Amapala is a beautiful island in the Pacific

A few days ago I was talking to my brother about options for traveling not very far away from Tegucigalpa, and he told me about a trip he recently made with his family to Amapala, in the Pacific coast of Honduras.

Amapala is an island in the Pacific Ocean, it is located in the Gulf of Fonseca as you can see in the following map:


I have been in Amapala a couple of times before, but the last time was several years ago. When my brother mentioned Amapala, I was surprised to notice that I haven´t been there for a long time. Why I haven´t gone to Amapala recently?. I really don´t know, it's a very good option for people who live in Tegucigalpa since it is not very far away, and it's a really beautiful place to visit.

You can go from Tegucigalpa in the morning, enjoy your day in Amapala, and get back late in the afternoon to Tegucigalpa without major efforts. It´s only about 2 hours driving by car from Tegucigalpa, and the road is in pretty good shape.


It´s always summertime in Amapala, all year long, 365 days a year. The weather in the area of Amapala is almost always within the range of 30 - 35 degrees Celsius, that's a great weather for a beach location. The temperature of the water is very comfortable, you can take a swim in Amapala anytime.

In winter, the weather is not that different. It rains a little bit, but not that much. The weather is always within the same temperature even when it rains. Tourists can enjoy the beach, the sun, the ocean all the time.

Amapala is an archipelago of islands. The main islands are El Tigre and Zacate Grande. Amapala is located in El Tigre island. There are many beaches in this island, the more famous are: Playa Grande, Playa Negra, Playa Islitas, Playa Gualora and Playa El Burro.

Most of these beaches have beautiful black sand, the origin of these islands is from Volcanoes, that is the main reason for this black sand. It is beautiful.

The ocean waves are not that high, so tourists can take a swim into the ocean in Amapala and all these beaches without any problems.

In the other main island which is Zacate Grande we have some beaches like Las Gaviotas, Guayaba Dorada and a few other small beaches.

Over the last 3-4 years there has been some improvement in the infrastructure of the city. There are new hotels and restaurants for the visitors to enjoy in Amapala. There are also more transportation services within the city, and more boats for transporting people to the island from the coast and viceversa.

In order to get to Amapala, there is the need to take a boat from the coast and ride for about 30-40 minutes into the ocean until you get to Amapala. That´s a very interesting experience. Most boats are rather small, with an overboard engine. When you are riding in one of those boats, you feel the ocean breeze in your face and all over your body. It´s very interesting.

A good advise on this boat ride is to wear a life jacket just in case the boat swings more than usual. If you fell overboard, it´s better to be prepared. You never know.


Another incredible experience in Amapala is climbing to the top of the mountain in that island, which is about 800 mts above sea level. Not many people do that, I haven´t done that myself, maybe next time I will.

They say that from the top of that mountain, in a clear day you can see most of the Gulf of Fonseca with your own eyes, you can actually see the coastline of Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua at the same time. It must be a great view.

I guess I will be planning a trip to Amapala as soon as possible. I've been missing this beautiful experience for many years, but it´s never too late to go again.