Things To Do in La Ceiba
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La Ceiba Attractions
While there is little to do in the city, apart from visiting the Butterfly Museum, La Ceiba's coastal location and proximity to several national parks gives you plenty of options on how to spend your day. Besides the listings, refer to activities in Sambo Creek, Pico Bonito, and the Cayos Cochinos, which are all accessible on day trips.
La Ceiba Shopping
The best place for a wide selection of handicrafts, including Garífuna dolls, Lenca pottery, tribal textiles and jewelry, and other assorted items from around the region and country, is the Rain Forest Souvenir shop (Av. La Bastilla; tel. 504/2443-2917). Alternatively, Souvenir El Buen Amigo (tel. 504/2414-5504) sells a variety of handicrafts and regional items at their two locations, beside Expatriates Restaurant in Barrio El Iman and on Av. 14 de Julio, downtown. PiQ' Art Gallery (Av. Morazán, beside Farmacia Kielsa; tel. 504/2440-4041) sells paintings from Honduran artists, as well as assorted crafts and furniture. They just opened a small cafe and plan on turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, too.
The Mall Megaplaza, at Avenidas Morazán and 22a Calle, is home to North American chain stores, fast food restaurants, a movie theater, an Internet cafe, and a few banks. Visiting this mall makes for a completely un-Honduran experience, but there is air conditioning. It's open daily from 10am to 9pm.
Even if you don't buy anything, it's worth the effort to walk through La Ceiba's main rambling street market, where you'll find plenty of mouthwatering fruits and vegetables on display. Be sure to wash any in purified water before eating them, though. If you look hard enough, you'll find a baleada stand or two. For stuff like CDs, DVDs, shoes, sunglasses, beach towels, or crafts, look no further. The market is on 6a Calle and Avenidas 14 de Julio, and is open Monday to Saturday 6am to 5pm, Sunday 6am to noon. It costs L10 to L50 to enter the market grounds.
La Ceiba Nightlife
La Ceiba is known for its nightlife, though standards rise and fall. Most clubs are open from Wednesday or Thursday through Saturday from the afternoon until the early morning, and covers are generally L100 to L200. Several new clubs, almost all side-by-side on 1 Calle in the Zona Viva, have upped the quality of La Ceiba's nightlife considerably. At last check, the places to be were at Le Pacha (no phone), a large tented lounge and disco with beach frontage, as well as Hibou (tel. 504/2440-1700), a multi-part club on the beach at Avenidas Bonilla, with a full-on disco and raised dance floor, several bars, and DJs blasting the latest Top 40 reggaeton and rock tracks. La Palapa (tel. 504/2443-3844), behind the Quinta Real, is popular with visitors and upscale Hondurans who want to eat and drink with a group of friends but don't want to stand in a crowded disco. There's occasionally live music. On the other side of the Quinta Real are a few, somewhat seedier, bars on the beachfront such as El Guapo and Snake Bar.
There is a cluster of discos and grungy multi-level bars in the Zona Viva on Calle 1a, like Mango Tango (no phone), that can be good for a drink or two, though the crowd varies, depending on the night.
