Head to the highway to grab the 287 bus at either 6am or 1:45pm. The 287 heads directly to Sonsonate twice per day. These times are when it leaves La Libertad and so it will pass the highway in front of El Tunco ~15-30mins after. Be aware that sometimes buses leave early in El Salvador and therefore if you are planning on grabbing the 6am bus it could arrive in front of La Libertad not too much past that. If you are headed to Santa Ana, you can change to bus 216 in Sonsonate which will take you to the Terminal de Buses Francisco Lara Pineda when you arrive in Santa Ana.
If you are heading to Juayúa or Ataco you can change buses in Sonsonate for the 249 which goes to Ahuachapán. This bus will pass Juayúa first and then Ataco along the way – aprox 20-30mins after you leave Sonsonate.
Hoping someone may be able to help us, we are looking at bussing from El Tunco to Juayua on a Sunday and are wondering if the bus timetable is the same on Sundays as the rest of the week. Thanks.
Just did this today. Followed the instructions exactly and everything went smoothly and was on time. Thank you !!!
did this route El Tunco -> Juayua, still good! Bus arrived close to 2:10pm and I was in Juayua by 5pm ish 🙂
Just did this route on 29/05/22 (a Sunday). Still described as above. Bus arrived just outside of El Tunco around 2:15 for me and I got to Juayua around 17:45
Thanks for the info! Did this trip on 15.11.19. Bus from el Tunco passed at 13:50, it was a bit full but soon got a seat. Bus ayudante was quite helpful accommodating my luggage inside the bus.
Got to Sonsonate a bit before 16:00 and the 249 bus was just leaving. The bus was super packed but everything worked out fine and arrived in Juayúa at 17.15.
Instead of the 6am or 1.30pm bus to Sonsonate you can also take the direct microbus 102 heading to San Salvador (1.50 $ or 3$ with big backpack) . Get off at La Ceiba de Guadalupe and get on the other side of the road (there is a bridge) . There you take the next 205 bus to Sonsonate (0.50 $) where you switch again to the 249 bus (0.50 $). We did this trip Today and it was super easy. The advantage is, that you can sleep longer as the 102 is running all day every 20 minutes. 🙂 Duration of trip is about 3 hours.
We took the afternoon bus yesterday (9/11/19) and this post was a great help. The bus arrived outside El Tunco around 2.10pm and was absolutely packed. Trying to navigate the aisles with our massive backpacks (unfortunately they didn’t fit above and the stewards only kept one of our two bags at the front near the driver) was pretty difficult, but sure beat the price of a private taxi. The cost was exactly what Vanessa said, and we arrived in Juayua around 5pm.
The bus from El Tunco will drop you off outside the mezzanine (undercover shop area) of the Sonsonate bus station. To find the 249 stop, walk straight through to the end of the mezzanine, take the exit to your right and then turn left. The 249 is 4-6 bus stops down.
Completed this trip today (30/10/2019). Grabbed the early bus from El Tunco, it didn’t arrive until 6.25 and it was pretty full but we still got seats and there’s room for your backpack overhead. Arrived in Sonsonate just before 9 and the next bus to Juayua arrived minutes after. Smooth journey with beautiful scenery along the way! First trip cost $1.50pp and the second $0.50pp.