Costs, Money and Banks
Honduras's currency is the lempira (L), which consists of 100 centavos. Coins come as 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos and notes as 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 lempiras. For day-to-day living, Honduras works out extremely cheap for foreigners. At the current exchange rate of L15.4 to US$1, a cup of coffee typically costs around US$0.30, a soft drink around US$0.40 and fresh juice US$1. A meal in an ordinary cafe will be around US$2-3. Honduras has a number of national banks , of which the biggest are Banco Atlantida, Bancahsa, Banco de Occidente and Ficensa. All of these change travellers' cheques - American Express is the most widely accepted brand, while Visa and Thomas Cook are also usually cashed without a fuss; other brands are frequently rejected, especially in more remote areas. At present Honduran ATMs don't accept foreign credit cards . Visa card holders can get cash advances in several banks, including Banco Atlantida; Mastercard holders will have much more of a problem - currently only Credomatic (with branches in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba) accepts this card. All debit cards, including Cirrus and Plus, are currently useless in Honduras except for the Visa debit card. Banks in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula are usually open Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm and Saturday 9am to noon; in smaller towns most shut for an hour at lunchtime and close up to an hour earlier in the afternoons. All banks are closed on public holidays and on the Monday following an election.
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