The best places to pick up a city map are the souvenir shops downtown and in the hotels—although only the names of major boulevards are identified. (Look for a sign in the window saying “City Maps.”) The airport also has a free map at the information desk that has all of Honduras on one side and city maps for half a dozen major Honduran cities on the back.

Topographical, road, mineral, resource, and other maps published by the Honduran government can be purchased at the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (tel. 504/225-0752 or 504/225-2759, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Mon.–Fri.), at the Secretaría de Transporte (SECOPT) in Comayagüela, 15 Calle one block east of 1 Avenida. The office stocks a large though not complete selection of 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 topographical maps, but the staff will often make a photocopy of ones not available for sale. Maps are inexpensive, bureaucratic hassles are nonexistent, and the staff is knowledgeable and friendly.