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We loved our time in Honduras. We took three weeks to explore the country and saw so many of the beautiful sights and met so many nice people. One of our favorite places in Honduras was Copan! It’s a super cute city with tons to see and do. To take the edge out of traveling in Honduras, we’ve put together this little guide to help you get from San Pedro Sula to Copan by bus.

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Step one: Getting from the airport to the bus station

Welcome to Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport! This airport was recently voted as being one of the best in Central America, so Hondurans are quite proud of this! The airport is quite clean and has a ton of shops and restaurants.

We have a few tips for you when you get to the airport. First, there is a bank where you can exchange your currency into Honduran Lempiras. We recommend you exchange about $50 to $100 as most of the transactions will require cash. Make sure you get small denominations. Often, the transactions you make here are quite small. A few companies and taxi drivers accept USD, so if you have some of those, you’ll be golden!

Next, get yourself a SIM card. They are not cheap, but we found they were quite worth it, especially considering that power outages happen quite frequently in Honduras. This will set you back about $30, for 10GB for 3 weeks.

Once you have your money and SIM card, just head outside the airport. There, you will find many taxi drivers waiting to take you around. They are white cars with their numbers written in black on the side. They will be congregating around you, trying to get you to pick them. Some will even try to take your bags from you. Not to steal them, but only to help convince you!

If you speak Spanish, cool! You can chat them up a bit before. If not, try to find one who speaks English. Most will know a few words but will be far from conversational.

If you want to try your Spanish out, just tell the driver ‘Quiero ir a la estación de autobuses por favor‘ (I want to go to the bus station, please). Then, ask them the cost ‘¿Cuánto cuesta ir a la estación de autobuses?‘. The key here is to agree on the price before getting in their car

The ride from the airport to the bus station is about 20 minutes long. It should cost you about $15-$20 USD for two people. Sometimes, they might charge a little more, if you’re a larger group. Often, the drivers will break down the cost per person. Again, just agree on the price before accepting to get in the car.

You can also choose to stay in San Pedro Sula when you arrive, depending on when your flight gets in. You can check out accommodations here.

Step two: Pick your bus company to go to Copan

Once you get to the bus station, don’t be alarmed. Yes, it’s a pretty big bus station. After all, you are in Honduras’ second-largest city! Also, don’t start to worry when you see a guard outside the main doors holding an assault rifle. This is quite common in Honduras. Even security guards at Walmart have these guns!

You’re in luck because there are a ton of daily busses that go from San Pedro Sula to Copan. So regardless of what time you get to the bus station, you’ll be able to get to Copan Ruinas easily. However, depending on when you get there, you may have to compromise on the level of comfort available to get you to Copan Ruinas.

Bus options from San Pedro Sula to Copan Ruinas

Just walk into the bus station, and check out the busses available going to Copan (or Copan Ruinas). There, you will have a few options.

Get to Copan with the fancy bus

The first is the most expensive, but also the quickest and comfiest. Hedman Alas is a well-known transporter in Honduras and Central America. Unfortunately, they only go to Copan once a day (at 10:45 am). So if you don’t get there on time, you’ve missed your chance and have to wait until the following day! If not, you can grab one of the cheaper busses like we did!

If you make it to the airport before 9 am, know that Hedman Alas does have a bus that leaves the airport, so you don’t have to go to the bus station. That bus leaves at 9:30 am. Tickets cost between $26 and $35 USD and you can get them online or in person. You’ll arrive in Copan by 1:30 pm, depending on construction and traffic.

The efficient way to get to Copan

We chose to take the cheaper, but not as efficient Casasola Express bus. It’s not quite a chicken bus (more on this later), but it’s not full luxury either. The bus was air-conditioned, and the seats were half comfy. The bus makes a few stops along the way, picking up locals, street vendors, and packages. We met so many nice locals on our bus. Some even invited us to come over for supper!

We found this option to be very safe, even with a guy sitting next to us with his child and machete in tow! We loved seeing how locals live and get around the country.

Our backpacks were placed on top of the bus, and we kept our day packs on us, with our valuables in them. The bus did get quite full, so we had to hold our bags on our laps, but it was fine. The whole ride took about 4-4.5 hours and cost us $9 USD each. Casasola Express has busses leaving every hour (Just make sure you check out their Facebook page to get more up-to-date news)

The cheapest way to get to Copan by bus

Finally, you can also choose to take a chicken bus. These are our old North American yellow busses that now get driven around Central and South America. You can check around the bus station to see their schedule and fares. Having taken them around Nicaragua, we can tell you that they are quite a trip, and yes, you’ll probably have a guy coming in with his chickens, but hey, that’s part of the fun!

Step three: Once you’re in Copan

After a long route, we were so happy to get to Copan. Our driver didn’t announce our arrival, but Copan is the end of the road, and all the other passengers left, so we understood it was our time to vacate the bus as well.

The entrance to Copan is the cutest, with its arch welcoming you into town. When you get there, you’ll have a ton of tuk-tuks (or moto-taxis) around asking you for a ride. If your luggage is heavy and your hotel is far, just hop onto one of the tuk-tuks. It will set you back about 20 lempiras per person (that’s pretty much what all rides around town cost). If not, you can just walk to your place.

Enjoy your time in Copan. It’s a very cute town, and it’s very walkable, although some streets are quite steep. The people here are very friendly and are always willing to help.

In terms of accommodations, you can find anything you want, from luxury hotels to cheap hostels. We recommend staying around Central Park to be as central as possible.

Getting from San Pedro Sula to Copan is quite easy. Even if you are in the “world’s most dangerous” country, there is nothing to fear. Just be as precautious as you would be anywhere, keeping your valuables close, and being aware of your surroundings.

Hopefully, our little guide here will help get rid of the stress that comes from traveling to a new country. And if you need more tips on how to make the best of your time in Honduras, check out our other articles.

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