The best souvenirs from Honduras include cigars, coffee, woven baskets, jade jewelry and leather goods. Traditional embroidery and woodcarvings are also good finds. The best place to get artisan products is the town of Copan, close to the famed Mayan ruins. Here you will find many craft stores and small markets to barter with local producers. There are artisan shops in San Pedro Sula in the Valle de Angeles, or you can head to the Guamilito Market.
On the Bay Islands you can purchase many Garifuna products, such as paintings, textiles, woodcarvings, straw baskets, hats, and wind chimes. There are many stores dotted around the islands of Roatan and Utila, but Yaba Ding Ding is particularly good for Lenca pottery, glasswork and junco baskets. There is an interesting art store on Roatan called Gunter’s Driftwood Gallery, which as the name suggests contains works made of natural products that have drifted ashore, such as wood, shells, shark teeth and jaws.
The beach town of Tela is also a great place to buy local handicrafts made by the Garifuna community. Jewelry is made from seashells and coconuts, which you can get from traders along the beach. Or head to Casa del Sol on the boardwalk to browse the retail stores. If you are close to the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve on the “Mosquito Coast” of Honduras, the town of La Mosquita has woodcarvings, textiles and jewelry from local villagers.
The largest market in Honduras is Mercado San Isidro in Tegucigalpa, where you will find a range of products. There is also a large outdoor market in La Ceiba (6a Calle and Avenida 14 de Julio), which offers just about anything and everything, including handicrafts. If you are strictly looking for art, head to Avenida Miguel de Cervantes in Tegucigalpa where you will find a string of shops and the largest selection of Honduran folk art, from Lenca pottery to Mosquito Coast jungle products, worth visiting for the diversity if you miss out shopping in each individual region.