Why travel to El Salvador? Nobody goes to El Salvador. That’s what a family member said when she found out we were planning to visit El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America. It’s not your usual tourist destination, certainly not with kids, but we felt it was well worth a look. So where to go, what to see, where to stay, what to eat and more in our El Salvador travel blog section.
Why Did We Visit El Salvador?
Our trip to El Salvador came by chance, we just needed a cheap, easy flight out of Florida at the end of a long USA trip. Our visa was out and we needed to leave,
The flights out of Florida at the end of our USA road trip were the cheapest we could find as we searched for bargains and inspiration on Skyscanner. It was listed as $62 each on Spirit Airlines. Taxes and baggage fees bumped it up to $100 each, but still, it’s a good deal. It got us into Central America, an area which we’ve never had the chance to travel or explore. A new country is always a good idea particularly one that pushes your boundaries a little.
Is El Salvador Safe to Visit?
The USA has a travel warning in place for El Salvador, they tell people not to visit.
Once I started Googling travel safety, I discovered that the crime rate in El Salvador is lower than that in several US cities and that crime is mostly limited to gang members and drug production. The civil war ended over 20 years ago and El Salvador is trying to turn things around and develop a tourist industry. I even read an article from The Guardian recommending El Salvador as a good place to visit, so it must be OK.
I found a few travel blogs from intrepid travellers who have absolutely loved El Salvador, several of them family travellers like us. There are a lot of surfers who come here, too, this coast was featured in the movie Big Wednesday.
In San Salvador, I felt totally safe in our accommodation. Guards with guns were everywhere in the city and there are a lot of high walls and razor wire, but our warm family guest house was a pleasure to be in. Salvadorean families live here, so why can’t we?
Don’t forget your guide book! You may need help with Spanish, so the Lonely Planet’s language section will be your best friend. Few countries have language barriers these days, Central America is an exception. Click here to inspect this book, at the time of publication there was no stand alone Lonely Planet El Slvador that we could find.
Why Visit El Salvador?
- El Salvador has its own Mayan pyramid at Tazumal with a tiny admission fee compared to the big draws in Guatemala
- It has volcanoes and crater lakes, treks and wildlife encounters.
- It has Central America’s answer to Pompei. Ceren, a town buried in volcanic ash for 1400 years.
- Surfing is big news and the beaches are beautiful. El Salvador has great breaks.
- There are some beautiful buildings and churches.
- El Salvador has interesting food, culture and people.
- The Museum National of anthropology in San Salvador has some spectacular Mayan displays.
- El Salvador is not stuffed full of tourists. There are no tourist traps or ( in our experience) people waiting to rip you off. We have met some wonderful warm and happy people as we try to bumble our way around in our non-existent Spanish. Even the taxi drivers have done their best to help us out.
Costs of Travelling in El Salvador
Prices are pretty good. A family room with breakfast cost us under $50 in San Salvador. As with all of Central and South America, it’s not cheap, if you want cheap go to Asia and Eastern Europe, but El Salvador is nowhere near as expensive as some South American countries.
Street food costs almost nothing, a dollar a head maybe and the supermarkets are cheap and extremely good. To be honest they are some of the best supermarkets I’ve ever seen in terms of variety, price and quality of produce.
A beer will cost you around $1.50.
Buses are cheap, 25c a trip around San Salvador. Taxis are reasonable, $30 from airport to San Salvador or to the coast, $4-5 around town
Admission prices seem fixed at $3. A great deal for Central America.
We liked El Salvador a lot. It’s not the easiest place to travel and we were ultra careful when we’re out exploring. English isn’t widely spoken so you will most certainly need to buy a phrase book if , like us, you are totally inept at Spanish.
A good guide-book ( see above) will help you out too, we didn’t have one and it’s taken us days of online research to work out where we need to go and what to see, there is little tourist support available on the ground here or online.
Food and Street Food in El Salvador
The food we enjoyed in El Salvador was very similar to that in Guatemala and other parts of Central America, pupusas, tamale, beans, fried bananas and more. Pupusas are probably the most uniquitous street food and they are ultra child friendly. These little pockets of hot bubbling cheese ( or they can contain meat or beans) fed us well.
Hostel in San Salvador
We stayed at Hostal Donna Marta and would recommend it to other travellers. We enjoyed a large family room with 4 beds in a quiet residential area. Our bathroom was shared but right outside our door and nobody else seemed to use it. Breakfasts were delicious, local and home cooked and our host and his family couldn’t have been any nicer or more helpful. The owner is a doctor, he even helped us out with buying medications for a child with a sore throat.
An en suite room was also available.
We took a taxi from the airport to Hostal Dona Marta, arranged by the owner, everything went smoothly and we had a great stay.
The main road and bus routes are a short walk from the hotel or taxis are great value.
You can check out other hotel options in San Salvador here, Agoda brings you latest discounts with the added benefit of reward points.
You can read more about how we got in and out of El Salvador to Guatemala and Florida in this post. The buses to Guatemala city were the best I’ve ever travelled in and that’s no exaggeration. We only stayed in El Salvador for a week but it was great to have seen something of this little country. El Salvador certainly took me out of my comfort zone for the first time since we left Port Douglas. Travel around Asia, where everyone speaks English and whole countries appear set up with tourists in mind is a totally different experience. The best answer I can think of to that question, “Why travel to El Salvador?” is the simplest one. Visit to learn about it. That is enough.
Stephi says
El Salvador was a country that i was sceptical about for months. We tracked there in Jan 18 with our 2 children 3 an 5 years. We do speak Spanish and I have been to other Latin American countries we really loved El Salvador the popusas were incredible! We went to all the sites you mantioned it was awesome prices and everywhere is easy to get to. We stayed in Cuco Beach- at Condado Cuculandia thr host name is Gustavo he is amazing- he can speak English too! Beautiful experience we recommended visiting Cuco – relaxing and the beach is lovely and waem. If you like horse riding they have gear activities there too! Check it out!!
Debora says
Thanks for sharing. I’m going to El Salvador next month for a short program of volunteer.and these info will be useful for me!
Bjorn says
Lovely to see that so many are enjoying El Salvador, just like we are doing. So many things to see and do. El Salvador deserves a better reputation then it’s getting in the newspaper. After living here for 4 months, I can honestly say that every day is better than the last. Food is great, people are friendly, the weather is stable and awesome. Even though the country have some social problems, there are many reasons to visit El Salvador.
Here are 10 other things to do in El Salvador and why you should travel to El Salvador.
Rafael says
Hi! Well I’m salvadorean. If you want to come to El Salvador, you are welcome :). If you need help or a guide don’t doubt in contact me! It will be a pleasure.
[email protected] says
We’ve been and left already Rafael, we’re in Guatemala now. El Salvadore was a wonderful experience, we’d love to come back and see more one day but we’re on a tight schedule at the moment.
Talitha Guittin says
Hi Alyson!
sounds wonderful. Do you plan to go to Belize? It’s on our wishing list for some reason I don’t remember – maybe because they speak english overthere?
I have a stupid question : when you quote dollars, are you talking US-dollars?!
Take care!
[email protected] says
US or AU, it hardly makes a difference, they’re not far off 1:1. I don’t know, I switch between the two. No, we wont make Belize, although years ago we were going to dive the Blue Hole, but then I got pregnant so we cancelled. We’re back in Florida for the cruise in April, so I don’t even think we’ll make Mexico now. Looking forward to getting back to Asia, this side of the world has been fun, but it’s Asia that really floats our collective boat.
Victoria says
Looks pretty interesting Alyson. South America hasn’t really been on my radar and there’s no particular reason why? However, whenever, we change direction, we’ll certainly look into it! Thanks for sharing!
[email protected] says
We adored Peru and the Inca Trail, but Central America is totally new territory for us. I have to say I still prefer Asia, but it makes a nice change to be here.
James Long says
Great to see and taste food that we normally don’t have exposure to in Asia. The food markets are another source of enjoyment and inspiration, especially now we have a kitchen.
Valen-This Way To Paradise says
I wish I had made a visit while I was here in Mexico, but unfortunately it was really expensive to travel from the area I was in. I am interested to see what you will think of Guatemala!
[email protected] says
Enjoying Guatemala so far Valen!
Alyson says
Accommodation is slightly less than in the US, but really US hotels were a bargain, $40 to $50. There seemed to be an under supply of Accom in El Salvador generally, that’s one of the reasons we’re now in Guatemala. Street food was cheap, yes, and very yummy.. I have a feeling those admission prices will go up once they get some tourists flowing through!
Amy says
Sounds like a good place to visit; pretty cheap too in comparison to the prices you’ve been used to in the US and UK over the previous months I suppose? Attractions sound like really good value too.
Heidi Wagoner says
Oh I want to go there! I have been to Belieze, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama, but missed that little country as well as Honduras. I will just need to make it there one day. I am so glad you wrote about this.
Sharon says
I have visited! We loved it, but we only made it to Santa Ana. The less I know about a place, the more intrigued I am to go there. I have little interest in Central American capitals though, they do scare me a bit.
I hope you are going to be seeing more of Central America!! Guatemala and Nicaragua are great, although Guatemala grated on my nerves a bit the last time. It has changed a lot since I first went there ten years ago which I blame on growing tourist numbers.
[email protected] says
Yes we are, we have almost 2 months in Central America. Another good thing about visiting the way we have is overall we’ve payed less than the flights into Guatemala would have been.