El Salvador is one of the least visited countries in Central America. Civil War (1979-1992) and gang-related violence shed a spotlight on this small nation for years, and tourists still face it with some apprehension. While the number of visitors boomed in other Central American countries like Guatemala and Costa Rica, El Salvador is still regarded with suspicion and fear.
In 2021, countries with a bad reputation such as Lebanon and Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan) rewarded us with great experiences. We thus decided to give El Salvador a chance. And once again the reality was quite different from what one might think. During our 10-day stay in the country, we were greeted everywhere with warm kindness. We’d recommend it to whoever likes a tropical off-the-beaten-path destination with a fair share of beaches, history and nature.
After doing our homework, we decided to focus on western El Salvador, the greener part of the country and where almost all highlights are located. We’d also like to visit the Museum of the Revolution (Museo de la Revolución Salvadoreña) which is located on eastern El Salvador, but unfortunately we couldn’t fit it on our itinerary.
Day 0: arrival at SAL
El Salvador has only one international airport (“Aeropuerto Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero e Galdámez) with the IATA code “SAL”. No commercial domestic flights are available given the small size of the country. SAL has plenty of direct flights to North, Central and South America, but the only European destination available is Madrid (Iberia).
We used this Iberia connection to get to SAL, and our flight arrived near 18:30 as predicted. No issues were raised at immigration and the whole process was very straightforward. However, luggage handling seemed quite chaotic and it stalled us for about 30 minutes.
We still arrived on time to get our rental car, a small Kia Picanto that did quite well on these roads (except in Montecristo National Park where a 4×4 would be more adequate). We drove a few kilometres along Lake Ilopango to meet Suchitoto, our first stop in El Salvador. Here, we stayed at the hotel “Raíces de Mi Pueblo” (double room, shared toilet, breakfast included – 38€/night).
- SAL -> Suchitoto (70km; 1h32)
Day 1: Suchitoto
Suchitoto is a domestic tourism hotspot in northern El Salvador. The city is surrounded by dense vegetation and Lake Suchitlán. However, the main draw to the city are its colonial-era colourful buildings and cobblestone streets.
We wrote a complete article on Suchitoto comprising sights and activities for a full day. You may read it here.
After spending “Day 1” here, we drove to our next destination – Montecristo National Park. This route has no direct buses, so the best option to do this would be a private/shared taxi. Apart from camping, sleeping options are not easy to come by in this area. We stayed at one of the few options we had in Metapán, “La Toscana” (42€/night), a place that’s both a restaurant and a hotel.
- Suchitoto -> Metapán (98km; 1h55)
Day 2: Montecristo National Park / Metapán
This day was destined to the northeastern tip of the country. Montecristo NP is a cloud forest with a great variety of fauna and flora quite close to Metapán, a laidback city where time seems to have stopped. Unfortunately, this area is frequently overlooked by tourists who prefer to hang closer to Santa Ana.
We spent the morning in Montecristo NP, had lunch there, and returned to Metapán for a quick stroll in the afternoon. We then continued to Santa Ana, where we slept for three nights in “Velvet Hostal“. A double room with private WC and breakfast costed us 23€/night. More details can be found on our “Santa Ana Department: highlights” article.
- Metapán -> Santa Ana (52km; 1h04)
Days 3 and 4: around Santa Ana
On the 3rd day we finally climbed Volcán Santa Ana, one of the best activities in the country, and also been to Cerro Verde, just a few kilometres away. We did another day trip on the 4th day, this time to Tazumal. As Santa Ana was our basecamp, we visited the highlights of the city on both days after arriving from our day trips.
Our article “Santa Ana Department: highlights” comprises more details on all the places mentioned above.
- Santa Ana -> Volcán Santa Ana / Cerro Verde (40km; 50min)
- Santa Ana -> Tazumal (14km; 22min)
Days 5 and 6: Ruta de Las Flores
We left Santa Ana early in the morning to visit a place that was not on our original plan. Salto de Malacatiupán was a tip from our hotel receptionist, and couldn’t be more happy to follow it. These thermal waterfalls allowed us to relax the whole morning before starting Ruta de Las Flores.
We then had lunch on the first village of Ruta de Las Flores, Ahuachapán. This “Flower’s Route” is a winding road that zigzags the western mountains of El Salvador and crosses six small towns. The afternoon was destined for Ahuachapán and Concepción de Ataco. We visited the other four on the next day.
Juayua was our basecamp for this region, where we slept two nights at this guesthouse (great location and very clean). More information on Ruta de Las Flores here.
Day 7: Joya de Cerén
On the 7th day we drove from Juayua to La Libertad, with Joya de Cerén being the highlight of the day. We also stopped in Sonsonate and on the ruins of San Andrés.
Sonsonate is a bustling city that marks the eastern limit of Ruta de Las Flores. Some people consider it the 7th village of this route and, to be honest, it has some similarities with the other six, such as the omnipresent street art and the typical charming churches.
The modest mayan ruins of San Andrés are located near Joya de Cerén. In spite of first being unearthed in 1977, both main pyramids are still partly covered and there are no signs of any ongoing archeological work. The site also encompasses a main courtyard with a subterranean section. Bus 201 runs from San Salvador to Santa Ana and stops near the entrance of the site.
- Entrance fee: $5 (closed on Mondays)
- Parking lot: $1
Joya de Cerén is the Latin American equivalent to Pompeii. The quick ashfall from a volcanic eruption buried and preserved this Mayan farming settlement, which is today an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The artefacts and other remains uncovered on this site provided invaluable information on the everyday life of a Mayan rural village.
- Entrance fee: $10 (closed on Mondays)
- Parking lot: $1
- Juayua -> Sonsonate -> San Andrés -> Joya de Cerén -> La Libertad (126km; 2h37)
Day 8: San Salvador
We ditched a night in San Salvador for the comfort of three consecutive nights on the coast near La Libertad. On this 8th day we went back a few kilometres and did a day trip to the capital, which suffers from a nasty reputation. The more touristic areas should be safe to wander, though.
You can read more about San Salvador on this page.
- La Libertad -> San Salvador (30km; 56min)
Days 9 and 10: Pacific Coast
Our last days were meant to be chilled. The goal was to explore El Tunco, a world famous surfers’ paradise, and maybe some other nearby beaches.
The time spent in El Tunco was however cut short: while being great for surfers, regular beachgoers will have a hard time here. That’s because: 1) the water is crowded with… surfers; 2) waves are typically high and 3) a large segment of the beach is rocky. There’s also a fee to enter the village.
We wasted no more than three hours here, and after a quick search we drove to Playa de San Diego, a less crowded sandy beach where we spent the rest of our time in El Salvador.
- Entrance fee (El Tunco): $1
- Parking lot (El Tunco): $3
And that’s a wrap for our tailored itinerary in El Salvador! Any questions or suggestions are very welcome on the comment box below!