The main terminal in Sonsonate is huge and many travellers use this station as a connection to/from the beaches of El Tunco, El Zonte or La Libertad (Bus 287), to Santa Ana (Bus 216 or 209) enroute to Cerro Verde, as well as Ahuachapán, Juayúa and Ataco (Bus 249). No ATM at this terminal that we know of.
Sonsonate to San Salvador
Bus 205 goes back and forth to San Salvador with two options: ordinary bus ($1) and especial ($1.30). Buses leave about every 20 minutes and depart from the terminal across the street from the main terminal. Just 200meters away. You can see it on the map. This bus goes to the Terminal de Occidente
Sonsonate to Juayúa or Ataco
Grab the bus headed to Auachapán (249) and get off along the way. It will pass Juayúa first and then Ataco after that. Easy!
Sonsonate to El Tunco or La Libertad
Bus 287 goes all the way from Sonsonate to La Libertad. It takes about 2hrs and costs $1.50. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon: 5:50am and 3:30pm. It’s best to arrive early if you want a seat since this bus only goes twice per day and locals will be there standing in line by 3pm!
Others:
Sonsonate -> Ahuachapán : Bus 249, every 15min, $0.50, ~ 45min
Sonsonate -> Juayúa : Bus 249, every 15min, $0.50, ~ 45min
Sonsonate -> Frontera: 259
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!
I took the 205 especial from Sonsonate to San Salvador. The bus leaves from a separate terminal across the street from the main terminal & costs $1.5. Its air conditioned & worth the extra $ but it fills up quickly. The bus heads for Terminal de Occidente, but it stops at Cieba de Guadeloupe station along the way which is a 15-20min walk to Zona Rosa & will save you the additional bus needed if you get off at Terminal de Occidente.
Took the 287 from El Tunco to Sonsonate. Stopped at El Tunco at 2.10pm. Arrived at Sonsonate 4.15pm. Cost US$1.50.
Caution that the bus fills up completely and you might be hanging out of the door with a backpack if you don’t have a seat!
Sonsonate to El Zonte
I wanted to take the first bus out of Sonsonate but nobody seemed to know exactly at what time it would come (I heard everything from 5:30 to 6 am). I arrived at 5:10am and there was already a loooong lineup for bus 287.
Bus 287 comes on platform 19. (That’s also where you’ll find bus 261 for La Perla which could be another option if you miss/can’t get on the 287. There is also the 281 to Mizata).
It arrived at 5:35am and was full so left at 5:44 (it remained full for the whole ride).
It costs 1.20USD.
I arrived on El Zonte at 7:30 ish.
Sonsonate to Mizata. Merch 2025.
As well as the 287, it is possible to get the 281. This left 13.30 on a Sunday. There may be other times but was unable to confirm. We had been waiting for the 3.30 287 route but managed to get this 281 instead. $0.45 per person .
To update; there is a 261 bus from Sonsonate to La Perla which leaves at 10.30am. (this was a Tuesday) We didn’t find out if there was any schedule but had to wait over an hour for that bus. I think we were unlucky with picking up a bus from La Perla to El Zonte as had to wait nearly an hour and 3 went by in the other direction, but other than that it worked well and quite a chilled route to the coast 🙂