Roatan, Útila & The Bay Islands in Honduras are islands filled with pristine beaches, lush jungle covered hills, welcoming people, unique cultures, world renowned diving and an endless array of activities.  It is Caribbean and it is inexpensive Caribbean.  The island of Roatan, the most developed of the Bay Islands Archipelago, is located only 40 miles northeast of mainland Honduras. Lyle Burke and his family lived on Roatan. Lyle shares the island and his experiences there with Escape From America readers. Lyle now runs Tropical Pathways tours, a tour company geared to helping wantabe expats find their place in the sun. It's an intelligent way of seeing a country along with a professional who know the territory. We have talked with individuals who have taken Lyle's tours and they speak very highly of the experience.     Some have already made the move to a new country based on what they learned from Lyle and his tour. It's a perfect way to avoid taking the wrong path to the wrong spot and wasting time. A tour from someone who knows the ground prepares the tour-taker to explore further on their own with an invaluable base of knowledge. Tropical Pathways offers all-inclusive Investment tours to Roatan, Panama or Belize.  ~ Roatan Revisited - Living On The Island Of Roatan By Lyle Burke

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Real Estate In Honduras EscapeArtist.com Real Estate Marketplace Real Estate In Honduras  - Current Listings - Honduras offers great investment and life style opportunities. Honduras is a country of many different landscapes, the Bay Islands provide excellent diving and snorkeling, the Caribbean mainland coast is dotted by the old Standard Fruit towns of Tela, La Ceiba and Trujillo with miles of deserted white sand beaches and the cloud forests behind the beaches glimmer with waterfalls and clear mountain rivers. Real Estate In Honduras By Province - Real Estate In Utila - Roatan - Real Estate In The Bay Islands - Real Estate In Atlantida - Real Estate In Copan - Real Estate In Cortes - Real Estate In Intibucal - Real Estate In Yoro - List Your Property - Advertise Your Property - Also see Real Estate in Central America - Also see Real Estate in The Caribbean - Also see Real Estate By Type - Islands, B&B's, Plantations Honduras has rain forests, cloud forests (which can rise up to nearly three thousand meters above sea level), mangroves, savannas and mountain ranges with pine and oak trees, and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. In the Bay Islands there are bottlenose dolphins, manta rays, parrot fish, schools of blue tang and whale shark. The region is considered a biodiversity hotspot because of the numerous plant and animal species that can be found there. Like other countries in the region, Honduras contains vast biological resources. The country hosts more than 6,000 species of vascular plants, of which 630 (described so far) are orchids; around 250 reptiles and amphibians, more than 700 bird species, and 110 mammal species.

Articles on Living & Investing in Honduras

The Truth About Living in Honduras: The Upside and Downside  - In Honduras, it is possible to have a full-time handyman/gardener/driver plus a full-time housekeeper / cook for less than $500 per month. In the U.S. the same assistance could cost $5,000 a month or more. I figured that I would be able to sell my freshly renovated house in the U.S. and build or buy one in Honduras with enough money left over to invest and boost my retirement money by enough to live comfortable and afford the help I need, as a retiree (“pensionado”). I also planned to find a few other retirees in Honduras who would be welcome to live with me, rent and mortgage-free, sharing only the low-cost maintenance and salaries of our assistants (and God(dess) laughs when humans make plans, right?). I flew down and took a modern Mercedes bus, equipped with movies, bathrooms and snacks, to Copan Ruins, a small town that attracts tourists from all over the world to visit the extensive Mayan ruins there. I had been attending a yearly conference put on by Project Honduras (www.projecthonduras.com), and fell in love with the many interesting restaurants, including the venerable and traditional Llama del Bosque (“flame tree”) and Twisted Tanya’s, located on a second-floor terrace, with gourmet and vegetarian dishes and a well-stocked bar.

How To Bank Offshore - Banking Offshore - Forming Offshore Corporations - Anonymous Banking Secrets  - Why Bank Offshore? - The Governments of the world are out of control . . . and broke.  They need your assets to make themselves solvent.  That they squander those assets is forgone. We live in a world where personal sovereignty, privacy and individuality are under attack. The right to privacy is more than an abstract necessity, it is also a psychological necessity. If we do not have the right to privacy, we do not own the rights to our own lives. Individuality entails making value judgments independent of political, religious or social dogmas.  In making value judgments we make choices.  In today's world, if the choices we make differ from the status quo then we come under pressure to 'toe the line'. There is no line to toe.  We live in an intellectual vacuum, where short of the logical choices we make in our own behalf, there are no other values. Our Magazine & Websites stress privacy and living our life by our own standards,  protecting what is ours from those who have not earned it. - In today’s technological world, millions of individuals are subject to privacy threats. Companies are hired not only to watch what you visit online, but to infiltrate the information and send advertising based on your browsing history. People set up accounts for Facebook; enter bank and credit card information to various websites. Those concerned about Internet privacy often cite a number of privacy risks — events that can compromise privacy — which may be encountered through Internet use.

My Super, Super Senior Year Diving Honduras - The buzz today for those of us just entering the workforce is that “Cliff’s Notes” do not apply to the job ladder, but that you have to pay your dues as generations before us did by suffering miserably for 20 to 30 years in menial jobs, grabbing coffee and working long hours in a cubicle. For some this path is inevitable, yet for many of us, we would rather travel, waitress, or move from job to job.  My generation, sometimes termed “The Millennial Generation,” seemingly lacks patience.  Maybe the culprit is a cocktail of The Real World, 90210, and Saved by the Bell, all of which were conveniently featured back-to-back on a weekday afternoon.  But let’s face it: despite our asphyxiation from television, we are a generation that was exposed to greater travel, the Internet age, and rapid globalization, and have thus created a new vision from that of our parents’ as to what life ought to be.

White, Grey, and Black Passports: What’s the Difference?  -  I am frequently asked by folks about how to acquire a 2nd passport.  As you may imagine there are a multitude of ways to acquire one, some good, some bad, some ugly.  In this article we will discuss a general overview of what I consider the 3 categories of 2nd passports and how they are acquired. For the purpose of this article, I have classified them into 3 categories:  White, Grey, and Black.  Please be advised, this is not a recommendation for either category, only generalized information to help you make the right choice on direction as well as pitfalls to avoid. White 2nd Passport.  A white 2nd passport is divided up among 3 subcategories; ancestral or cultural, naturalization, or economic. Acquiring a 2nd passport through ancestral or cultural methods is typically the easiest and least costly way to go about the process.  For example, if your parents or grandparents are from Ireland, you have the ability to (relatively) easily acquire citizenship and a passport from Ireland.  The same holds true for many European countries.  An EU passport is widely accepted around the world and is an excellent travel document. If you can acquire citizenship and a passport through one of these methods, this is highly recommended.  In many cases it is as simple as filling out some forms and submitting the recommended documentation like birth certificates. Why Being an Expat Is So Fantastic (Hint: Your Expat Taxes!)  -  Imagine if you could live in a tropical paradise US tax free – you can!  There are a number of benefits that you can take advantage of on your expat taxes to save and protect your income.  We will discuss the main ones here, but it is highly recommended that if you want to maximize the savings on your expat taxes you should seek expert expat tax advice. The Foreign Income Exclusion – This allow US expats who are earning money abroad to exclude up to $92,900 of their income from US taxation (this doubles if you are married). This is the most common and arguably the most profitable tax savings tool you can us on your expat taxes.  If you combine this with the Foreign Housing Deduction, which allows you to deduct things like rent, utilities and insurance, they you and your spouse may be able to avoid paying taxes on over $250,000 of income each year! LEGALLY! The Foreign Tax Credit is also a great tool, but unfortunately you will need to be paying taxes to someone to take advantage of it. The foreign tax credit gives you a Dollar for Dollar tax credit for any taxes you have paid to a foreign government.  Basically, if you have a good income someplace like Europe where taxes are high, then this will ensure that you are not taxed by two governments leaving you with the scraps. 8 Signs that the US Government is Making it Harder For You to Become an Expat  -  One of the most common reasons for wanting to expatriate from the United States is the concern about government overreach. Many feel that the expansion of government in recent years has been chipping away at the freedom and liberty that the country was founded upon. What with more and more agencies, regulations, surveillance, and mandates, the right to privacy and self - determination is steadily shrinking right along with financial outlooks. So, are you among the increasing number of people who feel that the only real solution is to get out of the country? Well, using the exact same tactics that are driving you away, the government appears intent on preventing you from leaving. Changes that have recently been put in place as well as proposals for future changes in rules and regulations might be intended to discourage. But they might also drive your resolve to take your destiny into your own hands and do whatever it takes to make your move overseas.

Look to the Honduran mainland for the cheapest beach properties in the Caribbean - By Lee Harrison - “Suban las manos, por favor.” Obediently, we raise our hands as the guard at the door frisks us.  Once again, we stand out as visitors, as we have no pistol to hand over.  “Pasen,” he says, and we proceed to our table, admiring the pleasant ambiance of this open-air, seaside restaurant. As we place our orders, we watch while many of the customers turn in their sidearms, which are neatly stored in a set of lockers by the door, to be returned upon leaving. (I think I ruined our image by not having a .44 magnum, like a “real” American would.) Was this unsettling? Frankly, no.  To the locals, it was no more remarkable than having to turn off your cell phone at a concert. The people in the restaurant were courteous and friendly, and everyone was having a good time on this Friday night.  In fact, we never had any trouble anywhere, day or night. This is La Ceiba, a Caribbean port city on the northern coast of Honduras.  Home to more than 100,000 people, it’s a town that has everything: a pleasant central square, a large, modern mall, new supermarkets, food markets, a cinema, fast food restaurants, and waterside dining.

Expat Living in Central America: A Primer - I love Central America! Many people choose a Central American country for their final ex-pat destination.  But there are several basics you really need to know before you take the plunge and move to Central America to join the hundreds of thousands of other American ex-pats already living here. Central America is the region between Mexico and Panama and includes Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. All six countries have large ex-pat populations.  Each has it’s advantages and disadvantages.  In general, the further South you go, the more services exist, but also the higher the cost of living.

Buying a Property in the Caribbean Online - Sitting in my dining room with the first cup of coffee of the day I look at the pictures mounted on the wall by the table. Six shots of our vacation back in November 2006 to Loreto, Baja California, looking out over the Sea of Cortez. The fishing boat we took to our own little island with lunch caught fresh from the crystal clear waters, the tree lined streets, the palapa roofed beach hut, the golden red sunset. Now just distant memories but also a reminder during the dark, cold days of winter just what awaits my wife and me when we retire. A year round warm climate and spectacular scenery. It’s just that it will not be to Loreto, Baja California that we will be moving to. Yes, we had a fantastic vacation, great hospitality at the bed and breakfast we stayed at, lovely weather, awesome scenery and views. The thing that put us off was that we realized having viewed a number of plots of land in and around Loreto we felt that eventually it would become just another American ‘sub-division’, albeit with a little more sunshine. Now let me explain something here. I am English, my wife is American, a native of Sherwood, North Little Rock, Arkansas. It was she who made the comment about the town of Loreto becoming a ‘sub division’. This is what put us off buying in Loreto:

Our Life on Roatan: A Leisurely, Luxurious, Affordable Caribbean Dream  - Southeastern trade winds… slip into quiet, blue water that feels like velvet on the skin… walk along the white sand and scoop up shells, adding to a collection already spilling onto the patio table...  Experiences like those -- a daily pleasure on Roatan, Honduras -- are, really, what enticed us to invest here. Just this morning, perched on the railing of our open porch, I sipped my tea as horses galloped by with early riders. I swam for a bit, and from the water, I looked back at the island, rising to mountain forests. Nobody else was on our beach at Lawson Rock. We never imagined we'd be able to afford an island retreat -- let alone one right on a secluded beach. But we're here pretty much full-time these days, enjoying the beautiful, open-air house we had built -- and an incredible quality of life -- for a fraction of what it would cost us elsewhere in the region.  The truth is: We're living a dream retirement we never even dared dream about before we came here.

I Dream Of The Sea Diving In Roatan - Honduras, the original Banana Republic, was once of the world’s great undiscovered travel destinations. Today, it is one of Central America’s most popular countries – for a growing number of reasons. With a population of 6.6 million spread out over an area of 112,090 sq km, (just slightly bigger than Tennessee) Honduras includes 200 sq km of water – crystal clear, Caribbean blue water.

The Caribbean's Last Frontier: Great-Value Investment and Lifestyle Opportunities in Honduras' Bay Islands - If you've always dreamed of owning a Caribbean escape, a place you can retreat to a few weeks or a few months a year… maybe full-time eventually, I have good news for you: It's not too late to make a smart investment in the Bay Islands of Honduras.  Roatan, Utila, and Guanaja are truly resplendent. These beads of land set 35 miles off Honduras' northern shore, two hours by air from Houston or Miami, make up a secret Caribbean paradise that has remained affordable not because it's undesirable... but because the masses simply haven't discovered it yet.

Focus Honduras : An Interview with the Honduran Ambassador Roberto FLORES Bermudez- Responsibility to its citizens, so it’s warning is understandable. Let me say, however, as ambassador from Honduras that, as with many places, it depends on where you go and what time you’re there. Overall, we have highly safe areas, and they are the ones that people travel most frequently. In Copan, where you have the Mayan ruins and, of course, the Bay Islands, they have their own tourist police, as well as the national and local police. In Tegucigalpa, the capital city, in the areas where you have the wonderful museums and cultural events, and in the nearby areas where they make crafts, pottery, and such, it is very safe. In the developments where most re-settlers from other countries actually buy homes, they normally have their own security forces, as well.

Thank God For Honduras! - In 1536 when exploring the mountainous central Honduras looking for an area to establish a city, Captain Juan de Chavez finally found a flat enough area he proclaimed, "Gracias a Dios que hemos hallado tierra llana" (thank God that we have finally found flat land). Well the name “Gracias a Dios” stuck to become the name of the city, although it is referred to simply as ‘Gracias’. When I first traveled here in January of 2010 I thought to myself, ‘thank God there are still places like this!’ Totally unspoiled and much like a century ago, Gracias is a true hidden jewel. On a small hill next to the town the Spanish established a fort, still almost perfectly intact. 15 minutes away there is a pleasant hot spring day resort. Most people do not think of anywhere but the island of Rotan when considering Honduras for a place to live. Not all of us can afford this pricey island complete with all the hustlers that inhabit it now. Not all of us want that kind of ambiance anyway, thank god…

A High Profile Two-Outlet Profitable Bakery Available for Immediate Cash Sale in La Ceiba, Honduras - A search on Google reveals that La Ceiba “is a lot more than a port city with lots of hospitality and charm, it has the potential to develop into THE Ecotourism Capital of Central America. Its proximity to the Pico Bonito National Park, Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, Cayos Cochinos Marine Reserve are but a few of the many nature attractions available at just a short distance from the city.” This is one of the many reason why the current owners of Laura’s Bakery stayed in Honduras for 15 years and are having such a hard time trying to sell up and leave. “Family matters,” says Laura Cole, “mean that we have to sell up and return to California. The things we will miss the most are the warm people and climate. We enjoy visiting with our customers when they come into the Bakery. The people are friendly here and the weather is a year-round tropical delight.”

Honduras is a country for dreamers... - Honduras is a country for dreamers...where Caribbean breezes lift fresh ocean air through your windows...the sunlight glints off the water at odd angles...and the sound of waves lapping at the shore is just hypnotic enough to spirit away the dissonance of the 21st century. All year round, temperatures hover in the 80s—with cooler, forested areas inland. Jaguars, armadillos, toucans, and herons complete this scene of a wild, untamed paradise. The Bay Islands—and the coral reef surrounding them, which is second in size only to the Great Barrier Reef—have been a well-kept secret of divers. Not only is Honduras a place of great natural beauty, but property prices are reasonable, the cost of living is low, crime is almost non-existent, and health care is top-notch and inexpensive. In addition, it’s home to some of the best-preserved Mayan ruins in the world, and, with the second-largest barrier reef on the planet just off its coast, offers some of the best scuba diving in the world.

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More Articles On Living & Investing In Honduras -  and thousands of articles on living and investing overseas in countries around the world; including numerous articles on international real estate - Most of our articles start in our international relocation magazines; but we keep them in an archive so that visitors can access them - -  access is free, and free is a very good prices - Click here to visit our relocation reference library - This library is filled with facts, contacts, suggestions, inside information & offshore information, artist havens & tax havens ....  We sincerely hope you make your escape and that you find your Shangri La, or your Shangri Lil ... and that special place in the world that sets your heart on fire... We're willing to show you the routes