La Unión Getting there & around

Getting there & around

Local transport

Taxi

If you need a taxi, you'll find plenty lined up in front of the Hotel Portabello on 1a Calle Pte at 4a Av Norte.

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Bus & tram

Bus

La Unión has two bus terminals, or rather two empty lots where buses come and go. The main bus terminal (3a Calle Pte) is used by long-distance buses. The other bus terminal is called Terminal Los Cantones (Calle San Carlos at 4a Av Sur) because it serves the cantones (outlying neighborhoods and nearby towns). Buses for Las Playitas (bus 418; US$0.55, 30 minutes, 8am, 11am and 3pm) leave from 4a Calle Ote. Buses from La Unión travel to the following destinations:

Conchagua Bus 382A (US$0.25, 15 minutes, 7:50am, 10:30am, 12:10pm; 3:30pm and 4:50pm; departs Terminal Los Cantones).

El Amatillo (Honduran border) Take any Santa Rosa de Lima bus to San Carlos (US$0.90, one hour) and transfer to bus 330.

El Embarcader/BuenavistaTake any El Tamarindo bus (US$0.65; 35 minutes; departs Terminal Los Cantones).

El Tamarindo Bus 383 (US$0.90, 1¾ hours, every 20 minutes from 4:30am to 5:30pm; departs Terminal Los Cantones).

Intipucá Bus 339 (US$0.90, 1¼ hours, 6am, 7:20am, 9:25am, 10:25am, 11:10am, 1:15pm, 2:25pm and 4:05pm; departs Terminal Los Cantones).

Playa Jagüey Take any El Tamarindo bus (US$0.90, 1½ hours; departs Terminal Los Cantones).

Playa Las Tunas Take any El Tamarindo bus (US$0.70, one hour; departs Terminal Los Cantones).

San Miguel Bus 324 (ordinario US$0.85, 1¼ hours, every 10 minutes from 4:15am to 5:50pm; especial US$1, 55 minutes, 5:50am, 6:20am, 6:45am and 4:15pm).

San SalvadorBus 304 (ordinario US$3, four hours, every 30 minutes from 3:30am to 2:30pm; especial US$5, three hours, 4am, 6am and 12:30pm); or take any bus to San Miguel and transfer.

Santa Rosa de Lima Bus 342 (US$0.90, 1½ hours, every 15 minutes from 4am to 5:30pm).

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Boat

While boats come and go to all the islands, the only regular passenger boat service is to Isla Meanguera (US$2.50) and to Isla Zacatillo (US$2). Boats leave La Unión just once a day, usually between 10am and 10:30am, and don't return until 5am the following day (which makes day trips impossible unless you hire a boat). The odd schedule is due to the fact that the passenger boats primarily serve island residents, who take the early boat into town to shop and conduct other business, and catch the mid-morning boat back home. An all-day private charter to Meanguera will cost around US$60 for the roundtrip. It is a much shorter trip from Las Playitas, but boat operators there are wise to the prices in town and charge about the same, especially for foreigners.

There are very infrequent services from La Unión to Coyolitos, Honduras, some direct, some stopping in Isla Meanguera. Prices vary widely - we were quoted between US$10 and US$60 - and you may have to wait days or weeks before a boat actually goes. Hotel El Mirador (2648 0072) on Isla Meanguera sometimes arranges onward transportation if enough guests and locals want it - call to see if any trips are planned. Otherwise consider going by land via El Amatillo - it's not too thrilling, but neither is hanging out in La Unión. In theory, it's is also possible to take a boat all the way to Potosí, Nicaragua, but transport is even less frequent and non-Central Americans may have visa complications trying to enter Nicaragua this way.

At the pier, a navy post - really just a sailor with a clipboard behind a desk - oversees all boat traffic; ask there for the day's departures, including the name of the boat and the time it will leave. Officers at the Capitanía del Puerto (2406 0348; 7a Calle Ote at 1a Av Nte; 24hr) can also answer most questions.

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