Copan, Honduras
From Panajachel, we went back to Antigua and caught the 4 am bus to Copan the next day. We went with Atitrans, and I recommend that everyone should avoid them. The guy at the office told us that the driver would drop us at our hostel in Guatemala City but we were told otherwise by our driver on the return trip from Copan. He refused to send us to our hostel and instead left us at a shopping center where we took a cab to our hostel from there. So, I'd have to say to avoid Atitrans in Antigua.
Apart from the transportation hassles, I felt that Copan was worth the commute from Antigua. The ruins themselves weren't very impressive but the sculptures were the best we saw at the Mayan ruins we visited. Copan also has a large number of wild and captive macaws that swoop along the pathways in the jungle. It is quite an experience to walk along the pathways in the jungle, and then see and hear a trio of macaws squawking overhead. The museum in the ruins are well worth the US $5 admission fee; it's small but very well laid out and the exhibits are very impressive, especially the sculpture of a crane with a fish in its mouth.
