International phone calls are astronomically expensive from Hondutel offices (there's a branch in every town), the state-run company that President Flores has been unsuccessfully trying to privatize. A three-minute call to the US or Canada currently costs US$11.50, to Europe US$14.80 and to Australia or New Zealand US$18.20; it's also possible to make collect calls for a hefty fee.The branches in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula are open 24 hours; elsewhere, offices are open daily from 7am to 9pm.

Unsurprisingly, given the rates, most travellers choose to avoid Hondutel if at all possible. In all the main tourist destinations and most cities there's now a cybercafA© or communication centre offering discounted international call rates. While hardly a bargain, rates are typically set at around 70 per cent of Hondutel's tariffs. Many cybercafA©s also offer Web phone calls , which cut international call rates to the price of surfing the Net, though line connections are notoriously crackle- and delay-prone. Police have periodically raided cybercafA©s and confiscated Web phone equipment, however, as Hondutel have tried to make the practice illegal - but it's well worth asking if the facility is available.

Another alternative option is to purchase an international calling card from your home phone company before you travel. Once in Honduras, AT & T card holders should dial 8000 123 for an operator, while MCI card holders should dial 8000 121.

There are also public phone booths scattered around the major towns, which take 20 and 50 centavo coins; some also now accept Hondutel phone cards (L50 and L100). Local calls are very inexpensive, national calls cost L2 for a three-minute call. Fax services are available in most Hondutel branches (US$1.40 per page to send to North America, US$2.30 to the EU, US$2.45 to Australia or NZ), rates are cheaper in cybercafA©s. Note that there are no area phone codes ; the international country code for Honduras is 504 .

Internet use has mushroomed in Honduras in the last few years, and many hotels and businesses are now on-line. There are also cybercafA©s in all the big cities and in most places where travellers congregate. Rates vary considerably: from US$2.80 an hour in San Pedro Sula to a whopping US$12 an hour in Utila and RoatA?n, where an annoying quirk of the phone system means that no calls can be classified local.