Puerto San José, in Escuintla, is one of the three Pacific-coast stops of the Starbus beach bus from zona 12, the one scheduled public-transport option from Guatemala City that we found. The tourist-shuttle companies that run to Monterrico and El Paredón do not list it. Everything below was read on 25 September 2026; the Starbus details come from a guatemala.com article updated in January 2026, because we could not reach a Starbus timetable page of its own.

Quick summary

  • Bus: Starbus, 06:00 from Calzada Aguilar Batres 7-55, zona 12; back from Puerto San José at 17:30; Q50-60 per trip depending on the seat; phone 2471-0952 (guatemala.com, updated 13 January 2026).
  • Same bus, other stops: Puerto Iztapa (back at 17:00) and Monterrico (back at 16:00).
  • Shuttles: none of the three shuttle sellers we read lists Puerto San José.
  • Driving: the CA-9 south; the Palín-Escuintla autopista has been toll-free since 2023. The new Escuintla-Puerto Quetzal toll road (42 km) is not open yet: first phase expected at the end of 2026, contract toll Q15 before an inflation adjustment.

The Starbus beach bus

Starbus, as reported by guatemala.com
Departure pointCalzada Aguilar Batres 7-55, zona 12, Guatemala City, a station where you can buy tickets
Departure06:00 (“salen puntualmente a las 6:00 de la mañana”)
DestinationsPuerto San José, Puerto Iztapa, Monterrico; the bus stops according to where passengers are going
Return from Puerto San José17:30
Return from Puerto Iztapa17:00
Return from Monterrico16:00
FareQ50 to Q60 per trip, depending on the seat type
Where the return drops youThe same zona 12 station
Phone2471-0952

Two articles, two small differences. An earlier guatemala.com piece on the same bus (updated February 2023, Monterrico route) gave a single fare of Q60 per trip per person, said children under 4 travel free, and advised arriving 25 minutes before departure. The January 2026 article gives the Q50-60 range and advises being at the return point at least 15 minutes early. Neither article gives a journey time.

Buying a ticket. The only departure time either article gives is 06:00. The 2026 article says you can buy at the zona 12 station or book ahead, and suggests warning the company if you travel in a group or with luggage.

Why the shuttles do not help

Guatemala Transportation’s and AtitlanTour’s schedules and Adrenalina Tours’ Antigua shuttle page, read on 24 September 2026, sell the Pacific coast only as Monterrico and El Paredón. None lists Puerto San José or Iztapa. If you are in Antigua, the closest shuttle products are on Antigua to Monterrico and Antigua to El Paredón.

Driving

The route is the CA-9 south through Escuintla.

  • Palín-Escuintla: no toll since 2023, when the concession ended; details on our toll roads page.
  • Escuintla-Puerto Quetzal (new): Convía, the operating consortium, describes a 42 km autopista from km 60.9 to km 102.1, and its route map labels a “Via alterna CA9 Sur”. The first phase (two lanes each way, culverts, short bridges, signage and the toll booths) was planned for mid-2026; on 13 August 2026 Guatemala’s Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura (ANI) said at a hearing called by a member of Congress, as reported by La Hora, that the first phase is now expected at the end of the year. The toll set in the 2018 contract is Q15, and the company is entitled to an inflation adjustment that will be reviewed a month before operations begin.

What is not published

  • A Starbus timetable or fare on a page of its own that we could reach (checked 25 September 2026).
  • The journey time of the Starbus bus.
  • The adjusted toll and the opening date of the Escuintla-Puerto Quetzal autopista.

Sources