Honduras Travel Guide

Honduras — Country and Tourist Information

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Country Facts

Location: Central America.
Language: The official language is Spanish. English is widely spoken by the West Indian settlers in the north and on the Bay Islands off the Caribbean coast. Amerindian dialects are also spoken.
Area: 112,492 sq km (43,433 sq miles).
Time Zone: GMT - 6.
Electricity: 110/220 volts AC, 60Hz.
Population: 7.3 million (2006).
Population Density: 64.9 per sq km.
Capital City: Tegucigalpa. Population: 1.2 million (2005).
Government: Republic.
Head of State: President Roberto Micheletti is (interim president) since 2009.
Religion: Roman Catholic majority, Protestant minority.

Recent History

President Manuel Zelaya was sworn in on 28 January 2006. The previous president, communist Porfirio Lobo, led an offensive against Honduras' soaring crime rates. Despite his efforts, crime continued to rise with street gangs (known as maras) being blamed. Standing for the Liberal Party, President Manuel Zelaya has pledged to tackle the worsening crime problem by maintaining life sentences for the most serious offenses and doubling police on the streets. He also vowed to tackle poverty in one of central America's poorest nations. Drug trafficking and gang violence are major problems in the country and the economy is struggling. Strikes and demonstrations are common.

Communications

Telephone

Country Code: +504.

Mobile Telephone

Roaming agreements exist with international mobile phone companies. Coverage is generally good along the coasts and around major towns.

Internet

Internet cafes exist in major towns.

Media

The media is restricted by punitive defamation laws, which, in certain cases, require journalists to reveal their sources. Journalists tend to exercise self-censorship in order to avoid offending the political or economic interests of the media bigwigs, and cases of journalists accepting bribes from officials who wish to influence coverage are not unknown.

Post

Airmail to Western Europe takes between four and seven days.Mon-Sat 0800-1200 and 1400-1800.

Press

• Daily newspapers are in Spanish and privately owned.
• They include El Heraldo, La Prensa, El Tiempo and La Tribuna.
• The weekly Honduras This Week is published in English.

Radio

• Radio America and Radio HRN are both privately-owned national stations.

Public Holidays

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2011-December 2012 period.
2010
25 Dec Christmas Day

2011
1 Jan New Year’s Day
14 Apr Day of the Americas
21 Apr Maundy Thursday
22 Apr - 25 Apr Easter
1 May Labor Day
15 Sep Independence Day
3 Oct Soldiers’ Day
12 Oct Columbus Day
21 Oct Armed Forces’ Day
25 Dec Christmas Day

2012
1 Jan New Year’s Day
5 Apr Maundy Thursday
6 Apr - 9 Apr Easter
14 Apr Day of the Americas
1 May Labor Day
15 Sep Independence Day
3 Oct Soldiers’ Day
12 Oct Columbus Day
21 Oct Armed Forces’ Day
25 Dec Christmas Day