Nightlife

Almost all of the restaurants have bars, so you have quite a choice for cocktails. Their currently is no place that really has a sunset cocktail crowd of tourists or ex-pats except maybe Rogue’s (Jerry's), the concrete building on the beach below the fort..

Music of the canned variety will be found at all of the champas, and on weekends a few dancers will show up at most of them. Arena is the name of the champa on the beach just at the base of the road coming down below the fort.  It is a hot spot with the locals late at night on the weekends and has generally the biggest crowds.  I because there is no cover charge.  I would be a little careful to go out into the dark parts of the beach late at night. The Delfin on the beach is a restaurant and bar that has music and a second floor that gets you up in the breezes.  The owner, Tito, is great fun.

At the beach down by the airport were two popular places---Gringo Bar and Bahia Bar. Gringo Bar has closed and is currently for sale. Bahia Bar was where Ollie North partied when he was helping the Contras, but now is owned by a Honduran, and a less militaristic crowd enjoys drinks, food, or the nice beach.

Occasionally there are great fiestas at the old parade ground adjacent to the plaza and in front of the fort. At times these parties are given by villagers from outlying communities, and they will be bused in for the festivities. Sometimes these parties will be oriented to one of the schools in town. It can be fun to sit on the plaza and watch.

Dancing and late night frolicking is best at the Arena on the beach, and in the area of the ABC Liquor Store/ Patio/Truxillo Disco area which is in the center of town near the market (I guess this is the Zona Vida of the city). There is a billiards “parlor”---if you can consider three billiards tables under a tin roof with no walls to be a “parlor”. The Copacabana  restaurant and bar is owned by ????, and it is a good place to sit and listen to the jukebox or watch cable TV inside, or sit out back in the patio. The food is fair and the beer is cold. This is where you go while you wait for the Truxillo Disco to fill up. You can’t go to the disco until 11:00 p.m. or you will be the only one there. 

Truxillo Disco - The most popular disco, with air conditioning for those sultry nights. Good music, lights, and bar. Great sunset view, but few customers at that hour. The party really doesn't start in Trujillo until about 10:00 and goes late. Lately they have tried to compete with the Arena by offering a fixed cover charge that provides all you can drink.  If you like to belt them down, this may save you some money.

ABC Liquor Store near the disco will sell you liquor and beer, mixers, tiny cups and small bags of ice. A great deal is to ask for a “cubetazo”---which is a tin bucket of ice with 6 beers for the price of 5 (In August 2002 it was 55 lempiras). You can’t get a six-pack in the states for $3.50! Then you can sit at their tables or lean against a car on the street and drink without the two dollar cover to get in the discos. Loud music blares from their outdoor speakers keeping everyone in town up till four a.m. Actually, on the weekends, Trujillo has quite a bit of nightlife for such a small town.

Henry’s Place is to the left of the Truxillo Disco. Its not beautiful, and in some respects it just another billiard bar. But its location on the hill with a great view towards the west and the sunset make it special.

Suggestion: If you’ve got a vehicle and you are brave, you might consider a drive to Puerta Castilla. There are several funky bars there, one or which has a small outdoor deck, and another which has a small pavilion on a pier. The drive is nice, and as the bay curves you get views of the lights of Trujillo against the backdrop of the mountain. Enter the town at the last dirt entrance just before the security gate at the port. One bar is immediately on the right, and the others are further in town, just follow the road back to the left when it turns, and ask. Lock your car. This is pretty funky and not for the amateur. If you want something tamer, then stop about 2/3rd of the way around the bay at a small sand road that goes off to the left. There is a sign for Casa Kiwi, one of the newest places in town. Owned by a woman from New Zealand, and catering to the backpacker crowd, she has a restaurant/bar/billiard table in a separate building that has a great view of the bay and the town of Trujillo. Good hamburgers and barbecue and you can talk to backpackers from around the world.

The Garifuna barrio of Cristales, just to the west of downtown Trujillo, has late night discos with occasional “punta” shows. Punta is the local dance, and sometimes they do it in costume with the accompaniment of locally made drums. You should inquire as to whether there are any performances in town while you are there. “Black and White Disco” in the main area of Cristales has late night crowds, but it is safer and fun to go there on Sundays when they are popular early for “tea dance” hours from 4:00 in the afternoon until 8:00 or 9:00. In March of 2003 we went there at 6:00 p.m. on a Sunday and there were 40 or 50 people dancing in the dark bar. We had fun. Cristales is an area where you should not walk alone at night, and take reasonable precautions. On the beach between Cristales and Trujillo, you should also be careful at night.

There are other small bars and billiard palors in the various barrios. I’ve never had a problem with security. But you should always exercise good sense. I really like Billares California in Barrio Buenas Aires---3 billiard tables, cheap beer, and friendly neighbors. If you can find this one you are a travel expert.