The San Miguel bus terminal is a nice, clean organized station. There are a bunch of vendors selling food, drink as well as a ton of other random items you may need. There is even a fried chicken place upstairs. Buses are lined up and well marked for which ones are going where. And, like all other stations, someone is most likely to help you find where your bus is before you even get a chance to look for yourself. There are also decent looking bathrooms in the back of the station.
San Miguel to San Salvador (301)
From San Miguel to San Salvador there are two options: 1) regular ‘chicken bus’ or 2) Super Especial. The chicken bus, also called the Directo, leaves about every 15 minutes and takes about 2.5hrs and starts around 3am until 5pm. The Super Especial takes about 2hrs and leaves less frequently – the current schedule (2017) is 5am, 6am, 7am, 8am, 11am, 12:20pm, 1:40pm and 3pm (see photo of ticket below) and costs $5. The regular buses pull up right inside the station and the Super Especial pulls up outside next to the gas station beside the terminal. Just ask around and someone will point you the way. You will arrive at the Terminal de Oriente.
San Miguel to La Union (324)
From San Miguel to La Union you have both regular ($1) and Especial ($1.50) buses. The regular bus takes about 1.25 hrs and leave every 15 minutes and the Especial takes less than an hour and leaves every 30 minutes.
San Miguel to El Cuco (320)
Bus 320 goes from the San Miguel terminal to El Cuco. The trip takes about 1.5hrs and buses leave every 30 minutes from 5:30am to 4pm for $1. On Sundays this bus only runs 2 times per day and asking 5 different people we got 3 different answers, including from the bus drivers. To our best knowledge there are only two on Sundays, one in the morning and one in the evening. 10am and 3pm were the most common answers, possibly 6am. Will try to clarify this soon.
San Miguel to Alegria
Grab the bus heading to San Salvador and get off in El Triunfo. You will then have to cross the street (use the overpass) and there you will find both mini buses and regular buses heading to Santiago de Maria. The large buses are likely heading to Usulután and passing Santiago de Maria. Once in Santiago de Maria the driver will drop you where you need to meet the bus to Alegriá.
San Miguel to Perquín (Perkin)
Bus 332 goes from san Miguel to Perquín (3hrs, $1.50). But it only goes 4 times per day with the last being mid day. The other option is to take bus 328 which goes to Gotera (2hrs) and then we understand there are pickups that go the rest of the way leaving every hour. We know from one traveller comment below that you can do a day trip and leave at 9:30am (332) and return at 4pm.
One very helpful traveller named Tony left some good comments below, adding much more information for you. He says:
I traveled from Perquin to San Salvador a couple of weeks ago. That trip took 5 hours. It’s worth mentioning not all routes 332 reach Perquin. 332 is subdivided by letters. I am certain 332-F reaches Perquin, and I am also certain 332-D doesn’t. I have no idea about other letters.
My route:
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1. Pick-up from Perquin to San Francisco Gotera. $0.75. Runs every 30 minutes.
2. 332 from San Francisco Gotera to Terminal de San Miguel. $0.75. Every 15 minutes or so. From Gotera, it doesn’t matter which letter it is. You’ll get to San Miguel. The issue starts after Gotera, at that point, the bus may enter into a side road and never return to the highway depending on its letter suffix.
3. Super Especial from Terminal de San Miguel to San Salvador. $5.00. Runs every hour until 3 pm. Takes almost 3 hours. I was surprised when I heard others have made this trip in 2 hours. The difference in my case is probably due to repairs underway on a large stretch of the highway.
I heard from the pick up drivers doing the Gotera-Perquin route that pick ups run every 30 minutes from 3:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. At least M-F. I have no idea about weekends.”
Sleep
Not a lot of people stop in San Miguel for more than a night or two, if at all. I was happy to find a nice chill place to rest while I caught up on some writing and was grateful for the hospitality shown at the Hotel Caleta. Simple rooms (with TV and A/C if you want it) and a nice green garden to take the heat out of the day. The manager Roberto was very kind and helpful and made a good breakfast too. I also liked that it wasn’t too far to walk to the ATM and the supermarket. There are a few banks along the way but there is an ATM inside the Despensa Familiar Catedral if you want privacy when taking out your money. And, if you need a break from rice and beans there are chain restaurants, including a Subway, at the park.
Help your fellow traveller
If you have taken any of the buses on this page, please drop us a comment below about how the trip went, what time you left, how long it took and what it cost. And, definitely let us know if we have anything wrong.
Lets help each other in our travels!
Today I took a 301 Bus from the Terminal Nuevo Amanecer to San Miguel around 8:45 ($3). I was a little bit worried that I wouldn’t get to the terminal in time for the bus to Perquín, but it ended up being ok. The 332-B bus — which had Perquín written on the front — left maybe around 12:40. It cost me $1.75. I arrived in Perquín I think a bit after 3:30. This was my hiccup-less trip from San Salvador to Morazán on public transportation, so that was nice.