Vacationing in Honduras Has Risks Says U.S. State Department

As many winter vacationers are finalizing plans to visit warm Central American beaches, the U.S. Department of State issued a high-level advisory for the Republic of Honduras.

As of December 10, 2024, the State Department's Level 3 advisory warns against traveling to the Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras's most eastern department, due to civil unrest. This department's infrastructure is weak, government services are limited, and police and military presence is scarce.

In December 2022, the Government of Honduras declared a "State of Exception." That declaration remains in effect in 2024 and has been modified to include more cities.

However, some locations in Honduras were found welcoming for visitors this winter.

The State Department's advisory states: "There is a concentration of resources around resort areas in the Bay Islands, which include Roatan, Utila, and Guanaja, and these areas are better policed."

If you visit Honduras, enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive digital alerts and make locating you in an emergency easier. If U.S. citizens need assistance while in Honduras, the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa is located at Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.

From a health perspective, the Honduran Ministry of Health declared a national emergency in Honduras due to the increased risk of the mosquito-transmitted dengue virus in June 2024.

As of December 15, 2024, over 175,000 dengue cases and 153 related fatalities have been reported this year.

Additionally, Honduras has reported chikungunya and zika patients in 2024.

For disease prevention, an approved chikungunya vaccine (Valneva SE's IXCHIQ®) is available at many travel clinics and pharmacies in the U.S., but no vaccine is offered for dengue or zika.