Home » Honduras » Honduras Shopping

Honduras Shopping, Honduras

Pawel Jaworski

Displayed: times.

Unlike neighboring Guatemala, Honduras is not known for its textiles. But it is gaining a reputation for its mahogany and cedar wood carvings (the small chests are especially beautiful) and for its primitive paintings of mountain villages. (The beauty of the paintings is often enhanced by hand-carved mahogany frames.) In the gift shop at the Copan ruins, you'll find small replicas of stelae, carved in stone, that are quite well done. You can also purchase jade jewelry, statues and other carvings that local artists have faithfully reproduced from artifacts recovered by archaeologists.

Imapro, an organization devoted to the preservation of traditional crafts, especially woodcarving, has opened a new, large showroom and sales center (TuriPlaza) in El Progreso, near San Pedro Sula. It is well stocked with a wide variety of high-quality handicrafts, including magnificent carved doors, screens and chests.

Expertly woven baskets and hats also are available throughout the country, as are quality leather goods. Honduras factories now make brand-name purses and other leather items and ship them to the U.S. Many name designers have their leather purses assembled in San Pedro Sula, where they are sold for reduced prices - without the designer name, of course.

You can also buy Honduran cigars, which rival those from Cuba in taste and quality. Cigars are made at the Royal Tobacco Factory, which was founded in 1765 and is not far from the town of Copan Ruinas. Cuban cigars also are readily available in many parts of the country, but do not try to take them back to the U.S. It is illegal.

Haggling over prices is not as popular in Honduras as it is elsewhere in Central America. Where prices are marked, a request for a precio mejor (better price) is likely to net at best a 10% descuenta (discount). If prices are not marked, expect to haggle for a somewhat, but not greatly, lower price. Be aware that the local shops recommended by tour operators and taxi drivers generally pay for the privilege. Prices at those shops may be somewhat higher than others.

Shopping Hours: Most stores open Monday-Friday between 8 and 9 am, close around 11:30 am or noon, reopen between 1 and 2 pm and close around 5 pm. On Saturday, they close at noon and don't reopen until Monday. In the largest cities (Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba), midday closing is slowly being abandoned, although many establishments still observe it.

Family-run stores, particularly those small-town mom-and-pop operations set up in the front room of the family home, generally open around 7 or 8 in the morning and close as late as 9 or 10 in the evening before the family retires for the night. Even when closed, they are often willing to open for a few minutes for polite travelers who shower them with the requisite dozen repetitions of por favor (please).

Banking Hours: Monday-Friday 9 am-3 or 4 pm. Some banks may stay open until 6 pm. Some may also be open 9 am-noon on Saturday