Honduras-General Information

Read more about borders, road conditions, and hotels in Honduras in this article. 

Basic Facts

  • Population:7,483,763
  • Capital: Tegucigalpa
  • Fun fact: Honduras means "depths" in Spanish. Columbus is traditionally quoted as having written "Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de esas Honduras" (English: "Thank God we have come out of those depths").

Border Crossing Information

Entry Requirements

Necessary documents

  • Passport
  • Drivers license
  • Vehicle Registration
  • Vehicle Title
  • Form from El Salvador or Guatemala, with stamp showing export of vehicle
  • Three copies of all documents

Costs

  • L135 or $7.15 for form 9A-1 (vehicle import permit)
  • L435.34 or $22.35 (foreign license plate fee)
  • L187.45 or $10.25 (Aduanet)

Procedure

When nearing the migration station (and even several km before), men may swarm around or chase after your car, offering to help you through the immigration process. You will have to be very insistent if you do not desire their services. Telling them in Spanish will help. If you do chose to use to use their services, make sure to demand receipts for every transaction, to ensure that you are paying the appropriate amounts.

You may have to pay a small fee to enter the country, despite the CA-4 agreement, depending on the border crossing. Ask for a receipt. Your passport will not be stamped by immigration.

In order to import the car, you will first give your documents and photocopies to a customs officer - who may or may not be uniformed, so ask to see ID to ensure he is legitimate. He will approach you as you near the actual border, check your papers to see if all is in order, and accompany you to the customs office for processing. There, after paying the fees indicated below, your passports will be stamped to indicate that you are traveling with a car and you will receive your vehicle import permit (permiso de entrada y salida temporal de vehiculo)

In addition to the documents listed above, you also need to provide them with photocopies of your newly stamped passport and import permit, which can be made at a nearby store or tienda that may charge around 2 lempira per copy. They also may accept Guatemalan quetzales, or American dollars, but likely at a poor exchange rate. Before you try to drive away from the border, it is a good idea to make several copies of your completed vehicle import permit, as an official further down the road may ask for this. Also, be sure to fasten your seatbelts before putting your car in motion - very attentive traffic police may be lurking just outside the border zone.

Exit Requirements

Necessary documents

  • Passport
  • Vehicle import permit

Procedure

At the border, you will need to show the above documents to the border officials. They will make a large notation in your passport to cancel the large importation stamp, thus taking up an entire page.

Individual Experiences

Honduras has a notoriously painful border crossing experience for most people. Read more in the Honduras-Additional Border Information article for specific border information and people's horror stories.  Arm yourself with information before you get to the border, and you will have a less unpleasant experience. 

Roads and Driving

Road Conditions

According to U.S. Department of State:

Major cities are connected by an inconsistently maintained, two-lane system of paved roads.Many secondary roads in Honduras are unpaved.During the rainy season, even major highways are often closed due to rockslides and flooding from heavy rains.In the event of an accident, contact the Honduran Transit Authority (“Transito”) immediately.They may be contacted either directly through their local numbers, or through their national emergency number, *189.Honduran law requires that no vehicles involved in an accident be moved until Transit Agents arrive, not even to clear a traffic obstruction, unless you are in serious physical danger.

Some of the most dangerous stretches for road travel include:Tegucigalpa to Choluteca, because of dangerous mountain curves; El Progreso to La Ceiba, because of animal crossings and the poor condition of bridges from flooding; Route 39 through northern Olancho Department between Gualaco and San Esteban; and Limones to La Union, Olancho (route 41) via Salama and northward to Saba.Locals also refer to this latter stretch of road as the “Corridor of Death” because of frequent incidents of highway robbery.

Please refer to our Roads and Driving page for more driving information and tips.

Military Checkpoints and Police

The police set up periodic road blocks, and if your car seems unusual or they can tell you are a tourist, you will likely be asked to pull over. Sometimes they will examine your documents, ask you some simple questions, and you can proceed on your way. If you are pulled over and you don't believe you did anything wrong, see the scams and shakedowns section for techniques to avoid paying bribes.

Gas Prices

Gas prices are expressed in the units of the specific country.
02/25/12: Price is in Honduran lempira per liter

  • Regular: L86.07/Gal
  • Premium: L92.21/Gal
  • Diesel: L81.74/Gal

Conversion: 1L=0.26 gallons, 18.9 Lempira=1 USD

These prices are from the gas station close to the Copan Ruins, it could be high because it is a tourist area.

Camping and Hotels

Nacome
If you are just trying to drive from El Salvador to Nicaragua, you will need to pass through the small Pacific coast section of Honduras. It is very possible to cross both borders in one day, as there is only about 40 miles of Honduras between El Salvador and Nicaragua. In a pinch, the Hotel Puerto Royal in Nacaome with a gated lot, swimming pool, and greasy restaurant (which is one of the few dining options in this small town) for $40/night. It's right on the highway, hard to miss.

Tela
Lancetilla Botanical Gardens. (N15:44 W87:27). US$8. Entrance is off main highway on south side; look for long line of trees overhanging the highway and lots of vendor stall along the highway. There is a security gate where you can tell them you want to camp. They’ll call in to the garden and set in up. The garden itself is a few kms down the entrance road. Good shade and toilets.

Tourist Police. Secure concrete parking lot next to police station at the foot of 4a Ave NE near the beach. We had read about this option and tried it, but there was construction going on the entrance to the lot was blocked, so they said we couldn’t access it. They offered to let us camp on the street in front, but we declined because of security concerns. Could be a good spot if the fenced lot is accessible.

Tela Beach Club (N15:47.379 W87:30.770). This place, which is listed in 99 Days to Panama DOES NOT take campers.

Danlí
Esso Gasolinera. (N14:1.497 W86:35.085). US$5. At the west end of town on south side road of highway from Tegucigalpa. Guard is on duty all night, so it is very secure, but not necessarily quiet. Good staging point before crossing into Nicaragua. Only amenity is toilets.

--Thanks to Anne for much of the Honduras camping information

Comments

Submitted by bipbipamericas on Sun, 05/27/2012 - 07:14

D and D Breweries.  Run by Bobby for the past 11 months.  Runs tours into the cloud forest, hikes; birdwatching and boats and floats out on the lake.  And of course has home made Beer and Sodas on tap.  Camping 60L pp hot showers, pool, hamaca, restaurant and garden.  http://www.ddbrewery.com/ 

Submitted by 93fj1200 on Tue, 06/12/2012 - 15:47

When I passed through the border from Guatemala to Honduras on my Yamaha FJ1200, I had met up with a fellow motorcyclist driving a BMW who had just been pulled over by the police.  He told me that he did not have to pay anything but he had passed me at high speed previously so the police actually did have a reason to stop him.  The northern border crossing was as is normal, a very hectic few hours.  It was actually very easy to pass through from Guatemala side in contrast to my entrance to Guatemala, first Migracion and then Aduana for the motorcycle.  When passing through through the Honduran side, there were guides that lead you precariously through the system.  I had to pay for some ladies lunch so she would complete my paperwork.  Be aware of the exchange rates and keep some American money on you, it makes things a little easier and you will know how much you are overpaying.  We eventually made it through.  I continued on alone through Honduras through to Esperanza (after 32 miles of a lousy wagon trail road)  When in doubt, keep asking for directions and keep some money on you.  In Honduras, there are ATMs but are harder to come by.  DO NOT DRIVE AT NIGHT, THE ROADS ARE TREACHEROUS AND FULL OF POTHOLES BIG ENOUGH FOR A CAR.  AT THE LEAST, IT WILL KILL YOUR SHOCKS AND SUSPENSION.  My bike is quite quick but to be more safer than sorry, I kept my speed under 95kms and I still managed to give the shocks on my bike an extreme workout.  There are so many potholes and construction of roads is so haphazard, it is difficult to understand.  When passing through Tegucigulpa, I just kept asking for directions every 500 feet and made it through quite quickly. After, travelling was better until I reached the Nicaraguan border.

The border crossing was hectic to say the least, I had a guide but it doesn´t matter, you always feel like you are being robbed.  Entering Nicaragua was quite easier and there was no guides/criminals working there. Nicaragua is a lot nicer to drive, the roads are quite straight and easier to follow. I entered Managua as it was getting dark and it did not appear very friendly to me so I just found a safe motel and parked my bike for the night and left early in the morning.  It is always a good idea to have your tank filled up at night before stopping because early in the morning, you never know where or when the gas stations (gasolineras o bomba de gasolina) are open for business. The border crossing into Costa Rica was very strange but safe and the guides were helpful.  When dealing with these guides, make sure you have an agreement on what you will pay them before and know what the charges and fees are.  Some of them invent fees.  After all of my bad experiences in crossing the different borders, I did not lose a lot of money but always felt like I was being treated badly.  Especially from entering Mexico leaving Honduras.  I would love to just A-bomb those crossings.  It is really hard to believe that the governments permit these crossings to exist in this manner.  Having crossed wonderfully from Canada to the U.S. and back hundreds of times, it is such a contrast to see the differences and the lack of modernization.  You would think there would be a company that exists that could help these companies modernize and actually help them and ease pressures on the borders.  After entering Costa Rica and going into Panama, it is quite straight-forward, you punch yourself through Migracion, then you need vehicle nsurance which must be purchased and then you go to Aduana.  The insurance is not costly and you can buy coverage for whatever length of time you need, although the coverage is probably not worth much financially.  Also, they do make you pay a few dollars for fumigation of your vehicle, whether you actually receive it or not.  The Panama crossing is good, just time-consuming.  When you are in the line for Migracion (far right side), look first, there may be another line open next to it, it is normally much shorter. I have waited up to 3 hours here to do my paperwork.  Have patience, hopefully more than I do.  Hahaha!!  There is also a duty-free zone at this crossing.  I have not checked it out yet but will let you know.  Good luck and good travelling!!

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