Honduras Info
Joined: 16 Nov 2006
Posts: 17
Home Country: honduras
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 Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 4:18 am Post subject: SHOPPING IN HONDURAS / HONDURAS SHOPPING GUIDE |
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SHOPPING IN HONDURAS
GENERAL
Visit the local markets where local craftsmanship is excellent and inexpensive. Typical items include woodcarvings, cigars, leather goods, straw hats and bags, seed necklaces and baskets.
Shopping hours
Mon-Fri 0800-1200 and 1330-1800, Sat 0800-1700.
Currency
Lempira (HNL) = 100 centavos. Notes are in denominations of HNL500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. Coins are in denominations of 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 centavos. A real is one-eighth of a Lempira, and is used colloquially, though there is no such coin.
Currency exchange
Sterling cannot normally be exchanged, except at branches of Lloyds Bank; visitors should therefore take US Dollars.
Credit & debit cards
American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are accepted. Some banks offer cash withdrawal with Visa or Mastercard. Check with your credit or debit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services which may be available.
Traveller's cheques
To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travelers are advised to take traveller's cheques in US Dollars.
Currency restrictions
There are no restrictions on the import and export of local or foreign currency, but it is advisable to declare US Dollars.
SHOPPING IN SAN PEDRO SULA
Shopping in San Pedro Sula can be fun. The best place to purchase everything from rum, coffee and vanilla, as well as handicrafts to take home as souvenirs is the Guamilito market. This very large market opens at 8:00 AM and closes at 5:00 PM. The first rule at Guamilito is you barter any price that is given to you. As a general rule, you should be able to pay between 15 and 20% less than the original price you were quoted. The local rum is the Flor de Caña, and they have several different quality products. The best is the Reserva, that is 7 years old. This is a great rum that can even be drunk strait or on the rocks. The best coffee brands are Cafe Welchez and Café Miramundo.
As for handicrafts, the most attractive are the handmade wood carvings, as well as the weaved baskets and panama hats from Santa Barbara. These items have colourful patterns and are a real bargain.
There are many souvenir shops in town. Try Casa del Sol, located just accross the street from the Guamilito Market. This has excellent products at good prices. The newest shopping experience in town can be found at La Plazita, located across the corner from Guamilito market. This new establishment is actually a small artisan plaza, including a cigar shop and a small café. When stopping at Guamilito, make sure you visit La Plazita.
For all around shopping, there are two shopping malls in San Pedro Sula. The brand new Multiplaza is by far the trendiest in town, offering many of the better souvenir shops in the city, as well as art gallery's, and fashion clothes. The mall is fully air conditioned and can unquestionably offer a break from the hot climate that San Pedro is famous for. Eating in the mall is made simple with an ample food court that includes franchises such as Burger King and Subway in addition to other excellent restaurants that are local, such as El Catrachito and Mexiquense. Multiplaza is located across the street from the Copantl hotel, and the new Camino Real Hotel that is under construction will be adjacent to the mall.
Megaplaza, the other mall in town is only four years old and offers a more open air atmosphere. Here you can purchase just about anything you might need. It is conveniently located on the road to the airport, so you will surely see it on your way in or out of town.
Although not really in San Pedro Sula, but definitely worth your time is the brand new Turicentro Imapro located in EL Progreso, on the road to Tela. Only a half-hour drive from town, and with what is without doubt the most complete selection of outstanding souvenirs in the country, including an ample selection of the best Honduran hand made cigars. Prices are more that fair and the selection and variety of products for sale here will impress you.
Wood Carvings
If you have the time to go as far as Progreso, located 30 km from San Pedro Sula, besides enjoying the banana plantations, and maybe even going into one of them, you should not miss the IMAPRO handicraft school. This unique artisans school gives you the opportunity to see artisans at work carving wood. They only carve fine mahogany boards, and their pieces are real works of art. They have an ample selection of finished work on exhibit, all of which are for sale, and best of all, you can use your credit card to pay for it. Where else do you have the opportunity to purchase a handicraft and actually meet the artisan who made it? Prices are good and they are fixed, so don't try bartering here. If you don't have time to go to Progreso, visit the IMAPRO store in San Pedro, located on 1 Calle between 4 and 5 Avenidas N.E. They have a fine selection of souvenirs and wood carvings.
Leather Items
Honduran leather items are of fine quality at only a fraction of the price they would be overseas, making your visit to Honduras a great time to purchase these. Bags, attaches, belts, wallets and even garments are a bargain. There are four local producers in San Pedro Sula whose quality is up to par with international standards: Danilo's Pura Piel, La Maison du Cuir, Latino's Leather and Lesanddra Leather. Danilo's has a store in town at their factory, located at 18 Avenida "B" # 180 corner with 9 Calle S. O. La Maison du Cuir has a shop on the Boulevard Circunvalacion, almost across from the Andes supermarket, as well as a new shop at the Multiplaza mall. Latino's has a shop at the new Multiplaza Mall and Lesanddra's has one at the Megaplaza shopping mall.
Honduras has a long history as a silver mining country. Excellent artisans work the silver and produce very artistic and high quality silver products and jewelry. There are several different jewelers in town, but one of the most reputable is the Joyeria Cantero, whose shop is at the Boulevar Circunvalacion, across the street from Burger King. Another popular item are paintings by Honduran artists. These usually depict colonial towns and mountain landscapes that are typical of Honduras. The best selection of these can be found at the Maymo art Gallery.
Last, but not least, Honduran cigars have become an excellent souvenir or gift to take back home. Although Honduras is one of the leading countries manufacturing hand rolled cigars, the vast mayority of these are exported, which makes it difficult to find good cigars locally. In San Pedro, Cigar and Coffee, located at the new La Plazita market, across the street from the Guamilito Market offers the most complete variety of cigars. There is also a cigar and tobaco shop at the Gran Hotel Sula, however they do not offer such a wide selection. Cigar and Coffee shop at La Plazita also offers a variety of export quality coffee packaged in different forms that is also a good souvenir to take back home. |
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