Last updated on May 17, 2026 by Shannon
Paging through my guidebook in the quiet cool of the Bagel Barn in Antigua, Guatemala (one of my favorite places for a western breakfast in the city), I was seeking inspiration in Honduras.
Copán Ruinas was the obvious stop between Guatemala and the Honduran coast.
The problem?
I had already seen a lot of ruins by that point in the trip.
Making the Trek to Copan Ruinas
I was trying to decide whether another Maya ruin stop was actually worth it. There must be something of interest to break up the 16-hour journey between western Guatemala and eastern Honduras, where I would take an advanced dive course on Utila.
I’m not a big planner, but I was down to a mere 12 hours before I boarded my 4 a.m. bus to the Honduran border. I was nearly out of time.
And honestly, I wasn’t sure if the Copan ruins were worth visiting.
If you’ve already walked the grounds of Chichén Itzá in Mexico and explored the most prominent Maya sites, Tikal in Guatemala, do you need to visit Copán Ruinas?
The short answer is yes. And I am so glad I did not let travel fatigue stop me from visiting a real highlight of Central America.
I booked a place to stay in the charming town of Copán Ruinas with a firm decision to poke around the Maya ruins for a couple of days, while I was en route from Antigua to the Honduran coast.
Here’s what it was like.
Getting to Copán Ruinas
Located in the mountains of western Honduras, Copán Ruinas is easily visited by bus from El Salvador; San Pedro Sula, or La Entrada in Honduras—most travelers simply transit through San Pedro Sula rather than lingering.
Antigua, Guatemala is the more poplar gateway to Copán Ruinas. Most travelers arrange shuttle transfers through WhatsApp via hostels or agencies. If you have a whole lot of time on your hands—or if you’re on a tight budget—a series of local chicken buses will also get you there.
If you’re crossing from Guatemala, keep small USD bills or Honduran lempira handy for border fees and random photocopy situations—it’s one of those crossings that still runs partly on paper and cash.
The ruins themselves are located just 1 km from the cobblestone town of Copán Ruinas, so this is where you’ll stay.
For those backpacking Central America, you’ll already know that once you head a bit off-the-beaten path, the tourists all but disappear. This is certainly the case with the Copan ruins. The town felt like a step back in time, with a laid-back charm that reminded me a bit of the American South.
Traveling alongside so few other tourists was a welcomed change, even though I had thoroughly enjoyed the touristy streets of Antigua.
When to Visit
I visited in May, which is after the dry winter season, which proved ideal. The town was even more deserted than usual, and I spent morning hours at the Copan ruins without a busload of tourists in sight.
The ruins open at 8 a.m. and you should show up then to avoid the scorching heat of midday. I easily walked from my hostel to the ruins, though tuk-tuks will also whisk you to the ruins.
Don’t rush straight through the main ruins and leave. The sculpture museum near the entrance is easy to skip, but it helps the weathered carvings outside suddenly make sense.
If you time it well, you will also have a lot of personal time with the carvings, exploring various sections of the ruins. Although some travelers might use a tour guide, I loved the written tour provided in my guidebook—it allowed me to putter around the Copán ruins at my own pace, while still enjoying all the historical input.
Are the Ruins of Copán Worth Visiting?
I visited three Mayan ruins in Central America, and I appreciated how each site complemented the others—Chichén Itzá, Tikal, and Copán Ruinas each offer a very different experience. Each one reveals something different about the Maya world.
Here’s what I loved about each site.
The Acoustics at Chichén Itzá
Chichén Itzá surprised me most with its precision. Our guide demonstrated the acoustics at the ball court by clapping once and producing a sharp echo that bounced perfectly across the stone walls. It was eerie realizing that kind of engineering survived for centuries.
The Size and Scope of Tikal
Tikal felt completely different. The ruins stretch deep into the Guatemalan jungle, and the scale is hard to grasp until you climb above the canopy and see temple peaks rising from the forest in every direction. Add in the sounds of howler monkeys and the wildlife moving through the trees, and it becomes one of the most atmospheric Maya sites in Central America.
The Intricate Art at Copán Ruinas
Copán stood out for its detail. The carvings here are remarkably well preserved, with intricate stelae, ceremonial figures, and the famous hieroglyphic staircase all still clearly visible. Compared to Tikal and Chichén Itzá, where much of the decorative detail has weathered away, Copán felt like the missing artistic piece of the puzzle.
Copán is a much smaller site than the other two. It’s in a remote area of Honduras. It lacks the infrastructure of the other two sites. But visiting Copan is also far less exhausting than Tikal, and it’s surprisingly shaded. The jungle canopy and trees around the ruins make midday far more tolerable than places like Chichén Itzá. I appreciated the size and shade more than I expected after months of travel.
Best Things to Do in Copán Ruinas
The ruins are the obvious highlight, but the town itself is worth slowing down for a couple of days. I ended up liking Copán Ruinas far more than I expected—not because there are endless attractions, but because it’s relaxed, affordable, and surrounded by beautiful countryside.
If I returned, I’d still prioritize a visit to Macaw Mountain, a surprisingly peaceful bird sanctuary just outside town where rescued scarlet macaws fly overhead while you wander shaded trails with a coffee in hand. Horseback riding into the surrounding hills is also popular, and several travelers at my hostel came back raving about rides through nearby villages and forests.
Beyond that, Copán is best enjoyed slowly. There’s a kid-friendly butterfly center near town, ziplining through the forest canopy, nearby hot springs at Agua Caliente, and coffee plantation tours in the hills surrounding town (book Welchez Coffee Tour if you’re interested). None are world-changing on their own—the hot springs won’t rock your world if you’re a connoisseur—but together they make Copán Ruinas feel like more than just a quick ruins stopover.
Mostly though, I loved lingering in town after long sightseeing days—eating pupusas at Comedor Mary, drinking tea and hot chocolate overlooking the hills at The Tea & Chocolate Place, and enjoying the slower pace before continuing deeper into Central America.
Don’t forget to book travel insurance for your trip—a great policy provides coverage in case of medical emergencies, lost or stolen gear, adventure sports riders, and more. I’ve used IMG Global for more than a decade highly recommend it!
Stay Somewhere Nice
Accommodation in Honduras is affordable, and you have a few options depending on if you’re looking for a social vibe, a bit of extra comfort, or the opportunity to support a social enterprise. Hostel Iguana Azul is the best hostel in town—it has great vibes and it’s where I stayed.
I stayed in Copán Ruinas for a couple of days before venturing onward to dive in Utila and take a boat down the Río Dulce, and I have never regretted my decision.
Onward travel
Having spent a number of months backpacking Central America and Mexico across multiple trips, plan your time in the following locations.
Mexico » Yucatan Peninsula | Yucatan with Kids | Oaxaca City | San Pancho | Guanajuato | Chichen Itza | Secret Mud Beach | Cultural Immersion | Taco History | Colonial Mexico
Guatemala » Antigua | Tikal | Rio Dulce | Xela | Chichicastenango | Learning Spanish | Semana Santa | Easter Traditions
Belize » Chetumal Border | Culture
Honduras » Copan Ruinas | Utila | Culture
Thanks for posting. Really enjoyed the organization, flow of your article, and your commentary. I feel like you have a good understanding of the different needs/ interests of different travelers and you explain things well for diverse audiences. I also learned something from reading your responses to other posters- so that was very helpful. :) I am going to go check out your post on Guatemala since I am spending most of my time there on this trip.
Our family of 4 (two teens) will be flying into Guatemala City on Aug 24th for 9 days and plan to rent a car to visit Copan and Atitlan/Chichicastenango (having been to Tikal & Antigua previously.) Do you have a sense of the security situation currently (does driving during daylight seem ok… or does it seem that getting on tours is more necessary?) Thank you
I’ve been debating on going to copan or just going straight to La Ceiba. I’m also doing the diving at Utila but I don’t have that much time. I have to spend the night somewhere but it’s more expensive to stop in Coban than just buckle down and go straight to La Ceiba. My shuttle will also leave at 4am so it’s unlikely I’ll have much sleep before going, I’m not sure if it’s worth it cause I did Tikal when I was exhausted and I didn’t enjoy it as much. But I’m not sure if I’m really missing out on someting
I’d skip visiting Copan. It’s a nice site and a cute, small city. But it’s also a trek to get there and not near anything else. If you’re feeling some travel fatigue, go to La Ceiba, regroup and relax, and then you’ll be ready for the next historic site! :)
Hello,
I’d love to visit Copan, but … in your opinion is it really safe to do so at the moment? We may be in Belize and Guatemala in March, and so could go in by land, as you suggest. The Canadian Government travel advisory makes it sound … not a good idea ;-)
Honduras in general is not a good idea, but the islands and Copan are essential the exceptions. You should absolutely assess for yourself once you’re on the ground. Perhaps you leave time for it in your itinerary and ask at your hotel and other travelers in Guate—they’ll have the best sense for it. But state travel warnings often paint an entire country with the same brush, and traveling Copan is not remotely the same as walking around San Pedro Sula, for example.
Thank you!
Hello Shannon, happy new year . Which part of the world are you in now. I am a fellow Floridian. We just returned from Uganda and Rwanda.
Planning to visit Guatemala City and Copan for 3 days on Jan 13. Any advice is appreciated. Just Guatemala city Antigua and Copan?
Hi! I live in Barcelona now. Guate City is really only a place you pass through, so your two stops are Antigua and Copan. Not sure how long you have total, but Lake Atitlan is special and worth visiting. Or you could spend those extra days in Antigua, which I completely love and offers a lot to do in and around it. https://alittleadrift.com/exploring-antigua-guatemala/
It's funny. People ask us about our trip sometimes, wanting to know if we visited so and so place, or this and that museum. Usually, it's a no. They look at us like we're crazy — we missed a major opportunity to actually be in some postcard picture setting. On short trips, like a week in Costa Rica, etc. I might pursue going to more of the “sights” but we figured we'd just get jaded if we tried to do it week in and week out for a year. Instead, we just wandered around cities, shopped & ate in markets and hung out at neighborhood watering holes. I think it helped us see what life was like in other places… the whole purpose of our year abroad. I would love to go back to many of our destinations and get a chance to see x and z, but I'm not worried about missing it. I don't really understand the obsession with shooting my own images from the same spot as the postcard photographer did 3 years before. Another reason we didn't go to some sights was that the ticket prices were too high, it just didn't fit the budget to tour that castle or that museum.
That being said, we did hit the ruins in Mexico with a vengeance. It all started with Palenque, which was so stupendous, we got some sort of ruins bug. After touring several more, including Chichen Itza, we realized that they didn't compare to our serene and magical first experience. What was nice, however, is how different the experience at each site was: bikes were offered for touring at one (Coba); one was completely unrestored (Sayil); another had tour groups — but only in the first 800 feet — the rest was our own private playground (Uxmal). It was amazing how much variety we found. We really were saddened to miss out on Tikal. We had planned on driving there from Mexico (we had a rental car for over a month), but the road systems were so poorly mapped that we got freaked out. This was the first month of our RTW… I know if we had done Mexico/Guatemala last we would have been motoring down that drug road without any hestitation.
Oh well, next time!
Tikal is amazing but at least you have something else that will really draw
you back to that region! Guatemala ranks up there with some of my favorite
experiences, Tikal included :-) It's funny how the perspective for longterm
travel is so very different – although there are all of these touristy and
amazing sites on the beaten track it's more about setting a sustainable pace
and really taking all of that extra time to see more and experience more
than you could on those whirlwind weekend vacations!
I'm glad that Copan was worth the trip! My mom refers to her travel fatigue as “castle fatigue” because she got to the point in Europe where she couldn't stand to visit another castle, no matter how famous. Sometimes you just have to say “I'll catch it next time” or be a rebel and not follow the guidebooks :)
I can *completely* understand your mom getting castle fatigue in Europe! It
can be best to just skip it for next time rather than go and leave with a
negative impression!
Ah, travel guilt…like being between a rock and a hard place. You should see all the things a place has to offer because, after all, that is why you set out in the first place, but then you have to ask yourself, will you really appreciate the experience if your heart's not into it 100%? Another question is: are you actually a “bad” traveler if you don't go see what's been “prescribed” by guidebooks and other travelers? But then when you look at it from the other side it's like “well, maybe I'm being urged by something inside me to go see this thing because there's something the universe is trying to tell me…”
Having said all that, I ask: are you really glad you went?
You know Jen, I am glad that I went – I was on the fence before hand but
looking back I can really say that I am glad I was able to see and learn
about that site while I was there. It could be that this may not be the case
all of the time, but it worked out in my favor this time!
That reminds me a lot of the Angkor region ruins in Cambodia. It's annoying to get a bit fed up with sights when you know how amazing your surroundings are but you're not in the mood to enjoy them.
Argh! I Cambodia was a perfect example – I finished up at Angkor after two
months in the region and I wish I had started there so that I was fresher to
the temples :-)
Well, I think travel guilt can be a good thing sometimes – you might not want to visit X cultural landmark on the day that you're actually in town, but you might regret not doing so in the future when you had the chance if you don't! And as you said, it did wind up pulling your Mayan ruin visits together, so there's an unexpected surprise :)
Sorry for the late reply – I agree that the travel guilt can really get you
out…and I have actually never regretted dragging myself to a landmark, so
there is something to say for just getting out there :-)
We were pleasantly surprised by the Copan ruins as well. Although I wouldn't list it at the top of my all-time travel favorites I really enjoyed how laid back it was with hardly any people around. After Tikal, I also appreciated the detailed engravings even more. I'd say it's worth a stop if you're in that neck of the wood.
And you know, even if you didn't visit I wouldn't think any less of you as a traveler :) Sometimes you just need to let sights go – ruins will be there to return and visit at a later time.
Sorry for the epically late reply! Agreed that they are worth a stop when
passing through for sure – those engravings were really neat and so much
more detailed then elsewhere :-)
Glad that you had a good time and that Copan wrapped everything together. At Angkor Wat, after seeing the main tourist populated temples, I sat around at a few of the least visited temples and enjoyed the quiet peace of them. It can be really nice when you aren't having to share with so many people.
Angkor is a great example! There are just so many people there at the main
few that it can get overwhelming and cause temple fatigue, while wandering
the remote and quiet ones is a totally different experience. :-)