El Salvador to Guatemala border crossing

El Salvador to Guatemala border crossing:

all you need to know!

El Salvador to Guatemala Border crossing it’s the easiest I’ve ever done! And I’ve been traveling alone for more than ten years so trust me!

A week ago I crossed from Santa Ana, El Salvador, all the way to Antigua, Guatemala—and I want to share how I did it because when I started looking for info online, I couldn’t find anything detailed. So here I am, your trusty travel bestie, ready to help.

Honestly, it turned out to be super easy, cheap, and one of the friendliest borders I’ve ever crossed. Of course, it still has its little challenges when it comes to logistics—because that’s just how public transportation works in this part of the world. But aside from that, I promise it’s simple to figure out, and you absolutely don’t need to book a shuttle that ends up costing more than four times the price of the way I’ll show you.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not judging. If you’d rather take private transport for the sake of comfort, go for it! They’ll pick you up at your hostel and drop you right at your final destination, which is great. But honestly, it’s not necessary. First, because if you’re traveling through this part of the world, it’s such a cool experience to travel like the locals do. That’s what traveling is about, right? Immerse yourself in the culture, no fear, amiga.

And let’s not even mention how much money you’ll save doing it on your own—less than half the cost! You can use that extra cash on amazing food. Or on travel insurance, which I do recommend for peace of mind. Personally, I’ve been using SafetyWing for years. Luckily, I haven’t had to use it often, but the few times I did (because travel = real life), they responded super quickly, were super friendly, and their platform is so easy to use for uploading the documents needed for reimbursements. Every time, I had the money back in my account within a few days. What I like most—since I usually travel without a set end date—is that it works like a subscription you pay every 4 weeks, and you can cancel anytime.

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How to do it: step by step

The easiest way to cross starting from El Salvador is from the city of Santa Ana. And if that wasn’t already in your travel plans… well, then you really need to rethink your trip, because Santa Ana is an absolute must. Yes, it’s touristy, but for good reason—and on top of that, it’s got plenty of budget hostels. I stayed at Castello Hostel, where a dorm bed goes for just $6 a night. From Santa Ana, you can also hike up the Ilamatepec volcano. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

• From Santa Ana, you’ll need to catch a local bus to Ahuachapán. Grab it at the Francisco Lara Pineda Bus Terminal (type it like that into Google Maps). You can take bus 210 or any other that’s heading toward/passing through Ahuachapán. The fare is two coras, which is 50 cents USD. I hopped on the one you see in the picture around 7am. Buses start running at about 6am.

See how easy it is to figure out how to navigate the El Salvador to Guatemala border crossing? Now it’s your turn—stop reading and just go do it!

The bus will drop you off pretty much in downtown Ahuachapán. From there, you just need to walk to Parque General Francisco Menéndez (about 5 blocks). Once there, hop on a minibus (I took the one you see in the photo below) heading to Las Chinamas, the border town. The fare was one cora—that’s 25 cents USD.

That’s it! If you were wondering how to cross from El Salvador to Guatemala by land, it’s really that simple. You’ve made it to the border. When you hop off the bus in Las Chinamas, you’ll see money changers right there. I recommend exchanging with them—it’s totally legal and they actually give you a really good rate.

By around 9am I was already at the border. Exiting El Salvador was super easy. They give you a little slip of paper that you’ll need to show in order to walk across the bridge. Don’t lose it—keep it safe, because it gets super windy on that bridge and it could fly right out of your hands.

So, once you cross this bridge:

You’ll need to walk about ten minutes to reach the Guatemalan immigration office. Some police officers stopped me along the way, but it was just to take a picture of my passport. Once you get to immigration, they stamp your passport and that’s it.

From that border, there’s only one direct bus—to Guatemala City. If you want to get to Antigua (which is what I did), you first take that bus to Guatemala City. The fare is 60 quetzales, around 9 USD. Just ask the driver to drop you off at El Trébol. From there, it’s about a 15-minute walk to the crossing known as El Trébol, where you can catch the bus to Antigua. I took the one you see in the photo and it cost me 20 quetzales, about 2.5 USD.

And that’s it! You made it. In total, the whole trip cost me around $14 (actually a little less), while a shuttle is about $45… I mean… think about it. But honestly, beyond the money, taking local buses in these countries is such a great experience—they’re an adventure in themselves. If you’re short on time or you get anxious, don’t worry: shuttles run every day.

But if you ask me… DO IT THE WAY I DID, and you’ll get to experience real local life.

If you have any questions or if something’s unclear, just reach out—I’ll be more than happy to help.

Safe travels!

Angie

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