Utila is a small island off the coast of Honduras, near Roatan. Orlando has frequently visited his family on the mainland of Honduras his whole life. When he and Shelly began dating, she started tagging along on these trips to visit. Over the past few years, we have brought friends and family to the island of Utila. It is paradise on Earth with beautiful blue waters, constant ocean breeze, and the nicest people. Pretty quickly we knew, this was where we needed to host our wedding.
Utila does not have a public airport, therefore there are no commercial flights flying direct or landing on the island. There are a few options we recommend: ARRIVING 1. Fly into the Roatan airport, be sure to land by 12pm. Take a taxi to the Dream Ferry port to catch the 2pm ferry from Roatan to Utila. 2. Fly into the San Pedro Sula airport. Coordinate with one of the charter flight companies on the island to charter a flight for your group to the Utila landing strip. Janine’s Travel, Bowden, etc. 3. Fly into San Pedro Sula. Take domestic flight to either La Ceiba or Roatan. Stay the night in either La Ceiba or Roatan. Take the Dream Ferry to Utila the next morning. DEPARTING 1. Dream Ferry direct from Utila to Roatan may not leave early enough to make flight from Roatan to Houston. May need to catch the Dream Ferry from Utila to La Ceiba, then the La Ceiba to Roatan ferry to arrive in time. 2. To get to either Roatan or San Pedro Sula airports, you can charter a flight through one of the companies on the island to ensure you arrive in time for your international flight home. 3. Take the ferry from Utila to either La Ceiba to Roatan. Book a hotel in either La Ceiba or Roatan. If staying in La Ceiba, take domestic flight to San Pedro Sula to catch international flight home. If staying in Roatan, take the morning international flight home. We know international travel can be tricky and hard to coordinate, please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions! We are so grateful for even your consideration in attending our wedding!!
Utila is filled with quaint boutique hotels and colorful beach houses! You’ll find a list of our recommendations on the Travel page. We recommend you stay around the Main Street or in the Trade Winds neighborhood. DO NOT book reservation near Coral Beach Village as this part of the island is only assessable by boat and water taxis stop running early in the evening. You will not find any resorts or all-inclusives on the island of Utila. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Shelly or Orlando for additional information!
The national currency of Honduras to the Lempira. About 26 Lempiras equates to 1 US Dollar. Lempiras are the preferred method of payment on the island. Some places do take credit card, but there is likely a convenience fee. If you fly into San Pedro Sula, there is a Money Exchange desk where you can trade your US cash for Limpiras. If you fly into Roatan (or San Pedro Sula), you can pull cash Limpiras from ATM at the airport - You can only pull around 3,000 Limpiras out per transaction (~$115), so you may want to make several. There are a few ATMs on the island where you can pull cash Limpiras out. There is also a bank on the island where you can exchange US cash for Limpiras, however lines may be long and there is a daily limit on how much you can exchange. If you have additional logistical questions, please ask!
There are no cars on Utila (that is how small the island is and how narrow the roads are). We recommend renting as ATV, scooter, bike, or golf cart. You can hail a tuk tuk as needed
The wedding will be at Bando Beach - It is an outdoor venue on the beach. Wedding dress code is Beach Semi-Formal. Fellas, think button-down shirts with linen pants, khakis, or chinos. Summer suits if you like. Loafers or dock-shoes (no flip flops - Talking to you, Kyle). Ladies, we are talking tropical flowy maxi or midi dresses, skirts, jumpsuits. Dressy sandals, chunky heels, and/or wedges.
We are so grateful you are making the trip to celebrate us! If you wish to bring a companion with you, we would love to have them join as well. Please just be sure to include their name on your RSVP so we can be sure to accommodate them in our guest count.
We are leaving this one up to the parents! If you’d like to bring you children, we would love to have them join the festivities. If you want to make this a getaway for mom and dad, we respect that as well! If kids are joining, please be sure to include them in your RSVP so we can be sure to accomodate.
Passport, sunscreen, bug spray.