The tourist committee at El Pino offers a variety of tours going into Parque Nacional Pico Bonito and in the surrounding area. Trips can be arranged to La Ruidosa as well as several other destinations in and around the park, including full-day and overnight hikes. One nice excursion on the lower Río Zacate takes you into the mangrove forest and offers a good chance of seeing howler monkeys.

For guided tours contact Efrain Cuellar (tel. 504/3386-9878, turismoelpino [at] yahoo [dot] com) or ask at the small tourist information office on the highway at Vivero Natural View, opposite Ferretería Águila. Three-hour hikes are US$9–16 per person, and a demonstration of traditional pottery-making can be arranged for just US$4 per person, minimum two people.

There are two community accommodations in El Pino, the Posada El Buen Pastor (tel. 504/9950-3404) and the Natural View Ecotourism Park. El Buen Pastor is a clean, quiet two-story house with four rooms on the top floor. There’s a large common area that looks out over the highway and into El Pino. All rooms have private baths with hot water, and breakfast is included in the room price. Rooms are US$16–21 and can accommodate up to three people. Owner Doña Vita lives on the first floor. El Buen Pastor is on the main highway at the entrance to El Pino’s public school; it’s a large, two-story yellow house with a small sign.

A budget, nature-oriented option, Natural View Ecotourism Park, is within walking distance of Pico Bonito park, about 10 kilometers from La Ceiba going toward Tela along the highway. Catch any Tela-bound bus and get off at El Pino. The rustic adobe and thatch-roof cabins are clean and cool. The grounds, dotted with fruit trees and flowering plants, feature a two-story champa-style restaurant, a covered hammock area, a soccer field, and a slightly oldish pool. Staff can organize tours into Pico Bonito and Cuero y Salado refuge with English-speaking guides.

Getting to El Pino

Rapiditos (minibuses) travel from El Pino to La Ceiba from 5:30 a.m. until around 8 p.m. (always double-check for the latest schedule). Minibuses return from La Ceiba to El Pino from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. Regular buses depart from La Ceiba bus terminal (they park next to the Banco Occidental until 6 p.m., when they start departing from Taquitos Mexicanos Restaurant, Barrio Potreritos (but all buses at least pass by the bus terminal).

The bus costs about US$0.50 from the terminal and a couple of lempiras more from the center of town. Buses heading to La Masica, San Francisco, Santa Ana, San Juan Pueblo, Esparta, and even Tela (as long as it’s not a direct bus) will also drop you off at El Pino, and they charge about the same.