported by boat (easier & faster by water). But no reference to the cost. I would write a note to Tranquility Bay Beach Retreat for the answers. We're booked for December so it's a ways off for us...so you may need an answer sooner.

 

The $15 per person is actually quoted from Larry with Tranquility for the boat ride. I'm going to wait to hear more from those that are on the October sailings about how the taxis are.

[Grand & Nana]

The $15 per person is actually quoted from Larry with Tranquility for the boat ride. I'm going to wait to hear more from those that are on the October sailings about how the taxis are.

 

Wow, I'm sending them a note - who can afford $15pp...we're a group of 11 and we have budgeted $25 r/t per cab. They communicated that the taxi fare was $8 - $10 each way. No reference to per person. I've never known a cab to charge pp so I never questioned it. I'll keep you posted.

 

Nancy