When most travelers discussed Honduras plans with me, it was always about the route they would take to avoid the country. My husband and I just spent two months traveling all around Honduras, both the mainland and a couple of islands, with our 6-year-old twin boys and our 3-year-old girl. Here’s our experience of this so-called ‘dangerous’ place:
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Everyone Told Me It Was Dangerous to Take My Kids to Honduras. Here’s Why We Can’t Wait to Go Back
Yes, Latin American countries are known to be kid-friendly, but…
Sorry, no “but” here. While you might hear that Honduras is one of the most dangerous tourist destinations in the world, we felt no hint of danger there. Nada. Nunca. Not even once. Instead, locals consistently stopped to ask us if we needed any help. They warmly asked us where we were from, where we were going, what had we seen of their country. Hondurans wanted to talk to us. They wanted get to know us and the kids. They wanted to show us that we didn’t need to be afraid of their country. We felt at all times like our family was sincerely cared about and looked after.
We got invited to parties from the start.
As we arrived at the East End in Roatan, we were advised that there was going to be a kid’s party on the beach and we would be welcome to join in. The party was for a cutie celebrating turning one, and the guest list included everyone from expats to tourists to islanders, each with an interesting story, and each with a joyful presence. The day ended with new friends and even more social invitations.
My kids encouraged me to be more active and in touch with nature here.
Whether scuba diving, snorkeling, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, jet-skiing, fly-boarding, fishing, zip-lining, hiking, horse riding, bird watching, river rafting or Mayan pyramid exploring, the kids wanted to do it. While my kids are still too young to scuba dive, my eldest twin insisted that I go diving so that I could tell him everything about it.
Honduras has so much to offer in terms of adventures in various national parks, rivers, lakes, Caribbean islands, white-sand cayos and the second largest barrier reef in the world. We were definitely more in tune (and in awe) with nature during our time with the kids in Honduras. The active days meant that we were asleep not long after sunset and that we all woke to multi-layered birdsong early and ready for the new day.
Honduras opened my kids’ eyes to friendships of all ages.
We had wonderful experiences of young men in their 20s spending hours chatting with and encouraging our kids. Also, watching our three play with other children fishing from the docks, watching attentively on how to clean out a fish, skipping rope on the sand, fashioning toys from sticks and appreciating rocks and stones has given us a lesson on the beauty of simplicity. We noted the leaps they took in becoming more independent in Honduras.
Had we not had children with us, our experiences and exchanges would have been a little flat, a little too conventional. I don’t think my husband and I would have journeyed nearly as interesting a path around Honduras without the children. 