No operator page read for this guide publishes a bus timetable from Guatemala City to Puerto San José, in Escuintla. The tourist-shuttle companies that run to Monterrico and El Paredón do not list it (read 24 September 2026), and the bus company Transportes Starbus showed no 2026 timetable on its own Facebook page when read on 21 October 2026. Below: what that page does say, and the road south.

Quick summary

  • Bus: Transportes Starbus describes a route along the south coast to the Mexican border and western Guatemala, and lists Monterrico among its weekend destinations (Facebook post of 18 September 2026), with no times or fares; phone 2471 0952.
  • Shuttles: the schedules of three shuttle sellers (read 24 September 2026) do not list 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.

Is there a bus?

No timetable on the operator’s own page. Transportes Starbus, a Guatemalan bus company, describes its route on its own Facebook page as running along the south coast (Costa Sur) to the Mexican border and western Guatemala, and gives the phone 2471 0952. In a post of 18 September 2026 it listed Monterrico among its weekend destinations, with no times or fares, and the page showed no 2026 timetable when read on 21 October 2026. Ask the company whether its buses stop at Puerto San José, and the time and fare, before you go.

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.

Flying in to a fishing lodge

If you are booked at Casa Vieja Lodge, which gives its address as Puerto San José, Escuintla, the lodge collects its guests at the airport. Its FAQ page (read 26 October 2026; the answer carries no date) says: “Upon exiting from the Airport Terminal at La Aurora (Guatemala City- GUA) Intl. Airport, exit customs and go to your left to look for your chauffeur directly holding a Casa Vieja Lodge sign and in staff uniform.” That pickup is for the lodge’s own guests, not a public transfer, and the page gives no price for it. For the fishing trips themselves, see sailfish fishing in Guatemala.

What is not published

  • A 2026 bus timetable or fare on Transportes Starbus’s own Facebook page (read 21 October 2026).
  • The adjusted toll and the opening date of the Escuintla-Puerto Quetzal autopista.

What Canada’s travel advice says about San José

Global Affairs Canada lists the municipality of San José, in Escuintla department, among the areas where it advises Canadians to avoid non-essential travel because of very high levels of violent crime (page last updated 13 October 2026, read 10 November 2026). The three governments’ current wording is compared in Guatemala travel advice: UK, Canada and US.

Sources