48 hours prior to arrival, all vessels arriving in Honduras must notify the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine of Honduras (GDMM-HN) [Dirección General de la Marina Mercante de Honduras (DGMM-HN)].
Skippers can complete and submit the International Port Arrival Notification for Recreational Vessels online.
It is recommended that the completed form is printed in the event it is requested by the Port Captain and Immigration at your Port of Entry.
The Q flag and Honduran courtesy flags should be flown on arrival. The Q flag should remain up until entry formalities are completed.
The captain and crew must report first to Immigration and then the Port Captain.
Note, that in some ports Immigration and the Port Captain may want to keep a copy of various documents, so it's worth going with at least one copy of each to be on the safe side.
No visits to other authorities are required.
In some ports of entry, authorities visit the boat, in others you will need to go to their offices. See the individual port clearance sections for details.
See Documents for a full list of paperwork required for entry into Honduras.
Official check-in fees appear to vary from port to port as detailed in Fees. It may be worth checking before selecting your port of entry, in particular in the Bay Islands. On the Atlantic side of Honduras, cruisers recommend Puerto Cortez as a good place to check-in, professional and easy and good for provisioning. Be sure to get receipts for any check-in fees so you don't have to pay these fees again on departure.
If you prefer to use a Yacht Agent for clearance into Honduras, costs vary from $250-$500 USD. Ask the marinas for additional agent recommendations.
A cruising permit is required to stay and cruise in Honduras, normally issued by the Port Captain. See Documents for more details.
On departure from Honduras, skippers need to request Customs issue a Zarpe, to be completed by the Port Captain. In most ports, this can only be issued the day of departure and often, as they are issued centrally, there may be a delay of several hours for collection. Immigration must also be visited for an exit stamp.
To speed things up you can apply to DGMM-HN for an International Port Clearance (Zarpe) for Recreational Vessels online.
A visit to the Port Captain will also be required once the online application has been completed.
There is no charge for clearing out. See Fees for more information.
General Directorate of the Merchant Marine of Honduras (GDMM-HN) - English
Dirección General de la Marina Mercante de Honduras (DGMM-HN) - Spanish
Last updated: April 2025
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