I am taking a flight into San Pedro Sula. The plane arrives at 12 am. I have heard that San Pedro Sula is dangerous, especially after dark. I plan to leave the town straight away, but... Does anyone have any ideas as to the safest way to weather the night in San Pedro(The bus I want to catch starts at 4am)? Any extra safety tips for Northern Honduras and Beliza for a solo gal? Also, ideas about carrying money or using the hotel safe? Are hotel safes really "safe"? What about carrying money and going swimming? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I am new to this solo travel thing

Hi Fellow Floridian,

I live in Clearwater and I haven't traveled yet to Honduras, but was in Central America, traveling solo as a senior citizen roughing it, so I'll tell you what I would do and have done many times in other countries. Just hang out in the airport until time to taxi to the bus station to catch your 4 a.m. bus, inquiring as soon as you arrive as to the taxi possibilities. You want to be sure that there will be one when you need it. Airports are always safe to spend the night in and probably much more pleasant than a bus station. But, you will be fine in a bus station too, if it is necessary to go right there when you arrive, if there's any question of not finding a taxi at 3 a.m. Will you need to buy your bus ticket? Allow plenty of time for that, as well. Then, just try to snag the very back seat on the bus, stretch out and go to sleep.

The secret to traveling alone as a woman is to be perfectly comfortable with yourself and confident in what you are doing, even if you have to fumble your way along. There is no need to feel fear or to worry about anything. You can easily handle it. This attitude, when it is genuine, throws a protective bubble around you and you will find only goodwill and humor wherever you go. I've been around the world and I'm going again in January...at age 71... and I have never had anything bad happen to me, even though I'm traveling rough and under the radar. Backpacking and staying in hostels and using local transportation and eating in local cafes. People are genuinely good and they are not trying to rob and steal. You will be exposed to beggars but they do not hurt you. I would advise that you stay aloof from the whole begging scene as hard as that is to do. But, as a solo woman that is one thing that you can do to minimize your negative exposure. Sounds hard-hearted but it is simply good sense. You can lend your assistance, like you say, with your engineering skills.
Have a great trip and just wing it in a sensible way. Are you taking Lonely Planet or a guidebook like that?

Hi, it's me again,

When I was on the reply screen, I couldn't review your questions so I forgot about the swimming/money one. I don't really have any fantastic tips as I've never used the hotel safes. My guess is that you can pretty well evaluate the hotel's honesty when you are there. Most of them are just fine. Check out the hostel situation in the towns where you will be,even the night before arrival, just by going online (internet cafes are easy to find). Hostels are quite safe places and they often provide lockers for your valuables. Take along a combination lock and then use it on the locker you are assigned. That's about as safe as it gets. Hostels are more fun than hotels because you make so many friends. It's not necessary to get your money wet by swimming with it. If you swim within sight of your stuff on the beach, no one will try to snag it. The rule of thumb is that if you stick to the daylight and use sensibility, you will not be exposed to pickpockets, muggers and thieves. Most of the world's people are very lovely human beings and are not eyeing our goods, as long as we use common sense about it all.

I've seen a pair of expensive sandals snatched from someone who thought no one was near the beach. It's hard to have fun and be paranoid at the same time, so heres a helpful hint.

Find a safe place to put your stuff, a backpack or large bag if possible, then if you MUST swim alone, either have the hotel watch your truly valuable things, or trust a restaurant nearby, asking the manager to put it somewhere safe. Bury your valuables amongst old clothes and junk, so a quick glance doesn't see a wallet or passport. Why tempt the fates? The same goes for electronics, of course.

Unless you bury your stuff under your blanket, etc, its fair game. Never expose your passport, etc, to possible theft. Its not worth that fun swim to find your trip ending fast. Hey, ask around. If people say things disappear on beaches, and sometimes they do,go to the beach with bought 1 dollar flip flops, not keens or Crocs. No one is likely to steal your keens or crocs in your hostel, but on the beach they're fair game.

But, there is usually someone trustworthy, hopefully in your hostel or hotel, which will alleviate this problem.

I am a single traveller, and truly dislike this part of being a single traveller. One takes fewer dips into the ocean on a fling.

I use a dry bag (SealLine or similar) and just snorkel with it across my torso. Harder to dive down, but no worries about stuff getting taken.

I think staying at the airport or the bus station is a good idea. I arrived in San Pedro Sula alone but it was during the day so I was able to hop on a bus right from the airport. If possible, maybe you could book a hotel in SPS ahead of time, just for that night and get some sleep during the night and then catch a later morning bus, maybe around 8 or 9 am. That way you would be in your hotel for the night and wouldn't have to worry about hanging around the city in the wee hours and you would get a nights rest.

When I am going somewhere I know I'm going to be swimming and I'm travelling alone, I bring a waterproof waist pack thing. I put my money, hotel room key, and anything else I wouldn't want to have stolen in the waterproof waistpack and wear it all the time. The rest of my stuff I just leave on the beach. I usually wear shoes that can go in the water so I don't even take them off. While I wouldn't want my book or sarong or my daypack to be stolen, I know that if something happened to it I would not be completely devastated. I carry a cable lock so I could probably lock my pack to a beach chair or even a tree while I was in the water, although I have never done that. It might deter a thief who just wanted to grab my bag and run, but it could still be cut open if the thief was really serious about wanting my bag.