The last year was a very good year indeed for Honduran travel guides books. Two totally new guides were published and the fourth edition of the Moon Handbook on Honduras by Chris Humphrey came out in October. The newcomers come from Hunter Travel Guides written by Maria Fiallos and Lonely Planet written by Gary Chandler and Liza Prado. Previously Lonely Planet dedicated only a few chapters to Honduras in their Central America on a Shoestring.

It is difficult to compare three books, especially when they cater to different audiences with Lonely Planet catering more to the low budget crowd, Moon plays both sides against the middle and Hunter's is higher end. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. The Hunter and Moon Guides give more cultural and historical background. The Moon Guide is in its fourth revised edition by the same author and the accumulated experience shows. Moon also has the most comprehensive bibliography. Hunter's 45 page section on the Mayas of Copan is excellent and was aided by the renowned Honduran anthropologist Ricardo Agurcia. However, Hunter's Fiallos worked for the Honduran Tourism Institute and often just describes hotels or restaurants without judging. I personally prefer to hear stronger opinions about what is good or bad and that is done more by the other two.

Hunter's weighs in at just over 500 pages and has a lot of background and generally lists more hotels and restaurants. Moon comes in at just under 500 pages but is smaller and laid out in snappy way by giving 10 and 25 day itineraries. Lonely Planet fits most easily into your back pack at 352 pages and also has suggested itineraries. Lonely Planet's Gary Prado told me that they don't pretend to give all the food and lodging options; just enough in each category to get you started in a city or region. He also said that people don't want to read too much history and background. Not true for me who lives here, but perhaps for those traveling through.

There are some contradictory things between the books. Hunter's says Olancho means rubber tree in the Nahuatl tongue of the Aztecs and Moon says that it means tulle tree. I will vote for the rubber tree option-it makes more sense. Maybe Chris heard tulle when it was really "ule." Hunter's says that Tegucigalpa comes from Nahuatl whereas Moon says it comes from the Lenca language.

Both agree that it probably does not mean "hill of silver" as I and most school kids were taught because the Indians had no interest in mining before the conquistadores arrived. Hunter says it may mean "in the houses of painted stones" and the other two say "the place of the painted stones." Linguists or others are welcome to write to the editor of Honduras This Week with their theories on the names. They are all referring to El Picacho which is painted a beautiful purple around sunset time.

Even though the guides have come out in the last six months, they all have mistakes and list closed restaurants or old telephone numbers of hotels etc. This is partially because they finish writing many months before the books come off the press and it is an incredible amount of information to keep track of. There are also glaring omissions. Only Moon's Guide lists includes Usami, the best Japanese restaurant this side of Tokyo which is celebrating its second anniversary this month. None of the three mentions Weekend's Pizza in Santa Rosa de Copan which is by far the best pizza I have had in all of Honduras.

If I could buy only one guide to Honduras, it would be Moon's Handbook. Moon's is more complete and well laid-out and has been perfected through its four editions starting in 1997. Maria Fiallos said that Hunter's Guide only sells in the US, but she personally is receiving a shipment this week to place a limited number on consignment in Tegucigalpa bookstores, but will take most to Roatan where they sell "like hotcakes." Lonely Planet is actually dated January 2007, and should be available in Metro Media in early March. All three books are $20 (actually $19.99), although I suspect you will pay more down here. It is unfortunate that these guides are not more readily available in Honduras. Metro Media has only one Moon Guide left---but did not say in which of their four locations. Happy hunting.

Oh yes, if one wants an outdoor and hiking guide, "Adventures in Nature: Honduras" by James Goolin is excellent although it is dated 2001 and should be ready for a new edition.  You face hard choices in choosing a guide book to Honduras. Why not just get all four? I did.