By Plane
While regional air carriers are more expensive than transportation by road or ferry, they are still relatively reasonably priced and can shave a day or two off your total travel times within Honduras. The country has several domestic airlines: Taca's regional airline Isleña (tel. 504/2445-1918; www.flyislena.com), Aerolineas Sosa (tel. 504/2445-1154), Lanhsa (tel. 504/2445-0397; www.lanhsa.com) and CM Airlines (tel. 504/234-1886; www.cmairlines.com), all offering daily flights on select routes to and from major destinations in the country, including San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, La Ceiba, Roátan, Guanaja, Utila, Puerto Lempira, and Brus Laguna. Schedules tend to be erratic and change frequently, depending on demand.
Sami Airlines (tel. 504/2442-2565) offers service when there is demand and has charter flights in four- to six-person planes to La Ceiba and destinations in La Mosquitia such as Ahuas, Palacios, Belen, Brus Laguna, and Puerto Lempira. Bay Island Airways (tel. 504/2933-6077; www.bayislandairways.com) offers transport around the Bay Islands via small seaplanes.
By Car
Car rentals are readily available at most major airports from multinational companies such as Avis, Payless, Hertz, and Budget, as well as local companies.
The highways along the North Coast, between San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, and between San Pedro Sula and Copán, are the best in the country and are comparable to highways in North America -- even lined with many of the same gas stations and fast food restaurants.
Elsewhere, things aren't so good. In some places, roadwork is finally beginning, and paved routes are, in general, becoming more common -- though in a significant part of Honduras, the roads are downright nasty. Most are either partially paved or unpaved, with massive uneven surfaces and bumps. Flat tires are incredibly common; therefore, there are mechanics along every highway and major route who can fix your tire in a matter of minutes for just a few lempiras.
Roads are also frequently flooded or impassable during the rainy season, and communities can at times be completely cut off from the country.
Apart from driving on the major highways, you will need to rent a car or truck with four-wheel drive to even consider driving in other parts of Honduras, particularly rural areas.
Gasoline is sold as "plus" and "premium." Both are unleaded; premium is just higher octane. Diesel is available at almost every gas station, as well. When going off to remote places, try to leave with a full tank of gas because gas stations can be hard to find. If you need to gas up in a small town, you can sometimes get gasoline from enterprising families who sell it by the liter from their houses. Look for hand-lettered signs that say GASOLINA. At the time of writing, a gallon of premium cost 100 lempira, or roughly $5 per gallon.
By Bus
There are literally hundreds of bus companies in Honduras, most operating out of dirt lots and offering travel only to nearby destinations.
Routes between major cities often have the best buses and the fastest service, and are a cheap and easy way to get from place to place. To more off-the-beaten-path destinations, the buses are usually slow and crowded, but full of local color.
While most bus companies offer only one route between two major destinations, two luxury bus companies popular with foreign travelers travel to major cities: Hedman Alas (tel. 504/2237-7143; www.hedmanalas.com) has frequent service between San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, Tela, La Ceiba, and Copán; Viana Clase de Oro (tel. 504/2225-6584) has five first-class buses journeying daily between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula that continue on to La Ceiba. You can expect to pay roughly L25 to L100 per hour of bus travel on a luxury service. For local buses, you might pay a 10th of that.
Robberies of tourist buses, while infrequent, have occurred. Riding in buses at night, apart from major routes, is not advised.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
