Things To Do in Tela
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Tela Attractions
Moving west from Tela along the coast, you will encounter the Garífuna communities of Triunfo de la Cruz, Tornabé, San Juan, La Ensenada, Río Tinto, and lastly Miami. The farther you get from Tela, the more traditional the villages become.
Miami, which sits on a small sandbar between the ocean and the Los Micos lagoon in Parque Nacional Jeannette Kawas/Punta Sal, is the most interesting to visit. Literally unchanged for 200 years, the village is completely comprised of thatched huts without electricity or running water. Local boatmen can paddle you out on dugout canoes or take you out on motorized boats into the lagoon. Once you reach the town, you can lounge on the empty white sand beach there or munch on fresh seafood from the informal restaurants the locals set up for tourists.
You can get to Miami with your own car, but the village is more commonly visited on tours to the national park with Garífuna Tours (tel. 504/2448-2904; www.garifunatours.com). The standard L55 park admission fee applies to entering the village.
- Park/Garden
Jardín Botánico Lancetilla
Lancetilla, the second largest tropical botanical garden in the world, was established in 1926 by American botanist William Popenoe, who was hired by United Fruit to research varieties of bananas and figure out how to best treat diseases found in the plantations. Popenoe was a… - Park/Garden
Parque Nacional Jeanette Kawas/Punta Sal
Parque Nacional Punta Sal was renamed after the Honduran activist and President of PROLANSATE, Jeannette Kawas Fernández, who was killed after establishing the park amid controversy from business groups who claimed the land. Few will argue, though, about the amazing biodiversity in… - Park/Garden
Refugio de Vida Silvestre Punta Izopo
Twelve kilometers (7 1/2 miles) from Tela on the eastern end of Tela Bay, Punta Izopo has a similar ecosystem to Jeannette Kawas, yet is far less visited. Here, the Lean and Hicaque rivers empty into the ocean in a maze of canals and lagoons sheltered by mangroves. The diverse…
Tela Shopping
A few souvenir shops are scattered around Tela Vieja. The best is Casa del Sol, a chain that is right in the Hotel Cesar Mariscos . For jewelry and crafts, try the vendors that line up on the boardwalk and also near the El Delfin restaurant and the beach at the Villas Telamar. A special buy are the coconut bars and pan de coco, or coconut bread, that roving Garífuna women sell from baskets that they carry on their heads.
Tela Nightlife
The sidewalk tables at Arrecifes on the boardwalk, just past Cesar Mariscos, attract an upscale young crowd who come for cheap mixed drinks, beer, and a kitchen that stays open late. The bar at El Delfin restaurant gets busy on the weekends, when there is occasionally live music. The Hotel Telamar property also boasts a small bar and disco that is usually filled with upper-crust locals and hotel guests. There is a smattering of discos in town, but all are a bit seedy. The most popular are Iguanas Sports Bar and Discotec (10a Calle NE and 2a Av. NE; no phone) and Yellowman (10a Calle NE and 2a Av. NE), next door to each other in the Zona Viva. Covers on Fridays and Saturdays are L100.
