San Cristóbal is the Guatemala–El Salvador crossing on the CA-1 Oriente, and it carries the same name on both sides of the line. On the Guatemalan side SAT’s customs post is at kilometre 175, in Aldea San Cristóbal de la Frontera; on the Salvadoran side the customs office is in Candelaria de la Frontera, Santa Ana. No international bus operator we read names it, yet in early 2026 it was El Salvador’s busiest land entry point, and El Salvador’s own distance list puts it nearer San Salvador than any other crossing with Guatemala. Everything below was read on 1 October 2026 unless dated otherwise.

Quick summary

  • Where: SAT’s customs post is at Km 175 of the CA-1 Oriente, Aldea San Cristóbal de la Frontera, Atescatempa, Jutiapa. IGM’s delegations map (2020 file, archived October 2022) gives 165 km, 3:00 hours by road from Guatemala City.
  • Closest to San Salvador: El Salvador’s migration service puts it 98 km from the capital, the shortest on its list of crossings with Guatemala.
  • Hours: SAT lane 24 hours; El Salvador’s migration 24/7 and customs 24 hours. SAT’s office works Mon-Fri 08:00-16:00; IGM publishes no hours.
  • Traffic: El Salvador’s busiest land entry point in January-March 2026 (360,135 entries).
  • Vehicles: SAT lists goods clearance only, no tourist permits.
  • Fees: Guatemala charges no exit fee; see border-run costs.

Who is open when

Customs postWhere it isHours, as SAT publishes them
Aduana San Cristóbal
Región Sur		Kilómetro 175 de la Carretera Centroamericana número CA-1 Or. Aldea San Cristóbal de la Frontera, Municipio de Atescatempa, Departamento de Jutiapa. Tel. (502) 23297070 Ext. 6190 al 6192.
Services: Despacho de mercancías (importación, exportación y tránsito).		En el área administrativa: de lunes a viernes, de 08:00 a 16:00 horas.
En el área operativa: de lunes a domingo, las 24 horas.

Source: SAT, Ubicación y horario de Aduanas · read by our collector on 2026-10-01 (27 customs posts in the file). Hours are quoted in Spanish exactly as SAT publishes them. SAT publishes no queue or wait time, and neither does IGM.

OfficeAgencyPublished hours
San Cristóbal customs, operative area (Guatemala)SATMonday to Sunday, 24 hours
San Cristóbal customs, administrative areaSATMonday to Friday, 08:00-16:00
San Cristóbal migration delegationIGMNo hours published
San Cristóbal migration (Santa Ana)DGME (El Salvador)24/7
San Cristóbal customs, Cantón Piedras Azules, Caserío San Cristóbal de La Frontera, Candelaria de la Frontera (tel. 2244-6441, 2237-5024)DGA (El Salvador)Monday to Sunday, 24 hours

The Guatemalan customs post answers on SAT’s switchboard, (502) 2329-7070, extensions 6190 to 6192. Like Pedro de Alvarado, and unlike Valle Nuevo / Las Chinamas where El Salvador’s customs office lists 05:00 to midnight, every published lane listing here is 24-hour.

Distance: the shortest listed to San Salvador

El Salvador’s migration service gives each crossing with Guatemala a distance from San Salvador:

Crossing (Salvadoran name)DepartmentDistance from San Salvador (DGME)
San CristóbalSanta Ana98 km
El CocoSanta Ana100 km
Las Chinamas (Valle Nuevo)Ahuachapán120 km
Anguiatú (La Ermita)Santa Ana120 km
La Hachadura (Pedro de Alvarado)Ahuachapán126 km

From Guatemala City the order is different. IGM’s delegations map (a 2020 file, read from the archived copy of 18 October 2022) gives 165 km to San Cristóbal against 121 km to Valle Nuevo and 166 km to Pedro de Alvarado. Neither agency publishes a door-to-door comparison, so which crossing is shorter overall depends on where your trip starts and ends.

Traffic: El Salvador’s busiest land entry point in early 2026

According to the Salvadoran migration figures reported by Infobae on 28 July 2026:

  • January to March 2026: El Salvador recorded 1,494,539 land entries. San Cristóbal led with 360,135 (24.1%), ahead of Las Chinamas (325,194) and El Amatillo on the Honduran border (235,930).
  • Exits in the same quarter: San Cristóbal was second, with 234,627, behind Las Chinamas (297,569).
  • April to June 2026: Las Chinamas led entries with 305,700; San Cristóbal followed.

On the Guatemalan side, IGM’s Semana Santa bulletins name San Cristóbal among the land crossings that carried the holiday traffic: over 11-13 April 2025 it counted 97,839 people crossing by land through Valle Nuevo, San Cristóbal and Pedro de Alvarado among others, and in April 2022 it reported increased movement here. These are totals; no agency publishes a live queue (see border wait-times).

Which municipality?

The Guatemalan sources do not agree. SAT gives its customs post’s address as Aldea San Cristóbal de la Frontera, Atescatempa, Jutiapa. IGM’s delegations map (2020 file, archived October 2022) labels the San Cristóbal delegation Asunción Mita, Jutiapa. We report both and do not resolve it. If you are using an address for navigation, SAT’s kilometre marker, Km 175 of the CA-1 Oriente, is the more specific locator. On the Salvadoran side the customs address is in Candelaria de la Frontera, Santa Ana.

Driving across

  • No tourist vehicle permit listed. SAT’s directory gives San Cristóbal’s services as importación, exportación y tránsito of goods. On this border SAT lists tourist permits only at Valle Nuevo and La Ermita (Anguiatú). If you are driving a foreign-plated car into Guatemala, read our foreign-plated vehicle guide and confirm with SAT where the permit is issued.
  • UK travel advice for El Salvador (updated 17 June 2026) asks drivers to take particular care going to or from the border with Guatemala, reporting violent attacks on vehicles, particularly on the Guatemalan side, and advises crossing in the morning so you reach your destination before dark.

Getting there without a car

No international bus operator we read names San Cristóbal: Tica Bus and Transporte del Sol name Valle Nuevo / Las Chinamas, and Pullmantur and Comfort Lines name none (see Guatemala City to San Salvador). We found no operator page with a timetable to the border on either side.

What is not published

  • Crossing or queue times, by any agency on either side.
  • IGM’s hours for its San Cristóbal delegation.
  • A bus timetable to the border on any operator page we read.
  • Which municipality the crossing belongs to, consistently across SAT and IGM.

Sources