Are you planning a trip to El Salvador?
I recently got back from the country, and oh man, I had an incredible time!
I traveled for 10 days from Feb 14th 2018 to Feb 25th 2018. While I was planning my trip, I found it difficult to find good information on the country for backpackers or Americans like me that wanted to vacation there.
The main reason I wanted to check out El Salvador was because… I’m adopted from there. I was adopted at age 1 and raised in the United States by a white family.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more curious about my roots. I started to wonder what this country was like. I even started to think more about my birth mother.
I made a trip back to El Salvador to experience the culture and also to get in contact with my birth mother. I didn’t have very much information, but I had traveled in many other countries (Thailand, Italy, Guatemala, England, France, China) and was confident of my abilities.
To help you out with your planning, I’m going to be sharing my itinerary for the trip, along with several recommendations for things to do and things to see.
My 10-Day Itinerary
First, I’m going to outline my itinerary. Then, I’ll go more in-depth into each item. This way, you can get a quick grasp of my trip and then go to the section that most interests you.
- Feb 14th (Wed): Flew from NYC to Miami to San Salvador. Arrived at my Airbnb in El Tunco. I hung out a bit, checked out the bars, and flew my drone.
- Feb 15th (Thurs): Walked around El Tunco. Made vlogs. Flew drone more. Swam. Thought about surfing. Got a massage. Met people at bars.
- Feb 16th (Friday): Traveled via Taxi to Costa Del Sol, a white sand beach, and hung out at Hola Betos, a plush resort/restaurant. Went to the bars at night.
- Feb 17th (Saturday): Traveled via Taxi to Santa Ana and checked into my next Airbnb. Checked out the town. Walked around.
- Feb 18th (Sunday): Went to Cerro Verde National Park, Tazumal Ruins, and Lake Coatepeque.
- Feb 19th (Monday): Relaxed. Flew my drone. Hung out with people from my hostel.
- Feb 20th (Tuesday): Traveled to Suchitoto via taxi. Got in a minor car crash. Checked into my hotel, Casa Del Abuela. Explored the amazing view at the 1800 hotel, which overlooks the lake.
- Feb 21st (Wednesday): Traveled to La Reina, Chalatenago to find my birth mother. Found her. Very emotional day.
- Feb 22nd (Thursday): Spent a lot of day thinking. Walked around Suchitoto. Took videos. Relaxed. Worked a bit.
- Feb 23rd (Friday): Traveled to San Salvador. Checked into my Airbnb, which was close to Plaza Futura. Tried to visit Parish Dunharrow (Rosario) but it was closed. Other places around there were also closed. Visited National Palace. Ate good food. Chatted up randos.
- Feb 24th (Saturday): Went to the mall. Explored. Got some work done. Relaxed. Talked to people. Prepared for trip home. Chilled on my roof.
I did a lot in 10 days and I took a taxi most places, which was expensive. I’m happy with the time I spent there and was able to do everything I wanted. If you want to see the vlogs of the various places where I went, you can watch my YouTube videos here.
My Budget and Expenses
| Flight Cost |
$626.04 |
| Travel Insurance |
$46.95 |
| Casa De La Abuela (3 nights) |
$150.00 |
| Santa Ana Airbnb (3 nights) |
$67.44 |
| El Tunco (3 nights) |
$252.80 |
| San Salvador (2 nights) |
$192.26 |
| Taxi to Costa Del Sol and Stay |
$60.00 |
| Taxi to Santa Ana |
$45.00 |
| Taxi to El Tunco |
$45.00 |
| Taxi to Suchitoto |
$40.00 |
| Taxi to San Salvador and tour |
$65.00 |
| Taxi to Airpot |
$30.00 |
| Uber to Home After Flight |
$46.00 |
| Cerro Verde/Lake Coatepque/Tazumal |
$150.00 |
| La Reina |
$180.00 |
| Total Cost |
$1996.49 |
Cost Breakdown
| Taxi Tour Cost |
$661.00 |
| AirBnB Cost |
$662.50 |
| Flight Cost |
$672.99 |
As you can see, 1/3 of my costs were from taxis. I could have cut this down by renting a car or by using the bus system in El Salvador. Since my Spanish isn’t so good and I didn’t know where I was going, I used the taxis. I also wanted to get a sense of the country by talking to the drivers.
I didn’t really care about the cost, but for budget-friendly travelers, that can seem like a lot. I want to underscore that I definitely could have saved a lot more money. I was just kind of splurging.
If you want to, you can stay in hostels for ridiculously low costs, use the bus system, and only eat local food. It would keep your expenses VERY low.
El Tunco
When I was researching El Tunco, a lot of people were telling me that it was a party town. Great place to go for the bars and to mingle. What I found out was that pretty much no one was there from Monday – Thursday and that the best nights were Friday and Saturday, when the locals come to town.
I wish I knew this going in, because I would have spent another day there. So, if you’re into that scene, that’s something to keep in mind. Regardless, it’s a beautiful town, very safe, and you can enjoy the beautiful weather.
My best tip would be to get out of your shell a little bit and have some spontaneous conversations. I ended up talking with a bunch of people at the bars and throughout my trip. It made the experience much better.
Costa Del Sol
Costa Del Sol was one of my favorite parts of my trip because I LOVE the beach. While El Tunco is more of a rocky black sand beach with rough waves, Costa Del Sol is a white sand beach with beautiful waves. The water is super warm.
This beach is about an hour from El Tunco. You’re going to need a car to get there or hire a taxi. When I went, I first didn’t know where to go because there are all these “ranches” with big walls in front of them guarding the beach.
I ended up asking my Airbnb host and they told me to go to Hola Betos, this epic restaurant that has everything you could want. If you want more of a resort-style beach experience, go to Hola Betos.
Awwww yeahhhh. That’s my kind of life. Don’t get me wrong, I also like the local culture, but sometimes, I just wanna chill like the lazy American I am. Hola Betos is the perfect place if this is the kind of vision you have at the beach.
Santa Ana
Santa Ana was the next city on my list and about 2 hours from El Tunco, if I remember correctly. It’s a small town with a beautiful cathedral in the center. Nearby are Lago Coatepeque and the Cerro Verde National Park.
I stayed at a small hostel with some other foreigners called Pool House. It was a very nice hostel and I recommend staying there if you can. It was also very affordable.
As long as you stay in the center of the city, Santa Ana is pretty safe. There are American-style restaurants even, which naturally are a bit more expensive.
This town is nice to visit because of it’s proximity to some of the other cool stuff that you can do. For example, about 30 minutes away from the city is this waterfall that I checked out with a group from my hostel. It was so much fun!
Not only was the water super warm, but our local person also assured us that you could also dive from the cliffs. Haha! It was scary, but I did some cliff jumping. Great experience. Totally would recommend it.
National Park Cerro Verde, Lago Coatepeque, Tazumal Ruins,
While I was at Santa Ana, I booked a tour with these guys to take me to the national park cerro verde and other spots. Totally recommend it. They spoke very good English and my guide also had a lot of knowledge of the history of the region.
Lago Coatepeque was an incredible lake with beautiful views. I had a beer and some food while there. You can also go out on a boat if you want or swim. If I had brought my swim trunks, I would have gone swimming.
Finally, the Tazumal Mayan Ruins were pretty cool to see. The guide gave me a whole history tour and explained the cultural significance. It was kinda weird to see bits of obsidian glass and pottery. This made me want to visit other ancient sites, which I may do when I return.
One of the reasons that I decided to choose this tour company was due to their ratings on trip advisor. I also wanted to invest a bit with them because I was going to use them to help me find my birth mother when I visited Chalatenango.
Suchitoto
Next on my list was Suchitoto. I was primarily going to this town because I knew that it was close to the location of my birth mother. Suchitoto is a small, safe, friendly town that has a handful of shops, bars and restaurants.
Along with being a quaint town, it also is located super close to another majestic lake. I swear, this entire country is just filled with beauty.
While there, I stayed in Casa De la Abuela, which was a small hotel right by the center of town. It also had a neat cafe and souvenir shop connected to it.
If you want to see a breathtaking view, go and check out “Casa 1800 Suchitoto” which isn’t a far walk. It’s literally… wow. You can stay there also, or you can just grab a beer or have some food.
This place is heaven on earth. Would totally come back just for that view. Love it!
You might not remember, but the main reason I was traveling to el salvador was to find my birth mother. So, if you want to visit more of an authentic town, I can tell you a little bit about where I was born.
La Reina, Chalatenango
La Reina is a small, but beautiful town in a valley surrounded by mountains. When I went, there was a big festival going on and it looked like a lot of fun.
You probably want to have a local with you or at least be very fluent in Spanish if you plan to go. It’s a rural town. The people are very nice and peaceful. You can get a sense of what the true culture is like.
I ended up passing a photo of me (when I was little) and my birth mother out in the town until I was able to get some info on her. We were able to locate her house and eventually I found her. I also discovered I have a brother and two sisters.
She lived in a very small house farther out from the town. It was a very humble living space. I got to learn more about why they gave me up, what their life is like, and how they thought of me ever since they gave me up for adoption.
It was also pretty cool to get the chance to meet my brother. He had been wanting to meet me for a long time and also made several attempts to get in contact with me.
After visiting La Reina, I felt so happy and thankful that I couldn’t ask for anything more. But, I still had a few days left in my trip. I was going to visit San Salvador and get a sense of the capital of El Salvador.
I was a little bit nervous because I had heard bad things about the capital city and that you have to be hyper vigilant when traveling there.
San Salvador
Since I had heard some horror stories, I was a bit more on edge when visiting the capital. I decided to go for a more upscale Airbnb ($80 per night) that was only a few blocks from Plaza Futura. It had a pretty sick roof.
The interior of the place was also very nicely designed. For that price, I got three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a nice living area. The TV also had Netflix. Wifi was pretty good also.
There wasn’t much to do in San Salvador for me. I checked out Plaza Futura, the mall, and tried to go into the one beautiful Rosario parish, but it wasn’t open.
My Suggested Itinerary Changes
There are a few changes that I would make to the itinerary that I created. First of all, if you want to go to El Tunco (surfing town), then I would plan to be there for Friday and Saturday night as that’s when it’s most alive. Nothing wrong with getting there during the week, just won’t be as many locals.
Second, I regret not going to Ruta de Las Flores. I’ve heard that it’s very beautiful and something you gotta do. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit it into my 10 day trip and also have some time to relax.
Third, I would have hiked up the Cerro Verde volcano (or another). I wasn’t able to because I was trying to fit a lot of other things into that day. If you like hiking, that could be fun.
Finally, I would have spent more time learning about the El Salvadorian culture in the way of food, industry, coffee, etc. I wasn’t that interested in it before I arrived, but I found learning about the history to be cool.
If you have ten days, you can fit a lot into that. It really depends on the pace that you want to go through it all. I was pretty happy with my pace, because I don’t like to feel rushed.
Costs and Accommodation
The cost of everything is pretty low. You can get a standard meal from $2 – $5 depending on what you want to eat. Local food is cheaper. If you eat out at American places, you’ll still be paying relatively lower prices (though I live in NYC, so I’m biased).
If you’re staying in a hostel, the prices will be dirt cheap (think $5 – $10 per day). Hotels and Airbnbs will be much more expensive. Think $30 – $50 or $70 – $100 in the upper tier.
I had an Airbnb in San Salvador that was epic. It had a rooftop. I had four rooms to myself, netflix, wifi, a great couch, and just pure luxury. It was $80 per night.
Overall, if you want to travel cheap, it will be very easy to.