Not sure if I should carry coins for public transport in Honduras or if card payments are common. Advice?
I liked how affordable transport was in Honduras. The bus from San Pedro Sula to Copán was only 200 HNL, paid in cash at the terminal. Inside Tegucigalpa, local buses charged me just 15 HNL per ride. BAC Credomatic ATMs worked perfectly for cash withdrawals. No cards onboard, but the fares were so cheap it didn’t matter. Carrying small bills made things easy.
I took a Hedman Alas bus from Tegucigalpa to San Pedro Sula and had to buy the ticket in cash at the counter - they wouldn’t accept my card that day. On local city buses, the conductor always came around collecting lempira coins. Even colectivos to La Ceiba required cash. I pulled money from a BAC Credomatic ATM near Parque Central, which worked with my Visa. Absolutely no card readers onboard.
In Honduras, buses and colectivos are strictly cash-based in Honduran lempira (HNL). City buses in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula cost around 15-20 HNL, paid directly to the conductor. There’s no metro system. For long-distance travel, like to La Ceiba or Copán, coaches such as Hedman Alas also prefer cash, though some ticket offices in big cities may take cards. ATMs from BAC Credomatic and Banco Atlántida are widespread.