Copán Archaeological Site Day Trip from San Salvador

We booked for a day trip to Copan from Santa Ana, El Salvador with Salvadorans. Most agencies make this trip in 2 days. You pay more with the same time on the spot. In 12 hours more or less we experienced the visit in Copan. In less than 5 hours we were at Copan through Guatemala. We spent as much time as we needed at the ruins (three hours). After that we made a small visit at Copan village. We arrived back to our hotel in Santa Ana before dark. The driver was very professional and helpful. He never said "no". We recommend Salvadorean tours because we trust them. From the first communication they we were clear.

Had a wonderful time! One day before the trip, pickup location was set. There are pickup locations in the main areas of San Salvador (near intercontinental hotel and Zona Rosa) and the bus arrived timely. Border crossing SV>GT efficient and clean (bathroom stop at the SV side). Drive thru Guatemala non-stop. Border with Honduras, Guatemala side efficient, Honduras side not so much. Need L./80 (dollars not accepted) and exchange not efficient at border. Once in Copán, payment of fare to visit ruins (20USD, accept credit card) and additional fares for tunnels and museum. Loved Gladys the tour guide, very informative and funny. You can climb the ruins. Tunnels worth it. Museum also interesting to see the original pieces of what you have seen in the ruins. Time left for buying souvenirs (cheaper outside the ruins, you can walk to the place) and eating (restaurant on premises, prices OK and accept credit card). Driver was very polite and friendly (forgot his name)! Loved the experience and do recommend very strongly. Make sure your passport has room for 8 stamps!

Our driver was absolutely lovely, couldn’t be more impressed with him. Kind, great attitude, good energy! With the price tag of this tour though, everything should be included — admission ticket to the ruins, Honduran border fee, and lunch. They were not. Given that, the actual price was about $50 more per person. For us as a party of two (paying an original ticket price of $149 each) that was about a 25% cost increase per person. We were also charged an additional $10 for pick up at our (centrally located) boutique hotel since we were not staying in one of the pre-approved 3 or 4 big chain hotels (eg. Marriott). To the company’s credit, they do list what is included and not, but regardless, we really started to feel nickeled and dimed.

It's not really a specific memory for me since I have seen several Mayan sites and the most famous status is not even there in the site.

Vitello, a fluent English-speaking driver and guide picked me up right on time in a new 10 person van. He let me sit up front as I was the first one to be picked up at 4am at the default pick up location in Zona Rosa. We then went to some different hotels to pick up another 3 people on the tour, both English and Spanish speaking. By 4:30am we were on the road to Copan. The journey to Copan took us through Guatemala, so we had to pass Guatemalan customs twice (once on the way there, once on the way back). Lineups on the border were not too bad, but probably added an extra hour to the total 6hr drive. (Make sure your passport has at least 3 blank pages for this trip: Guatemala stamps each time upon entry and exit - got a total 7 stamps in one day!) And fill out the pre-arrival online form for Honduras on the van and that you have some USD cash to pay for the entry permit). With the border crossings, it means we got off every 2 hours on average to stretch our legs. Bring some water and snacks for the long drive, or you can buy at the border stops. At Copan, the local English speaking guide, Juan-Carlos (who has been doing this for 40 years) took us on a 2-3 hour tour of the ruins. Make sure you buy the extra ticket to tour the tunnels and keep your receipt with you - the cost of the local guide is included, but not the entry ticket to the actual site. After the ruins, we went for lunch and a quick walk around the town which took no more than an hour. The lunch restaurant is highly rated, clean and world class but also affordable. No need to exchange for Lempiras, as they take credit cards. Hit the road back at around 3:30pm and made it back to San Salvador by 9/9:30pm. Don't plan anything for that evening in San Salvador as getting back on-time likely won't happen, there's some interesting spots along the way that can be requested to stop by for pictures, and traffic/border lineups are highly variable. The tour was able to add on a drop off for me at a different location (the airport) right at the end of the trip after dropping everyone else off so I could catch my flight early the next morning. Highly recommended as the easiest way to get to Copan from San Salvador, and worth the price considering the length of the tour and the distance covered in a small group in a comfortable van.

Omar Arevalo was our driver. He picked us up timely at our hotel 4:30am. He was very pleasant and answered all our questions about El Salvador and other countries. He pointed out all the highlights like the volcanoes we passed. Omar helped us through customs and dropped us off directly with a guide. After a great tour with Marvin at Copan, Omar took us for authentic Honduras lunch. Highly recommend this experience. Request Omar to be your driver and request Marvin as your guide at the Copan Ruins. 10 of 10 stars!

Copán is really really beautiful. Driving there takes five hours. Driver was sadly oneandahalf hours late bcs of "car problem", so I was way too tired BCS I waited 90 minutes outside at the street. Driver and Tourguide were very kind. Ask for the tunnel tickets to walk under the pyramids, sadly it's not included in the tour. Copán was an awesome experience and I'm happy I did that. Sadly way way too expensive for that.

Very comfortable transfer, very patient helpful guide, and so helpful during the many border crossings. Thanks for a great day in copan!

Copan was excellent and the level of detail on these relics were incredible to behold. Our driver Omar was excellent and extremely patient throughout, especially at the border crossings for Guatemala and Honduras. Our tour guide Marvin was also extremely knowledgeable and gave us plenty of opportunities to ask questions throughout. Make sure you bring printed copies of your vaccination status and Covid tests as that held us up at the border crossings. Also bring cash with you (USD or local) for the crossings as there aren’t any ATM’s. Also eat breakfast beforehand or bring some food with you as the first service station stop will be a couple of hours into the journey.

Amazing day! Well-coordinated and the ruins are beautiful, so many scarlet macaw! Highly recommend for anyone who also wants to see Honduras