El Salvador Itinerary For 1-2 Weeks – Tried & Tested

Although not my all-time favourite city in Central America, Santa Ana is a nice enough city with pretty architecture to be found while wandering the backstreets. It’s also a decent base for adventures. I absolutely loved the Santa Ana Volcano hike!

Aside from paying $2 to climb the cathedral tower and look out over the city, there’s not loads to do in Santa Ana, but you can take day trips to Tazumal Mayan Ruins, Joya de Cerén or Lake Coatepeque. Add extra days here for any day trips you take.

After the volcano hike the day before, I was happy to spend a relaxed day exploring the city. The best thing I did was a free walking tour with a young local named Hector.

Unlike many walking tours I’ve done that focus on facts and figures, this tour highlights Hector’s lived experiences as a teenager under the gang rule that once gripped El Salvador. We were hanging on his every word.

The tour ends at Beats Coffee Shop with the chance to sit together and chat more about the past and hopes for the future of El Salvador. I liked this informal ending that felt more like hanging with friends than a typical tour.

You can check the details on Guruwalk but there’s no need reason to book; just show up at 9am or 3pm in the central square.

Evening pupusa-making class: make your own tasty pupusas either at Casa Coco Hostel ($15) or with a local family for $12. For the latter, follow this Google pin and send a WhatsApp to the owner, Castor. After feasting on our creations, he took me and the other guests to a speakeasy bar.

Add extra days here for day trips to Tazumal Mayan Ruins, Joya de Cerén or Lake Coatepeque

Probably my favourite place from my trip was Ruta del Flores (the Flower Route) so I’d say it’s WELL worth including in your El Salvador itinerary. This region is named after the blossoming flowers visible from November to February.

This lush region benefits from cool temperatures due to the higher elevation, colourful small towns, coffee farms and buzzing food markets. I suggest basing in Juayua (a bus from Santa Ana costs just 90 cents!) since there are plenty of decent hostels and scooter rentals, plus the lively weekend Food Festival.

Other places I recommend checking out include:

• The 7 Waterfalls hike – best visited during a guided tour from Juayua for just $10. Wear waterproof shoes and be prepared to climb up a waterfall without a harness! Health and safety may not be stringent, but it’s a beautiful region and a lot of fun. WhatsApp Elizabeth to book on +503 61137277.
• El Carmen coffee tour – for $7 we did a full tour of the farm, learning all about the harvesting and brewing processes, finishing with a tasting.
• Ataco town – a pretty town with cafes (I visited Axul for brunch and El Café del Artista for coffee), artisan markets and colourful murals. Avoid the mirador on foot as a dog bit me up there!
• Albania Cafe (Apaneca town) – in between Juayua and Ataco is this Insta-famous adventure park with a rainbow slide and bicycles on zipwire lines. Adventure types will love it. Entry costs $5 and includes a voucher to spend on rides or food & drink.
• Nahuizalco night market (weekends) – a group of us from the hostel drove over here for an evening and tried local dishes at the bustling, family-friendly market. It’s a great vibe.
• El Salto de Malacatiupan – a thermal waterfall where you can soak in the warm waters of the pools below.
• Alicante or Santa Teresa – these hot springs (in the same direction as the falls mentioned above) are relaxing additions to your El Salvador itinerary.
• Note – the three places above are best visited with a car as there’s limited public transport.

The beautiful coast was the final stop on my El Salvador itinerary. It was a real high with its spectacular sunsets and quality surf. You could stay weeks doing value surf schools or just a few nights relaxing and partying.

El Tunco is the main hub with the most plentiful accommodation options, but I found El Zonte just up the coast to be more charming. Stay in either because the other can be reached by a cheap bus or Uber. I didn’t get around to checking out La Libertad but I hear good things (and there’s a seafood market).

These towns offer beautiful beaches, sunsets, surf schools and a range of restaurants offering everything from cheap local pupusas and Western classics as El Salvador becomes more developed.

Where to stay (hostels): in El Tunco, opt for Duck Dive from $10 / Dos Palmas (with luxury double beds from $20 and pool access). In El Zonte, Casa de Colores is a lovely new hostel with a pool from $15.

Don’t miss Lagarza Hostel, a destination in itself!

The official currency of El Salvador? US dollars and Bitcoin. Yes, really.

The story? The government got rid of their old currency in favour of something seen as more stable. In addition to USD, they introduced Bitcoin and gave a small amount to each citizen. But, without an education on how to use it, locals felt scammed when it temporarily dropped in value, and many cashed it out.

Now, you’ll see Bitcoin ATMs and signs in certain places (especially on the coast) saying you can pay with it. I can’t even imagine what denomination an ice cream costs!

Average prices in El Salvador (USD):

• Bunk in a hostel – $10-15
• Private room – $15+
• Car hire for a week – $200
• Street food – pupusas for around $1 apiece
• Meal in a restaurant – $5-10
• Coffee – from 25 cents at street stalls, from $1.50 at speciality coffee shops (up to $5 at Beats in Santa Ana but worth it!).

Car hire – I made a friend who had a car and realised how useful one can be for El Salvador. Saying that, the cost difference compared to cheap local buses is enormous so I think it comes down to how tight your El Salvador itinerary is (although I saw all the above places in 10 days without one). I suggest Rentalcars.com.

Scooter hire – you could consider taking buses around the rest of the country and just hiring a scooter for the Ruta de las Flores section because I think this is where you benefit most from the freedom of having a vehicle. Samay Hostel in Juayay is where to rent one.

Bus – the option I took was the chicken bus which doubles up as ‘an experience’! Sometimes it breaks down, sometimes it doesn’t. You will have to find out!

Jokes aside, the buses worked fine for me. They’re outrageously cheap: sometimes 50 cents for an hour’s ride!

Shuttles – when I visited, there weren’t many of these compared to other, more touristic countries in Central America, but I imagine there will be soon. They’ll be more expensive than the buses but more reliable… And the aircon!

Is El Salvador safe for tourists? Yes! As a solo female traveller, I always felt safe, especially along Ruta de las Flores and the beach towns. The one place I experienced cat calling and intense stares from the men was in Santa Ana but nothing bad happened. I recommend calling Uber at night rather than walking unless it’s a short distance in the centre.

I didn’t visit San Salvador but have heard it’s safe, although I imagine there are bad neighbourhoods like any capital city.

What plug socket do they use? Plug types A and B are used; the same all the way from Canada down to Bolivia.

Do you need a visa? Many nationalities, including those from the US, UK and many other European countries, get visa-free entry for 90-180 days. Check with your embassy and ensure you have six months left on your passport before expiry. Some nationalities will have to purchase a tourist card on arrival (around $12).

Do you need to know Spanish? The basics are VERY useful to know; not many Salvadorans speak English unless they work in tourism in places like Santa Ana, the Flowers Route and the coast. You CAN get by without, but I do suggest you brush up!

Can you drink the tap water? No! Buy bottled or, better yet, bring a refillable water bottle because many accommodations and cafes will have filtered units where you can top it up. Alternatively, a filtering water bottle makes any water safe to drink.

Additions to an El Salvador itinerary

El Espiritu de la Montana (La Union) – this is the one place I regret not visiting! This mountain top platform is where to camp and wake up to beautiful views of sunsets and islands. It was on my radar but I wasn’t sure about the logistics of going solo as there was limited public transport there and I didn’t have a car. La Union is in the south of the country by the Honduran border.

Suchitoto – this colonial town is slightly out of the way in the northeast of the country and I didn’t get around to visiting. If you’ve visited plenty of pretty, colonial towns in Latin America like I have, it may not be worth the journey. But I hear it’s lovely.

Final thoughts on El Salvador

Even though I travelled through 10 countries in Latin America on my recent trip, El Salvador stands out. It may not be the biggest country with the most UNESCOs or ‘must-see’ attractions, but it’s well worth visiting.

I found the locals so friendly and welcoming. After everything they have been through, tourism is naturally associated with a new era for their country, and you can tell they’re genuinely pleased to see you.

Now is a fantastic time to visit El Salvador because we don’t know what the future holds. Locals told me they are beginning to see signs of gentrification. I’m already updating my blog posts a month after writing them to include new hostels I’m seeing open up!

It’s an exciting time for the country, but much as increased tourism can create opportunities and livelihoods, it can also have negative impacts as I’m sure you know.

Also, El Salvador is a fantastic nature destination with beautiful hikes, waterfalls and incredible beaches and sunsets. There’s so much to love, and I hope I return one day and find it not TOO changed.

I’m still craving pupusas months later!