The trip from Copan to Rio Dulce turned out very badly. Purported to be about a 5 hour trip it took about 10 to get there. And we were lucky. Seven of us were headed to Rio Dulce on a shuttle service headed for Antigua, Guatemala, with the knowledge that we would transfer at a station near Rio Hondo. Little did we know that the continuing service meant the tour agency buying us public transportation tix on a bus that was scheduled 2 hours later. They bought us tix and unceremoniously dropped us off. Then it got worse.
The bus was an hour late, and when it did arrive it was already full. Since it was a public bus there were many others waiting and crammed themselves in the bus. We did not get on. By now it was past 6pm and getting dark. All eyes were on the seven tourists who looked like easy targets. The bus operator promised another bus but would not be arriving until 11pm. We were getting desperate, and everyone knew it. On several occassions there were people asking us if we needed "help". They didn't really look like the helpful types.
We were fortunate that a cashier in a nearby gas station knew someone who knew someone who would be willing to take us to Rio Dulce. It only cost us an additional $15 per person. But taking our chances in that bus station would not not have been a good idea. Our trip began in Copan, Honduras at 1pm and we did not get to Rio Dulce, Guatemala until 11pm.
For those who are making this trip from Copan to Rio Dulce please do not use Copan Tours to make your arrangements. They were not upfront with the travel arrangements. We thought that the transfer would be on a private shuttle service not public transportation. We paid for that kind of service. Maybe I should have been more suspicious when they were the only travel agency in the city that offered transportaion service to Rio Dulce. Seven of us were duped. And two of the seven lived in Honduras!
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