Honduras

currency

Honduran Lempira

Language(s)

Spanish

Independence

1821

Visa requirements

For US Citizens, there is no tourist visa required, if you are staying for less than 90 days.  Honduras is a part of the CA-4 visa agreement.  The CA-4 agreement includes El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  It allows for free movement across these countries' borders.    

Entry and departure taxes

There is a $3USD processing fee to enter Honduras.  You will receive a receipt upon payment.  There is no departure tax.

transportation

To get to Honduras, I took the Fuentes del Norte bus from Flores, Guatemala to San Pedro Sula, Honduras.  It cost me about $50 USD (360 Quetzales).   The bus station in Flores is located close to the market and is about 1km from the actual island of Flores, along 6a Avenida.  This avenue is the one that goes straight south from the island.  The bus was similar to a collectivo.  We picked people up on the side of the road as we were leaving Flores and along the way to San Pedro Sula.  The bus is pretty hot and crowded.  Once all of the seats are full, they still pick people up and allow them to stand.  Mind this is about a 8 hour bus ride.  

To leave Honduras, I took the King Quality (aka Platinum) bus from San Pedro Sula to San Salvador, El Salvador.  The cost was 1100 Lempiras (~$47 USD).  The bus station was located in an old shopping mall that was turned into a bus terminal.  Personally, I did not think that it was obvious that the building was a bus station.  There were colectivo buses outside but no sign of large international charter buses.  You must go inside to find the charter bus company stores.  The King Quality/ Platinum bus experience was excellent.  The seats are large and comfortable.  They recline to about 160° and the headrest is exactly like a pillow.  They also serve you a number of meals, depending on the length of your journey, as well as coffee/ tea and a snack.  The bus can get kind of cold, but they provide you with a blanket and a pillow, so it's not too bad.

volunteering

While in Honduras, I volunteered with the organization Hearts2Honduras.  Hearts2Honduras was founded by the mother and son team of Rhonda and Shelton Wicks.  The primary goal through Hearts2Honduras is to provide better futures for the children of Copprome Orphanage in El Progreso, Honduras.  Not only do they provide food and pay for the educational expenses of these children, but they also help the village of Monte de Olivos by building homes for the locals.  They are currently committed to fund education programs for over 100 children located in the El Progreso area.  

While volunteering with Hearts2Honduras, I had so many great experiences.  The first night I went to the village of Suyapa and experienced a worship service where several girls from the church sang the song "Oceans" for me.  It is an amazing song and very applicable to my mission.  The second day we attended another worship service in the village of Monte de Olivos.  It was one of the best worship services I have attended.  The community even held a little party for us volunteers after the worship service.  

In addition, we went to the nutrition center in El Progreso.  It was a humbling experience as we held these babies that were malnourished.  Hearts2Honduras is an amazing organization and you should consider volunteering with them, if you decide to go to Honduras.