To draw more tourists to its mainland, Honduras has recently been courting the cruise industry. The Central American nation already has a cruise destination on the island of Roatan, located about 30 miles off its northern coast. For many years, the jungle-cloaked isle has drawn cruisers seeking a remote getaway with gorgeous white beaches and astonishingly clear waters perfect for snorkeling. With a rich ecology and complex history, visitors to the island can enjoy a huge variety of fun and fascinating shore excursions.
To add to the options that cruisers can enjoy in the region, a private port known as Trujillo recently opened on the Honduran mainland at the spot where Christopher Columbus landed after one of his famous voyages to the New World. Throughout the fall, the new facility will host cruisers aboard the Norwegian Jewel, as well as those from ships from select other cruise lines. Visitors to this port—known as the Banana Coast—can try activities such as historical tours of a local fort, nature walks, white-water rafting, and other exciting excursions. Currently, Trujillo is only reachable by tender, though plans are in the works to develop it further so it can directly service ships dockside.
The intense growth of Honduras’ cruise offerings doesn’t end there, however. The country’s Minister of Tourism considers development of the local cruise industry to be a primary objective. For this reason, the government has announced a sizable investment in a port on Isla del Tigre off the Pacific Coast of Honduras. The site at Amapala already hosts a port, so the bulk of development there will simply involve adding facilities to support vacation cruises and tourism.
The new Honduran port at Amapala is slated to open in about two years—exciting news for ocean vacationers eager for a new and exotic way to experience Central American cruising!
