PROJECT WANDERLUST

1. Antigua to Escuintla ($1.30)

Coming from Antigua, I headed to the West Street Bus Station located across the market of 4th Calle Poniente. The chicken buses that I stumbled upon didn’t have a number that I could visibly see but I told the bus conductors that I wanted to go to Escuintla. Luckily, it was the last stop so it was something I didn’t have to worry about while aboard.

Travel Time: 1 hour

2. Escuintla to La Frontera ($5.70)

Before I got off, I asked the lady beside me which bus I should take to get to the border.

“La frontera?” “No, the border. El Salvador border.” “Sí, La frontera!”

She then directed me to the guys that led me to my next bus. It was only a couple minutes walk from the last station and I was assured by the gentlemen that the border will be my last stop. Convenient!

Travel Time: 2 hours

3. Crossing Borders of Guatemala and El Salvador (FREE)

After going through Immigration, I was left puzzled on where to head next. To be fair, I was told that I could take the bus from the border to Sonsonate. But what bus? All I saw were heaps of trucks that barely moved. In between their cramped gaps were bikes that insisted to drive me to El Salvador. I laughed…but then it hit me. I may have passed the border of Guatemala but I haven’t reached the border of El Salvador just yet! (I got so accustomed with our US-Canada border, lo siento!)

They said it was too far of a walk to cross. The same people who also insisted that I should get my Guatemalan Quetzales exchanged to US Dollars from the random people that wandered around the border. Generally, I like giving every one the benefit of the doubt. But it seemed like every action that I was about to make, according to them, would cost me money… A lot of it!

So with all my bags, I decided to just walk it despite the uncertainty of my arrival. The scorching heat of the sun slowed me down as expected but I didn’t mind taking short breaks if it needed be. Soon enough, the weight of my backpacks were taking its toll on me. I knew it would take long, but good gracious I hoped that it wouldn’t take excessively long.

But lo and behold, 8 minutes after and I’ve reached the Immigration of El Salvador. 8 FREAKING MINUTES!! I was being charged $10 by the bikers for something that anyone could’ve done in less than 10 minutes.

Travel Time: 8 minutes

4. El Salvador Border to Sonsonate ($1)

I have a bad habit of not following through my itinerary at times because I tend to extend my stay when I get attached to the cities I visit. That being said, I had a ticket to enter El Salvador but no concrete plans on when I leave. It was something that I couldn’t lie about had they asked me on the spot! Thank heavens, the lady that happened to check my passport was lenient and only cared about the small sheet that I received from the Immigration of Guatemala.

Until now, I still think of how lucky I was for getting away with it. But please guys if you’re crossing their borders, a proof of you leaving El Salvador (or at least a plan) is something really nice to have all set and ready. They don’t have any accessible internet within the area so if you happen to get one of their strict employees, you might find yourself heading back to Guatemala! Always better safe than sorry!

Anyhow, the border employees figured that I traveled via public transportation (a.k.a chicken bus) so they directed me to the bus station located a couple of blocks away from the immigration. At that point, there was only one bus awaiting for passengers. Again, I wasn’t sure where I was headed but I told the driver that I wanted to go to the city.

“Termina Sonsonate.”

He lost me afterwards… but I didn’t bother asking again because I figured that he would’ve kicked me out if I took the wrong bus.

Travel time: 1.5 hour

5. Sonsonate to San Salvador ($1)

Being surrounded by a fair amount of buses, it was safe to assume that one of them would be directed to San Salvador, the main city.

205. Ruta 205.

I asked a couple of people just to be sure. By then, Ruta 205 wasn’t easy to forget. After 7 long excruciating hours, for the first time I was sure where I was headed!

Travel time: 2 hours

Quick Recap:

1.Antigua to Escuintla ($1.30)

2. Escuintla to La Frontera ($5.70)

3. Crossing Borders of Guatemala and El Salvador (FREE)

4. El Salvador Border to Sonsonate ($1)

5. Sonsonate to San Salvador ($1)

Total Cost: $9.00
Total Travel Time: 6.6 hours (varies depending on the traffic. Avoid traveling on weekends if you can!)

Things to Note:

a. El Salvador’s currency is actually US Dollars.

b. Getting your money exchanged in the border is not that bad to be honest. You just get a better deal in the city. So if you didn’t come to the country prepared but in dire need of a couple of bucks to buy water and snacks, then it wouldn’t hurt to trade your remaining Quetzales (or just enough to get you by).

c.El Salvador forms the CA-4 along with countries like Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. For tourists, this means using the same stamp within 90 days while traveling the rest of the three countries of CA-4 region (unless of course you travel by plane).

Enjoy El Salvador!!