Antigua to El Tunco & El Salvador Beaches: Shuttle Times & Prices [2026]

El Salvador’s Pacific surf coast is a single shuttle ride from Antigua — and the useful thing to know is that one service covers all five beach towns at the same fare.

Published shuttle times and fares

From the Guatemala Transportation published schedule, read 22 July 2026. Per person, quoted in US dollars.

Antigua ↔ the beaches

One booking, five possible drop-offs — they lie along the same stretch of the Carretera del Litoral in La Libertad department. Tell the operator your town when you book.

If you want San Salvador or Santa Ana instead

These are Pullman bus services and they leave from Guatemala City, not Antigua:

At the border

The operator’s own listing for the Guatemala City services notes “Border crossing – Entrance Tax, personal tax.” It does not publish the amount, so we do not state one — carry some cash, and confirm the current figure with your operator when you book. Anyone quoting you an exact border fee for this route without citing a source is guessing.

Which beach town?

All five are served by the same shuttle, so the choice costs you nothing extra:

• El Tunco — the busiest. Surf schools, hostels, bars, weekend crowds from San Salvador.
• El Zonte — quieter, more low-key, popular with longer-stay visitors.
• El Sunzal — known for its longer right-hand point break; a short hop from El Tunco.
• La Libertad — the working port town, with the region’s fish market.
• Decameron — the resort stop rather than a village.

We do not publish surf lesson, board rental or accommodation prices for these towns — none are published by a source we can cite.

Practical notes

• Reservation with payment in advance is required by this operator.
• Paying in dollars vs quetzales: the operator states “ALL prices are in USD$ (for reference), USD$1 = Q8 Quetzales.” Banco de Guatemala’s reference rate on 22 July 2026 was Q7.62466/USD, so paying cash in quetzales at the operator’s rate costs about 5% more. El Salvador itself uses the US dollar, so carry dollars for the far side.
• The 05:00 departure is the only one. Miss it and the next is the following day — plan your Antigua night accordingly.
• Other cross-border runs from the same operator: Copán Ruinas, Honduras and Mexico. Coming from the airport first? See Guatemala City airport to Antigua.

Sources

• Shuttle and Pullman times, fares, border note and currency note: Guatemala Transportation shuttle schedule, read 22 July 2026
• Exchange rate: Banco de Guatemala reference rate, Q7.62466/USD, 22 July 2026