Shuttle Copan Ruinas to Santa Ana

That route puts three countries in a single morning. The landscape shifts from the green hills around Copán to the scrub of eastern Guatemala and then to the coffee fincas and volcanic slopes outside Santa Ana, and the currency changes with each crossing: lempira, quetzal, and then the US dollar.

Most travellers use it to move between the ruins and the Salvadoran highlands, or to reach Santa Ana, the Ruta de las Flores or the coast with the afternoon still free. The drive is about 160 km and the two crossings are part of the day, so the timing of the journey depends on them.