Tours and Excursions in La Ceiba

Butterfly and Insect Museum, Tropical Butterfly Farm and Gardens, Swinford Park

Tour Operators and Hotels

Museums

Although La Ceiba is a relatively small city, there are a couple of great options for those interested in visiting local museums and exhibits to see more of our natural surroundings and a bit of our local history.

Butterfly and Insect Museum

A new option in La Ceiba, this private museum offers an exhibit of over 14,000 butterflies and other insects from 113 countries, over 9000 are from Honduras! Specimens include the biggest of the World and the most brilliant, shiny blues. Open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. Evenings and Sundays by appointment at 442-2874 or 982-9261. Exhibits include butterfly traps, information posters, night collecting set ups and 25 minute videos on insects in both English and Spanish. Located in the Colonia El Sauce, Segunda Etapa, Casa G-12, 3 blocks south of the Hotel La Quinta. Well worth a visit. Has air conditioning.

Tropical Butterfly Farm and Gardens

Imagine yourself walking through a rainbow and you'll find yourself walking through the Butterfly House at the Tropical Butterfly Farm and Gardens, one of La Ceiba's most popular attractions. The farm is situated at the base of Pico Bonito National Park in the environs of The Lodge at Pico Bonito, within a working coffee and cacao plantation. Each visitor receives a guided tour of the breeding facilities where each step in a butterfly life cycle can be observed in detail. One first visits the nursery where the larval host plants are cultivated. The next stop is the Larvae House, where the larvae can be seen feeding and forming pupae. The final stop is the 4,000 sq. ft. Butterfly House, where a myriad of tropical butterflies flutter about. Inside they feed on the flower nectar and fruits, mate and lay eggs. Open from Wednesday to Sunday from 8:00 to 4:00. The butterfly farm is located at the new Lodge at Pico Bonito at the El Pino Village, about 25 minutes west of La Ceiba. Follow the signs on the road leading west towards Tela, you can’t miss it! A serpentarium is also open adjacent to the butterfly facility, with an exhibit of about 20 snakes and reptiles, including boas, fer-de-lance, eye-lash vipers and more. Much educational material will be available.

Swinford Park

Although more of a nice park than a museum, this attraction is located in the Masapan district of town and has a nice exhibit of old railroad locomotives and wagons that were part of the Standard Fruit Co. Railroad and were used during the golden years of the Banana Company. The park is maintained by the Standard Fruit Company, which is part of Dole and still has large plantations of fruits for export in Honduras. Another nice aspect of the park is a collection of tropical plants in a garden that is always impeccably groomed.

Tour Operators and Hotels

Several tour operators offer trips into the park, which range from one day to overnight trips with camping. Your best bets for tours within the area are La Moskitia Ecoaventuras, Omega Tours, Tourist Options, Jungle River, and Garifuna Tours.

The Lodge at Pico Bonito, located in near the community of El Pino has earned international recognition and is considered one of the 10 best eco-lodges in the world, is a member of the select Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotel marketing chain, and offers luxury accomadations with spectacular views in a natural setting. Their food has also gained recognition as outstanding. Tours through their private trails into Pico Bonito National Park can be arranged by calling 440 0389, 991 3183, 440 0388.

Omega Tours has a jungle lodge / guesthouse in the area, located up the road to Yaruca, just before El Naranjo on the Cangrejal River. They offer a variety of accomadation options in their lodge. Two new private rooms offer the best deal for their price on the Cangrejal, with a stunning view of the forest, twin level accomadation and a cozy bathroom that will make you want to take long showers. These rooms go for around $80.00 US per night and are well worth it! The rest of their installations are basic but comfortable, and give you the advantage of being up next to the park to better enjoy the wildlife and nature of the area. Omega Tours Jungle Lodge has a nice full-fledged restaurant operation on weekends with a good variety of options for lunch including wine. The phone numbers of all the above operators are located in the directory under tour operators in La Ceiba.

Jungle River also has a jungle lodge facility with basic accommodations. The Jungle River Lodge offers 6 basic rooms with clean shared bathroom facilities, beautiful natural pools fed by mountain spring water all in a jungle style, riverfront property looking directly at the Pico Bonito National Park. The Coco & Bamboo Bar and Restaurant at the Jungle River Lodge is set right on the banks of Cangrejal River. They serve one meal at a time with a vegetarian option. Home made bread, fresh fruits and juices and great salads are all available. A fantastic romantic setting with its candle lit ambiance at night and a great family setting during the day!

La Moskitia Ecoaventuras is opening a base campground in El Naranjo, right on the river where camping facilities are available.

New cabins located at the Las Mangas community offer a notch above the Spartan back-packers accomdations at Jungle River and Omega Tours. Cabanas Aventuras del Bosque has 6 basic rooms with private bath, a restaurant, and bar with spectacular views at very affordable prices. They also have a dorm style room for those looking for more economical options.