Arrival and Information
All boats dock in the centre of Utila Town (also known as East Harbour), a large, curved harbour that's the island's only settlement and home to the vast majority of its 2000-strong population. The island's principal main road, a twenty-minute walk end to end, runs along the seafront from The Point in the east to Sandy Bay in the west. A new airport is currently being hacked out of the jungle 3km north of Utila Town, at the end of the island's other main road, Cola de Mico Road , which heads inland from the dock; until it opens (which will be sometime in the near future, if the necessary finances materialize), all planes land at a dirt airstrip in The Point. Wherever you arrive, you'll be met by representatives from the dive schools laden with maps and information on special offers. Many schools offer free accommodation during their courses, but it's worth checking out the various options before signing up. For more objective information , the Utila branch of BICA (Bay Islands' Conservation Association) has a visitor and information office on the main street east of the dock, though its opening hours are erratic (usually Mon-Fri 9am-noon and a couple of hours in the afternoon). It takes just twenty minutes to stroll from the airstrip to the far western end of town. Bikes can be rented from Delco, next to Henderson's grocery store, just west of the dock, the Mango Cafe and other places around town - rates start at US$2 a day for an old bike, and around US$5 for a decent mountain bike (not that you'll need it). Some locals use four-wheeled motorbikes to get around and occasionally pick up hitchers.
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