El Salvador: Your Travel Guide To The Underrated Country
Considering Travel to El Salvador? You’ve come to the right place! Nestled in between the more popular Central American countries of Guatemala and Nicaragua, El Salvador often gets missed. Packed with volcanoes, rich forests and incredible mountains; fringed by golden beaches and first-class surfing spots which would satisfy even the most adventurous spirits and sun-worshippers. Travel to El Salvador really shouldn’t be missed!
Total time spent here: 8 days
Budget: £750 for 2 of us (£46.85 per day each)
Visiting Central America? You might also enjoy The Top Hostels and Hotels We’ve Stayed In, In Central America.
El Salvador travel facts:
Language: Spanish
The official unit of currency: US Dollar (USD) or Bitcoin (Yes the Cryptocurrency)
Size of El Salvador: 21,041 km²
Capital of El Salvador: San Salvador
Transportation: El Salvador is very well connected by local buses in which the bus numbers, starting location and end destination are clearly displayed at the top. The drivers are also super helpful and will point you in the right direction if you need a different bus or where you have to wait. When we had Wifi before leaving we did also check out this travel guide which gives a good basis for which bus and route you need to get (we travelled during covid and this was still relevant).
Visa and entry requirements: Currently, as of 2021, El Salvador is part of the C4 agreement. Therefore, you have a total of 3 months to travel around Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras & Nicaragua under the same visa.
Is El Salvador safe?
This a question that regularly comes up when the little Central American country is mentioned. Is El Salvador safe to travel? Whilst the country does have a fairly high crime rate. Most visits for tourists to El Salvador are trouble-free. We felt incredibly safe the whole time we were in the country and didn’t have any issues. Reanna has also travelled to El Salvador as a solo female traveller and also felt completely comfortable and safe the whole time.
As with any country, keep your wits about you, don’t do anything silly and you should be fine!
Accommodation we recommend in El Salvador:
Where did we stay in Santa Ana, El Salvador?
Where did we stay in El Tunco, El Salvador?
Budget: Papaya Lodge
Splurge: Eco Del Mar
Where did we stay in an Salvador, El Salvador?
Splurge: Barceló San Salvador
How long should you spend in El Salvador?
El Salvador is probably one of the most skipped counties in Central America. So much so that El Salvador’s travel board have penned the slogan “Don’t Skip El Salvador”.
We spent 10 days here but due to pre-booking Christmas in another country, we were unable to extend. (But, we absolutely would have). We saw quite a bit but if you can, we would suggest 2-3 weeks. This would give you an opportunity to really appreciate this beautiful country.
Places to visit in El Salvador
Santa Ana, El Salvador
Santa Ana has so many great reasons to visit. When travelling El Salvador the ‘standard’ backpacker whispers is to “avoid big cities” in countries that are deemed “not safe”. However, our experience couldn’t be any different to this.
The main attraction within the city centre is Catedral de Nuestra Señora Santa Ana (The Cathedral of Our Lady Saint Anne). This is an unbelievably detailed neo-gothic cathedral sat adjacent to Parque Libertad. It is the perfect spot to sit and relax, read and appreciate the Cathedral. There are also tons of restaurants nearby and street food sellers. A great introduction to the culture when you travel to El Salvador.
Ruta De Las Flores, El Salvador
This is a great day-out trip in which you follow Ruta De Las Flores (translates to the route of flowers). Named after all of the different types of flowers that grow along the route. However, it has now become more popular for the quaint little towns you can stop off in on this route.
Where did we visit on Ruta De Las Flores?
Juayua
We started our trip off at Juayua which is known for its weekend food festivals. Here you can find lots of different stalls around Central Park selling all types of local foods as well as ice cream and drinks.
The town itself is probably one of the bigger ones along the route so if you are planning on staying here overnight and need to visit the supermarket or look for breakfast or dinner (depending on which way you go) this can be a fantastic stop.
Salcoatitan
Our next stop was Salcoatitan. We walked here from Juayua which was a great workout. However, there was little in the town for us to explore and apart from the centre which had a small park and a small food court comprising of 4/5 food stalls and there didn’t seem to be much going on.
Ataco
Next, we caught the bus to the town of Ataco which was probably our favourite stop. The town offered several different spots to visit.
First, we headed up the hill to Mirador de La Cruz, the walk-up takes around 10/15 minutes to get up. Once you reach the top you are greeted with amazing views of the town below. We then headed into town and opted for a late lunch. What better way than to eat the El Salvadorian dish of pupusas? We found a local place “Pupuseria Cielito Lindo”. We sampled tons of different flavours including Tenquiqe which is known as the Salvadorian truffle. It certainly didn’t disappoint.
After, we continued exploring this beautiful town filled with incredible street art and such a vibrant vibe with music playing and people partying in the streets.
Ahuachapan
Our final stop of the day on Ruta De Las Flores was Ahuachapan. This town seemed to be the complete opposite of Salcoatitan as it seemed almost like there was too much going on there. Albeit nothing that particularly interested us. After about 30 minutes of wandering around it started to get dark so, we decided it was time to find the bus back into Santa Ana.
We absolutely loved our time in Ruta De Las Flores. We would recommend including here in your El Salvador itinerary. Either opt to stay for 2 nights or if you are on a tighter time schedule then visit for 1 day, as we did.
Hike Santa Ana Volcano
Santa Ana Volcano easy to medium volcano hike that offers stunning views of the landscape around Santa Ana. The contrast of electric blue waters against the grey volcanic stones in the crater at the top. The hike itself takes roughly 1.5 hours to reach the top and 1 hour to get down, making it an epic day trip from Santa Ana.
If you want to know more about Santa Ana Volcano, then give our “Hiking Santa Ana Volcano” post a read for a more in-depth blog on how to get there and what to expect.
El Tunco El Salvador
One of the most known backpacker locations in El Salvador this beach town is still growing in reputation and is forever changing with new boutique shops and fantastic restaurants constantly popping up. It is famous for being a great spot in Central America to surf and watch the most insane sunsets.
Where to stay in El Tunco, El Salvador
If you’re looking to splurge a little whilst in El Tunco, El Salvador we would absolutely recommend staying in Eco Del Mar. The hotel is located between the main road through El Tunco and the beach. Our room was larger than most private rooms we had thus far on the trip and we even had a semi-private balcony. Complete with a hammock and small table so we could relax and do a bit of work in the evening.
The top spot to eat in El Tunco and what to see
We discovered the most amazing pupusería called Esquina Los Amigos. It had the biggest menu of so many amazing different fillings. An even bigger treat was the fact that they also sold desert Pupusas which is a complete game changer!
One thing you absolutely cannot miss if you visit El Tunco, El Salvador is the incredible sunsets the country has to offer. Head down to the beach and sit along the wall. Or get there a little early and set yourself up in one of the many restaurants which face out to the beach. Watch as the day turns to night with the most insane dark orange glow. A must-see in El Tunco, El Salvador!
El Zonte, El Salvador
We opted to do a day trip from El Tunco to the small, even sleepier beach town of El Zonte. To get here we walked up to the main road and flagged down a bus. This took us 20 minutes and cost just under $1 each way. Whilst there isn’t tons to see in the town, it’s a lovely spot to grab a coffee and watch the world go by. Whilst here don’t miss walking to the other side of the beach to watch the huge choppy waves crash against the rocks.
It’s a beautiful rugged beach, and whilst we wouldn’t suggest staying here for the night (unless you’re looking for a beautiful surfers’ beach with a few small cafes). We would recommend visiting for the day if you have the time.
San Salvador
We only stayed here to break up our long bus journey to Honduras. However, we ended up extending it for a few nights to have a bit of a refresher. And do all those fun things that aren’t usually mentioned in a travel blog like laundry, repacking and generally relaxing.
For that reason, we decided to book a nice hotel in the San Benito part of San Salvador. The capital itself is rather big. We didn’t explore San Salvador anywhere near as much as we should or could have. However, we did manage to find our way to a few shopping malls full of a great variety of shops including both local and international brands. So if you need any new clothes or fancy a look around some shopping centres, San Salvador is your place!
