La Unión

Not to be confused with La Union, a province in the Philippines.

Beach in La Union

La Unión is a department (governmental division or province) in El Salvador. The capital and largest city is Santa Rosa de Lima, which serves as a departure point for bus travel to northeastern El Salvador and crossing into neighboring Honduras.

Get in

There are daily motorboats from the small town of Potosi, not far from Chinandega in Nicaragua to La Unión, thereby bypassing Honduras. Motorboats are operated by Ruta del Golfo and the journey takes around two hours. The 1 La Unión ferry terminal is located at the northern end of Avenida Norte.

Buy

Money matters

The northeastern region is an especially rural part of a developing country. Local economies run on cash and credit cards, travelers checks, Bitcoin, and all forms of electronic payment are utterly useless for most transactions. Travelers are advised to hit the ATM before venturing into this region.

Eat

As in much of El Salvador, the cities boast many pupusería stands, selling the pupusa — a popular fried corn cake stuffed with meat, cheese, squash flower (loroco) or a combination of these fillings. The seafood also is recommended by many.

Sleep

Splurge

• 1 Comfort Inn Real La Unión, KM 2.8 Calle a Playitas, Carretera Panamericana, ☏ +503 2665 6565, fax: +503 2665 6566. 76 rooms and 7 bedrooms equipped with kitchen, living room, sofa, refrigerator, among others. Business Center 24 hour laundry service, gym, bar, restaurant and 3 conference rooms. $70-90 per night. (updated Oct 2018)