Last updated 2023, January 26th: With over 80% mountainous landscape, Honduras offers jungle, ancient Maya ruins, a turbulent history, and rich culture. The beautiful tropical island paradise of Roatan in the Caribbean Sea is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.

If you haven't had Honduras on your radar yet, make sure to read carefully through the article, as the country lacks digital nomad-friendly infrastructure, comes with regular power cuts, and areas to avoid for safety reasons. This should not discourage you from traveling to Honduras. But it is important to know about some facts because one's holiday paradise can be a remote worker's nightmare.

🌱 Travel health insurance for Honduras

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🇭🇳 Entry requirements for Honduras

  • Valid visa: Apply for the visa before traveling. All passengers are required to pre-register online with Honduran Immigration authorities prior to arrival.
  • Proof of vaccination: A valid EU Digital COVID certificate or a valid recovery certificate or an alternative proof of full vaccination. If you have been vaccinated in the USA, please show your CDC card. No quarantine or self-isolation is required. If you received your vaccines from another country, please bring proof of your vaccination.

✈️ How to get to Honduras

  • Plane: The 3 most commonly used are: Toncontín International Airport (TGU), outside the capital Tegucigalpa (reputedly one of the most dangerous airports in the world, for its difficult runway). Then there is Ramón Villeda Morales International (SAP), southeast of San Pedro Sula. And lastly Juan Manuel Gálvez International (RTB), on Roatán island. All 3 airports connect Honduras with other Central American capitals, as well as some cities in the USA, for example, Miami, Houston, and Atlanta, as well as some destinations in South America. There are currently no direct connections from or to Europe.
  • Direct flights to Roatan: You can fly directly to Roatan island from Guatemala City, Belmopan in Belize. Also from Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Minneapolis, Denver, and Houston. There is a direct flight from Toronto to Roatan too!

🚌 Public transport

  • Taxi: You can find taxis everywhere in the country. Taxis are a good way to travel within cities but only Radio Taxis. Fares start at 72 HNL (2.72 Euro), and every added km costs around 50 HNL (1.89 Euro). When arriving in Honduras, take a taxi from the airport to your destination. Do not take the bus. Always take the Radio Taxis, as they are safe and are monitored via a radio controller.
  • Collectivo: You might know collectives from Mexico. If you haven't heard of them yet, Collectivos are shared taxis you can simply stop on the road, ask the driver where they are going and if it is your direction, join the ride for a small fee. Collectivos are mostly minibusses. Petty crime is a thing in Honduras, so always watch your belongings. Although collectivos are a main form of local transport, it is not recommended to use them as a foreigner.

🏡 How to find a place

  • Hotels: Depending on which country you are coming from, Honduras provides a pretty affordable range of hotels and you can get decent accommodation for 20 Euro per night. Make sure your room safe is big enough for your laptop.
  • Airbnb: An option but Honduras doesn't have big listings on Airbnb yet. And with a high crime rate like Honduras, may be a good idea to book official hotels anyway.

🏘️ Where to stay in Tegucigalpa

  • Colonia Palmira: Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras. East of the downtown area and the historic center of Tegucigalpa, you find middle and upper-class residential communities in Colonia Palmira. This area is filled with hotels, the most popular restaurants, trendier clubs, and a variety of shopping facilities. Colonia Palmira is the commercial heart and center of tourist facilities, such as embassies, airline offices, and travel agencies. This neighborhood is considered one of the safer ones in the capital.

🧑🏻‍💻 Where to work from in Tegucigalpa

Coworking space

  • Widú: Widù coworking is located in the commercial heart of Tegucigalpa in Colonia Palmira. With a membership, you have access to an onsite restaurant, community events, a cozy chill-out area, and ergonomic workplaces. The flexible payment plans are perfect for a daily pop-in or a monthly membership. The 1-month membership costs 142.50 Euro.

Coffee shops

  • Galeano Café: The family-owned café has been in the coffee industry for generations. With the love of coffee and the will to ensure a fair wage for small producers in the vast coffee industry, Galeano Coffee is one of the serious coffee roasters. Besides coffee specialties, you can order delicious sandwiches and work from comfortable tables with stable and fast wifi.
  • Nordic Coffee Shop: Located close to Plaza las Hadas, Nordic Coffee Shop provides super fast internet and cozy seating. Enjoy their tasty pastries in either the inside or the outside area of the café.

🏝️ Where to stay in Roatan

Roatan is a tropical island with parts being developed and parts with dirt roads. The areas are spread out and if you have a driver's license, consider renting a car, a scooter, or a bicycle for very short distances. If you do not want to rent transport, have a detailed look at the accommodation you book and make sure you have internet and most of the things you need within walking distance.

  • Sunset Villas: The southern region of Honduras is known by expats but also tourists, as the whole island serves mostly tourism. You can find beach clubs here, houses and apartments, coffee shops, markets, and basic shopping facilities.
  • West Bay: This area has nice and affordable beach clubs but offers public beaches too. You find housing here, restaurants, and hotels.

👩🏼‍💻 Where to work from in Roatan

Coworking space

  • Beach Desk: This coworking space is located in the southern part of the island, in Sunset Villas. Passes start from 4.60 Euro for 2 hours between 3 pm and 5 pm Mondays to Fridays. If you need more time, you can get a half-day pass for 9.20 Euro or a day pass for 16.30 Euro. Bigger plans are up to 270 Euro for a month.

🚊 How to travel around

  • Local bus: Traveling by bus is one of the cheapest options to get around in Honduras. There are direct overland busses that take you directly from A to B, and then there are multi-stop busses, the Parandos, you need much patience to reach your destination. Parandos, however, are the cheapest busses. However, I would not recommend taking a collectivo, due to the high crime rate of the country.
  • Express bus: If you travel overland, check out Hedman Alas bus company. However, I would not recommend taking a collectivo, due to the high crime rate of the country. Take a plane instead.
  • Safety: It is not advisable to use the bus in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, as these areas were reported to have armed robberies. In some areas, buses are accompanied by armed soldiers to provide citizens' safety. Do not take busses in the evening or at night. San Pedro Sula should be avoided anyway due to high crime rates.
  • Plane: If you don't want to mess with overland transport (for your personal valid reason), you can travel to Honduras by domestic airlines, which bring you to the island of Roatan, Tegucigalpa, or La Ceiba.

🎖Must see

  • Tegucigalpa: Honduras' capital is for you if you want a tropical climate, modern culture, and a modern lifestyle considering you are in a developing country. Once you reached the limit of living city life, hop on the plane and continue to the island of Roatan.
  • Roatan: The biggest island in the bay islands and the safest tourist destination in Honduras, which comes with regular power cuts (once a week minimum), tropical island life, diving, beaches, and a coworking space called Roatan Cowork. You can reach Roatan by plane, for example from Miami, and other US cities, Belize City, Tegucigalpa, La Ceiba, and San Pedro de Sula.

💡 Good to know

  • Internet: The average fixed broadband internet speed in Honduras is 25 Mbps download and 6 Mbps upload.
  • Sim card: You can get a Tigo sim card with different package lengths. Tigo has the best coverage and speed and covers the island of Roatan. A destination, you should include in your Honduras trip.
  • Socket Type: Type A, B.
  • Digital nomad community: Difficult topic. But I guess one of the reasons why you are reading this article? Honduras is not well set up yet for digital nomads, due to power cuts, lack of coworking or coliving spaces, safety concerns, and lack of infrastructure. However, Tegucigalpa and Roatan might be the best option.
  • Currency: Official currency in Honduras is the Lempira (L). 1 Euro is roughly 27 L.
  • Climate: In the coastal lowlands, the climate is hot and tropical with average annual temperatures between 26 and 29 degrees Celsius. The Caribbean coast experiences rainfall all year-round.
  • Crime: Honduras ranks 47 on the list of the most dangerous countries in the world. The global peace index marks the country as more peaceful than Brazil and Mexico.
  • Soccer: Soccer is really important in Honduras, in 1969 there was even a war, called the 100-hour war or Soccer war, between El Salvador and Honduras, which fought over: s-o-c-c-e-r.

🚧  What to avoid

  • Crime: Drug trafficking, gang violence, and corruption are just a few points that kept Honduras' economy down and its people in poverty. When traveling to Honduras, you need to check your belongings at all times, keep a panoramic view of what is going on, behind you, and next to you, be alert, and focused. In the horrible event of a robbery, do not resist, do not cry, do not panic, do not scream, and cooperate.
  • Nightly bus trips: As mentioned earlier, robbery, armed robbery, and gang robbery that is all very common in Honduras and I would avoid taking busses and especially never ever taking a night bus.
  • Men: Either a single man or men in groups, for the female readers here, do never play naive or flirt with men. Flirting in Latin America can be as simple as a smile. Travel with your friends to be safe or put your killer face on.
  • Robbery: Don't take your credit cards, wallet, passport, and other valuable items with you as robbery is very common in every corner of the country. Use the room safe, and take only cash with you. Have an eye on your phone at all times and never leave your bag unwatched in a café when using the bathroom.
  • ATM: When taking out cash at the bank, watch every single person, watch the outside of the bank, and the entrance area, and be extra vigilant.
  • Gracias a Dios: This province should be avoided due to the high level of drug trafficking, violent crime, lack of police and government stability, robbery, and gang activities.

🚴🏻‍♀️ How to stay healthy

Stay active

  • Watersports: Let's assume you plan to go to Roatan or other islands, a great way to stay active and fit is by doing watersports, such as snorkeling, swimming, and diving.
  • Running: The islands' beaches are wonderful locations for running. Just make sure to stay in lively areas and don't run in the wild alone.
  • Yoga: If you are traveling with one of these wonderful foldable yoga mats, why not try out some YouTube yoga? Here are my favorite accounts: Boho Beautiful app, Boho Beautiful Yoga, Yoga with Allie Van Fossen, Yoga with Adrienne, and Mady Morrison (German).
  • Workouts: Maybe yoga is not your cup of tea, here are some YouTube accounts that do pretty sweaty workouts, from 7-minutes to full-hour programs. If you don't want to make much time available for your daily workout, and you do want an instructor telling you what to do, try out the 7-minute workout. YouTube channels to check out for your self-organized daily workout routine: 7 minutes app, The Body Coach TV, Nobadaddiction, Growingananas.

Health Risks

  • Water Quality: You should not drink tap water in Honduras.
  • Air Quality: The air quality in Honduras is good.
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