Agua Caliente is the crossing from Esquipulas, in Guatemala’s Chiquimula department, into Ocotepeque, Honduras, on the CA-10. Like the other two Guatemala–Honduras posts, it is an integrated post: SAT gives its customs office a Honduran address, in the municipality of Santa Fe, Ocotepeque. What sets it apart is the clock. SAT publishes three different windows here, and the one that matters to a traveller, the tourist window, closes at 21:00 on both sides. Everything below was read on 1 October 2026 unless dated otherwise.

Quick summary

  • Where: SAT’s integrated post is in Santa Fe, Ocotepeque, Honduras. IGM’s delegations map (2020 file, archived October 2022) places its Agua Caliente delegation under Esquipulas, Chiquimula, 234 km, 4:30 hours by road from Guatemala City.
  • Tourist window: 06:00-21:00 every day, on SAT’s listing and on Honduras’s migration listing.
  • Cargo and office: SAT’s operative area 06:00-18:00, administrative area 08:00-16:00, every day.
  • Getting there: Rutas Orientales to Esquipulas; no operator we read sells a ticket to the border.
  • Honduras entry: the UK says British nationals need a visa for Honduras, and a USD 3 cash fee may be charged at land borders.
  • Fees: Guatemala charges no exit fee; see border-run costs.

Three windows, one post

Customs postWhere it isHours, as SAT publishes them
Aduana Integrada Agua Caliente
Región Nororiente		Municipio Santa Fe, Departamento de Ocotepeque, Honduras. Tel. (502) 2329-7070 Administración Ext. 7421, Verificación de Mercancías Ext. 7420 y Recaudación 7422.
Services: Despacho de mercancías (importación, exportación, tránsito, Fyducas y permisos de turistas.		Área administrativa: de lunes a domingo, de 08:00 a 16:00 horas.
Área operativa: de lunes a domingo, de 06:00 a 18:00 horas.
Atención a turistas: lunes a domingo, de 06:00 a 21:00 horas.

Source: SAT, Ubicación y horario de Aduanas · read by our collector on 2026-10-01 (27 customs posts in the file). Hours are quoted in Spanish exactly as SAT publishes them. SAT publishes no queue or wait time, and neither does IGM.

WindowAgencyPublished hours
Administrative areaSATMonday to Sunday, 08:00-16:00
Operative area (goods)SATMonday to Sunday, 06:00-18:00
Atención a turistasSATMonday to Sunday, 06:00-21:00
Agua Caliente migration (entries and exits)INM (Honduras)Monday to Sunday, 6:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Agua Caliente migration delegationIGM (Guatemala)No hours published

How to read it. Do not read the 18:00 operative close as the border closing: that is the goods window. SAT’s tourist window and Honduras’s migration hours both run from 06:00 to 21:00, so 21:00 is the last published time for a traveller on either side, and neither country lists service after it. Unlike the 24-hour posts on the Salvadoran border, this one lists no service between 21:00 and 06:00. SAT lists tourist permits (permisos de turistas) among the post’s services, along with goods, transit and FYDUCA documents. SAT’s switchboard for the post is (502) 2329-7070, extension 7421 for administration; INM’s line is (504) 2232-7800.

The UK’s Honduras advice says, about Honduras’s land borders generally, that it is often better to cross in the morning, as borders sometimes close in the early evening and remain closed at night.

Getting there

  • Bus to Esquipulas: Rutas Orientales runs from Centra Norte, zone 17, with 11 departures a day from 04:00 to 18:00 plus 19:30 on Fridays (its own timetable, read 26 September 2026). It publishes no fare. Timetable, return times and the road distance are on Guatemala City to Esquipulas.
  • From Esquipulas to the border: no operator page we read publishes a timetable or fare for this leg (checked 24 September and 1 October 2026). IGM files its Agua Caliente delegation under Esquipulas.
  • Driving: the post sits on the CA-10. La Prensa (Honduras) located the 2021 Bailey bridge at kilometre 234 of the CA-10; its September 2021 report put the road damage, a stretch of at least 30 metres, on the dividing line between the two countries.

The 2021 closure, and why it matters

La Prensa (Honduras) reported on 8 December 2021 that customs operations at Agua Caliente had restarted after almost three months. Rains had undermined the road from July 2021; the post was closed from 21 September 2021 while the two governments installed a Bailey bridge of about 49 metres at kilometre 234 of the CA-10. During the closure, the customs authorities of both countries made Corinto, on the Caribbean side, the alternate route for heavy cargo, with hours extended to 05:00-22:00. The same report quoted the customs coordinator as saying 100 to 120 cargo vehicles used Agua Caliente daily, plus light vehicles for tourism, medical visits and small trade.

The lesson the record supports is narrow: this crossing depends on one stretch of road, and when it fails the alternative named by the authorities was Corinto, not El Florido.

How busy it is

IGM’s Semana Santa 2022 bulletin recorded little movement at Agua Caliente, against increased flow at El Florido and Corinto. That is IGM’s ranking of the Honduran posts that year, not a queue time; the record is on border wait-times.

Entering Honduras

This page does not cover Honduran entry rules in full, but two points from the UK government’s Honduras advice (updated 29 July 2026) change plans:

  • British nationals must have a visa to visit Honduras, even though Honduras is part of the CA-4 agreement.
  • At a land border, immigration may charge a fee of USD 3 in cash; the advice says to keep the receipt until you leave Honduras and to make sure your passport is stamped.

The CA-4 stay you already have in Guatemala is shared with Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua; see the CA-4 border run. Other nationalities: check Honduras’s requirements for your passport with Honduran authorities.

What is not published

  • Crossing or queue times, on either side.
  • IGM’s hours for its Agua Caliente delegation.
  • A bus or microbus timetable from Esquipulas to the border, on any operator page we read.
  • A Rutas Orientales fare, on the operator’s own site.

Sources