What Our Drive from Texas to Roatán Cost

In late May of 2026 we drove from Texas to Roatán. Five of us, one car, one dog, eight days on the road. We crossed at Laredo, ran down through Monterrey and Veracruz and Villahermosa, crossed into Guatemala at El Ceibo, cut across to Puerto Barrios, crossed into Honduras at Corinto, and put the car on the ferry out of La Ceiba. The full account of how that drive actually went, leg by leg, is in our route guide.

This is the other question people ask. Two readers wrote in wanting to know what the whole thing cost, and we answered from memory. We have since gone back through the card statements line by line.

The drive cost us about $2,400

That covers the border at Laredo through to rolling off the ferry on Roatán. Eight days, seven hotel nights, five people and a dog.

The table shows rounded category estimates. Card statements total $1,916.75 and we estimate about $500 in cash, putting the trip at about $2,400. We remember about $380 for the ferry and $11 in port taxes, roughly $391 together. The statement shows a $394.83 Dream Ferries charge, and our route notes record 425 HNL in dock taxes, so that recalled split does not reconcile exactly to the saved records.

Ferry and port taxes

We remember the car and family crossing as about $380, plus about $11 in port taxes, or roughly $391 together. Our card statement shows a $394.83 charge to Dream Ferries, and the route notes list 425 HNL in dock taxes. Those saved records do not match the recalled split, so this category is approximate. That amount is more than we spent on fuel for the entire drive.

The 8,000 lempira figure we have quoted before, about $320, covers the vehicle alone. Our roughly $380 ferry estimate is for the car and five passengers together, before about $11 in port taxes. Because the saved records do not reconcile to that recalled split, treat the roughly $391 category as an estimate. For a car and family, budget about $400.

Lodging, fuel and food

Seven nights came to $552, which works out to about $79 a night for a family of five. The cheapest nights ran under thirty dollars and the dearest was a little over a hundred. The dog cost extra almost every night, usually somewhere between ten and thirty dollars. One hotel outside Veracruz charged sixty for her, twice the top of that range and the most she cost us anywhere. All of it is folded into the number above.

Fuel was $314 across seven fills. We were driving a hybrid and driving it fast, which put us somewhere in the high twenties for mileage.

Food came to $335 across those eight days, which is about forty two dollars a day to feed five people. We kept it down by carrying most of it. Sandwiches and snacks out of the car, fruit from the stands along the road, and now and then a plate from a little place once we reached a town.

Borders, permits and paperwork

The border line comes to $217, and it’s made of small pieces. Fumigation at El Ceibo was $14.16. The Honduras agricultural fee was $19.95. Mexican auto insurance covered the seven days we needed it and came to six dollars on the card, bought ahead of the crossing rather than at the window.

The Mexican temporary vehicle import permit is worth explaining properly, because almost every source we read ran the two charges together. Our card was hit for $478.82 going in and refunded $414.93 coming out. The refunded part is a deposit. From what we have read since, it’s tiered by how old your vehicle is, and it only comes back if you cancel the permit at a Banjercito module on the way out, with the car present, before it expires. Miss that and you have donated it. What stayed gone was $63.89.

Insurance and cash costs

Guatemalan vehicle insurance cost us $112.70 for a three-month policy. We had planned to carry coverage, and this historical amount is part of the $217 border, permits and insurance total. It reflects what we paid on this 2026 drive, not a current quote.

Three ATM cash advances cost us $9.35 in fees for the privilege of pulling our own money out on a credit card. Small, and entirely avoidable if we had planned the cash better.

The $112.70 insurance policy, the $63.89 permit cost and about $391 for ferry and port taxes come to roughly $568 together.

We carried a thousand dollars and spent about five hundred. We estimate about $300 went to tolls, mostly in cash. The $50 for dog paperwork used to enter Guatemala and Honduras is included in the same cash total; roughly $150 remains unitemized. Cash also covered vehicle permits and smaller window fees. The cash allocations are approximate, and we no longer have a receipt-level cash ledger.

What this number doesn’t include

It doesn’t include anything we spent in Texas getting ready. Tires, servicing, supplies and the last hotel on the American side all sit outside this. What we wanted was the cost of the drive, measured from the border.

It doesn’t include the car. We bought a vehicle for this trip, and what we paid for it and whether owning it has been worth it is a bigger question than one drive can answer.

And it doesn’t include anything after the ferry ramp. What living on Roatán costs is its own guide.

It cost more than we’d have guessed. If you’re planning the same drive, that’s the number to start from.

May there be a road.

Questions we get asked

How much does it cost to drive from Texas to Roatán with a family?

From the Laredo border to the Roatán ferry ramp, eight days, five people, one dog and one car, we spent about $2,400. Card statements total $1,916.75 and cash spending was about $500. The car, Texas preparation and everything after the ferry are outside that total.

How much is the car ferry to Roatán?

We remember about $380 to Dream Ferries for the car and all five of us, plus about $11 in port taxes, roughly $391 together. The card statement shows a $394.83 Dream Ferries charge, and our route notes list 425 HNL in dock taxes. Those records do not reconcile to the recalled split, so the category is approximate. The 8,000 lempira figure that circulates online, about $320, is for the vehicle alone. For a car and family, plan around $400.

What did Guatemalan vehicle insurance cost you?

We paid $112.70 for a three-month Guatemalan vehicle policy. We had planned to carry coverage. This historical amount is part of the $217 border, permits and insurance total, not a current quote.

What does the Mexican temporary vehicle import permit really cost?

We were charged $478.82 going in and refunded $414.93 on the way out, so it cost us $63.89. Most of that charge is a deposit. From what we have read since, it’s tiered by how old the vehicle is, and it only comes back if you cancel the permit at a Banjercito module on your way out of Mexico, with the car present, before it expires. The rest stays gone.

How much cash should you carry for the drive?

We carried a thousand dollars and spent about five hundred. That estimate includes about $300 in tolls, $50 in dog paperwork used for Guatemala and Honduras, and roughly $150 in other unitemized cash expenses. These are allocations inside the same $500 estimate. We do not have a receipt-level cash ledger. Three cash advances cost $9.35 in card fees, already included in the card total.

What does it cost to bring a dog across these borders?

We spent $50 in Mexico on dog paperwork used for our dog’s entry to Guatemala and Honduras. That amount is inside our approximate $500 cash spending and is not added again. We do not have a receipt-level breakdown for the cash expenses. Most hotels charged $10 to $30 a night for her, and one outside Veracruz charged $60.

What are the smaller border fees?

Fumigation at El Ceibo was $14.16 and the Honduras agricultural fee was $19.95. Mexican auto insurance for the seven days we needed it came to six dollars. Each is small on its own and easy to leave out of a plan.