Money, cards and ATMs in Honduras

The lempira, and the dollar

• The lempira (HNL) is the currency on the mainland and what you will be quoted in.
• The Bay Islands run substantially on US dollars - dive shops, hotels and restaurants on Roatan and Utila price in them - though change comes in lempiras.
• Keep US dollars in cash for the land border fee, which is 3 US dollars and must be in cash. Keep the receipt.
• Small notes. Breaking a 500 lempira note outside a city is a nuisance.

Cards and machines

• Cards work in San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, Roatan and the larger hotels, and often carry a surcharge.
• Cash everywhere else, including most of Copan and the smaller north coast towns.
• Petty theft is prevalent in cities and on the Bay Islands, so use cash machines inside banks or malls, during the day, and do not count money on the street.
• Take out several days' worth at once when you are somewhere with a proper bank.

Costs

• The mainland is cheap; the Bay Islands are not, and Roatan in particular prices like the Caribbean it is.
• Utila is the budget dive island and is where people go to certify cheaply.

Tipping

• 10% in restaurants, often already added.
• Dive guides and boat crews are tipped, and it matters to them.