About Utila

Utila is located around 20 miles off the north coast of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea. Every traveler by air or land will have to go through the mainland costal town of La Ceiba. Its the last easy step to 1-day of travelling flying over to the island or enjoying the 1.5hrs crossing by sea.

Utila is a different world to mainland Honduras because of the 300 year British influence on the Bay Islands. The island is mostly uninhabited except for the small fishing village of East Harbour with a population of around 6000. The main language on the island is English whereas mainland Honduras speaks Spanish. Historically Utila was largely a fishing and agrarian community. Its claim to fame is that Henry Morgan's treasure is allegedly buried somewhere on the Island.

The beaches are found west of town toward Blue Bayou. At Blue Bayou you can swing in a hammock, relax and enjoy the beach with a good book or snorkel on the reef just offshore. The Utila Cayes are just short boat trip away where you will find 11 palm studded islands surrounded by white sandy beaches.

Utila has only one main road lined with gingerbread houses in lively colored pastels. The village looks like it came from 1950. The locals are friendly and happy and love to welcome new visitors to their island. There are a number of services available including a telephone/fax office at Hondutel. Email and internet access services found at the Mango Tree Internet Cafe or Howell's Internet Cafe. Banking can be done at one of the two banks on the island, where cash advances, money exchange, and exchange of travel cheques can be processed. There is an official business lunch break (siesta) from 11:30am-1:30pm. Electrical power is provided by a new independent company called UPCO that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a great improvement since 2003 where previously town power was unreliable and operated only from 6am to 12am. There is a municipal government building found next to the ferry dock that can administer all visa and passport documents. A large well equipped clinic is located on the island as well as a dive injury trauma and recompression chamber facility.

Night Life

With such a diverse assortment of travelers from all around the world, as well as a sizable population of fun-loving locals, it's no surprise that Utila has a thriving nightlife. While the favored location depends on one's mood during the week, Friday night offers live music at the Bundu Cafe and later regularly sees a large crowd at Utila's infamous nightclub, Bar in the Bush, located a ten-minute walk from the centre of town. This spacious nightclub with an attached volleyball court has an unusually loose festive atmosphere, with a mixed variety of people enjoying the grooving music. The rest of the week sees people at Coco Loco or Tranquila Bar, the most popular bars on Utila. Tourists and locals alike meet here for sunset drinks after a hard day's diving on Utila, but as the sun goes down the tempo picks up at these ocean front bars.

When it comes to satisfying your hunger in Utila there is no shortage of options. From the baleada (Caribbean tortillas) stands on the street corner to a three course candle lit dinner in the secluded gardens of the Mango Inn, Utila caters for all tastes. Café Mango, located at the Mango Inn, is a great place for breakfast, lunch or dinner offering a wide variety on the menu from Italian style pastas to traditional Caribbean dishes.

The Bundu Café is popular for breakfast and it becomes somewhat of a social center for lunch. Fresh food, friendly staff and the best coffee in town make the Bundu Café one of the more popular cafes on the island, where you will find students and fun divers all discussing their morning's diving and plans for the afternoon. Their book exchange provides a large selection of books in many different languages and Water Cay trips can also be organized from here. Most evenings of the week offer a different style of cuisine and entertainment making it a popular hang out for food and drinks. Other restaurants include RJ's, open for dinner on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays offering great barbecued food, famous for their huge T-bone steaks and a selection of fresh fish. Mermaids is a buffet style restaurant, quick and good value for money. For fresh pasta and other homemade Italian dishes try Kate's Italian for a special evening meal with a bottle of wine or two, and for the biggest BBQ ribs on the island try Driftwood Cafe just before the municipal beach.

Just because you're on a small paradise island in the middle of the tropical Caribbean it doesn't mean you can't keep up with the latest movies; The Reef Cinema is a well-designed movie theatre showing two or three of the latest movies each week.