Lempiras, Dollars, and Credit Cards

One of the first things we learned during our stay was the value of the local currency called the lempira. Lempira are always paper money; there are no coins to deal with. However, there are multiple denominations of Lempiras: one, two, five, ten, twenty, fifty, hundreds, five hundreds. You will find these bills accumulate very rapidly, but you never have the one bill you need.....I think it has something to do with Murphy and his laws.

 One  US dollar is about a twenty lempira bill.  The ones less than twenty would by like our coins. So 10 Limperas is about 50 cents and so on.  That's why they accumulate so rapidly and they do not like to take large lempiras for a small purchase.  100 Lempiras is just 5 dollars....it was a hard concept for me...math you know.

Generally in the tourist areas on the island, your bill (la cuenta) comes to you in US dollars and if you have dollars they will take them.  However, you will receive any change in "lemps" as they are called.
Now credit cards can be used on the island as well.  Not every business takes them and even if they do, you may or may not hit a day when the credit card machines are working.  For example if the internet is down, or the power is out, or it's raining or windy or.........so the best advice is be prepared with cash either Lempiras or dollars.

Now the question becomes...how do you get more cash?  Well there are ATM's and Banks.  The ATM's generally work but they give you cash in Lempiras.  There is a charge just like in the states, it may be a little higher because of the transfer in currency. You can only get about 5000 Lempiras at a time  which is about $250 US.  We always ask if the machine is working before we insert our card because we have heard of cards getting stuck and the like.  I would advise having a duplicate card available in case that happens.  It is also advisable to inform you banks and credit card companies that you will be traveling in Honduras.  The fraud alerts may be triggered the first time you try using your credit card if you haven't given them advanced warning.

Banks are another story. There are armed guards at the doors and they generally do not speak English and they have BIG guns.  They require you to turn off and/or turn in your cell phone which you then deposit in an outdoor locker.  No worries...they do have those big guns.... Usually there is a line inside the bank and since everything goes more slowly here, you just have to be patient.

After waiting and finally getting a teller who may or may not speak any English, you can try to change your American dollars for Lempiras....but you need identification in the form of your passport....or maybe not, sometimes they will take just your drivers license. Oh and forget about Travelers checks...I don't think I've ever seen one here are generally held for thirty days.

Taxes on the island are high...as much as 16 %.  Tipping may or may not be "incluida"...not as widely practiced on the island as in the states but most servers are very friendly and work multiple jobs to support themselves and their families.  They are grateful for whatever you want to give them.  You generally should give them the money rather than try to add it to your check. Many times you can't even do that. I have read that US $2 bills are  considered lucky and make good tips. Apparently lt is important to use only the newer printed US bills and ones with no tears. Go figure.
We have been able to do much of our banking and regular bill paying online...the internet is indeed a wonderful thing!