El Salvador: detailed 2, 3 and 4 week itineraries
Last updated on June 8th, 2026 at 01:09 pm
What is the best 2 week itinerary for El Salvador? Actually what is the best 3 week itinerary for El Salvador – or even 4 weeks?
This guide gives you what I think is the best 2, 3, and 4 week guide to El Salvador. Be warned; it may be small but it has a lot to offer so its not a place to dash through in a day or two. It also has some of the best scenery and some of the best people you will ever meet! I loved the place – by far far far my favorite country in Central America now – although I did live in Costa Rica too and that was great too!
Use this two week itinerary of El Salvador to start at one end of the country and weave your way to the other, seeing all the best the country has to offer!
Note: When I talk about buses in this post, do check any numbers as things change. Also I have not quoted prices but the most I ever paid for a bus ride was around $1 except a very long $3 one.
First a few important links to use when you plan your trip. They are affiliate links, but I use them all for my travels, and if you do too it will help me keep producing this content – and at no extra cost to you. Cheers!
Plan for your trip
Language / Money – Spanish / $USD
Flights – use skyscanner or booking.com to find and book your flight – I often find the same flight for a lot cheaper than booking direct with the airline!
Insurance – Use EKTA or SafetyWing. TBH I usually use EKTA – they accept any nationality, any age and its ok if you are already traveling – which is perfect for me!
Accommodation – use booking.com or for a hostel – Hostelworld. I use both.
Internet – buy a yesim eSim or Airalo before you go. I use both depending on where I am going.
Buses, trains, ferries – 12Go is always my first option for buses, ferries and trains
Car rental – use DiscoverCars – they are my ‘go-to’ car rental site
Hiking – I use AllTrails for online and offline hiking trails – it means you know exactly where you are on the trail and makes getting lost a lot harder!!
Tours and Activities – book with Viator, GetYourGuide, or Eatwith. These are some highly recommended options in El Salvador:
- The Best of El Salvador: Santa Ana Volcano & Lake Coatepeque Tour
- Ruta de Las Flores, Visit 4 Colonial Towns and Coffee Farm
- Scars of San Salvador
- Juayua: Incredibles Juayua 7 Waterfalls
- City Tour and El Boquerón National Park with Pupusa Tasting
- Fun Walking Tour of San Salvador’s Historic Center
- Archeological Route Full-Day Tour
Thanks so much if you use one of these links – it costs you nothing but helps me keep writing!!
Detailed 2 week itinerary of El Salvador
I’ll start in Santa Ana for those heading east / south from Guatemala to El Salvador. Its easy to take a public or private bus to Santa Ana from Antigua Guatemala or vice versa so this is a great starting point.
If you are heading west / north from Nicaragua, you can go in the reverse order.
If you are arriving and leaving by plane you land in central El Salvador (a long way from San Salvador) and I would suggest adding extra time on Ruta de las Flores or Suchitoto or going to Jiquilisco Bay (3 week itinerary) and skipping the camping on Conchagua given the time taken to get there and back.
Day 1 – Santa Ana City
Arrive in Santa Ana and check it out. Go to the Parque Libertad where you will find the Santa Ana Cathedral – a cool gothic structure (not like the usual Spanish colonial cathedrals of Central America) and the beautiful National Theater.
If you have time and are finding it hot, there is a pleasant little natural swim pool at Zapoapo (put it into google search and it will come up) where you will only find locals. Better still half way there is the best pupuseria in Santa Ana – and definitely one of the best in the country – Pupuseria Ceiba! (That’s already on google maps.)
Spend the evening in Parque Libertad enjoying the atmosphere of all the local families enjoying life with a bit of music and pupusas. Eat your first pupusas!
Day 2 – Santa Ana Volcano
Take a day trip and hike up the Santa Ana Volcano in Cerro Verde National Park. The views across the country and Lake Coatepeque below are fabulous. The finale is reaching the crater rim and looking down into the turquoise crater lake. The walk is not hard – but a steady upward climb. It can be hot and can be windy so come with water, sunblock / hat and a wind jacket. You need good shoes too – not flip flops etc. There are some lovely people at the top with ice-creams and ice-blocks – how can you walk past that?
You can go on a tour or take the bus yourself. Getting the bus is easy – get the direct 248 bus, which leaves at 7:30 am from La Vencedora Bus Station. Just check with your accommodation though as things may change. You need to catch the 7.30 bus as there isn’t another until the afternoon and you have to have time to hike the volcano and get back for the bus back to Santa Ana, which leaves at 4pm. You have time while waiting for the bus for a beer and pupusa – perfect!
Day 3 – Salto de Malacatiupan or Santa Teresa
Ok I’m putting options in here because I can – options are great right?
El Salvador is full of rivers, lakes and quite a bit of hot water too – there are hundreds of volcanoes and 20 active ones so that’s not surprising! So there are a lot of opportunities for watery things – not just these three.
Salto de Malacatiupan
This was the more appealing for me. It is a hot waterfall and river. From Santa Ana, drive or take the #202 bus (at the time – check with your accommodation as it could also be the #210 now) to the town of Atiquizaya. It takes about 3/4 hour.
From there take a local tuk-tuk or taxi to the hot springs – there should be plenty there or one will arrive soon. Confirm the price before you leave (about $2-5 depending how you negotiate), and preferably arrange to be picked up later too. (You can walk – 6ks or wait for one to go past but if you want to have certainty arrange it beforehand).
There is an entrance fee of $1!!
Be careful – it can be slippery getting down to the pools and there is no real infrastructure let alone safety rails etc. So be careful getting down to the pools – and then on the rocks if you see algae it can be slippery too. Finally – the currents are strong – even for good swimmers so be aware of that. And obviously don’t jump off rocks etc unless you know exactly how deep it is and what the current is like!
Oh enough of that. Its pretty and you can swim under the falls, in the pools, jump from rocks (carefully!) and generally have a great time. And if you keep following the path from the waterfalls to down the river for about 600 meters you can have a peaceful warm soak in shallower water and likely to yourself or just with a few others.
Do this as a day trip from Santa Ana or do this en-route from Santa Ana to the Ruta de las flores. You can catch the same #202 bus on to Ahuachapan and from there get the #249 bus to Ataco or Juayua, which I totally recommend for a night or two.
Note: you can stop at El Tazumal en-route to the pools if you think you have time – see the 3 week itinerary.
Santa Teresa Thermal Pools
I did not go here – didn’t feel the need! But an option is to go to these formal hot pools – its natural hot mineral water but not au-naturel in the river like Salto de Malacatiupan.
This can be combined on a day tour from Santa Ana with Salto de Malacatiupan and a couple of other things on the Ruta de las Flores but for me that would be a bit rushed and there is no real need to go back to Santa Ana from here. You can also do a day trip on your own using the #202 bus to Ahuachapan from Santa Ana and back again. The pools are close to Ahuachapan .
Even better, spend the day getting from Santa Ana to Salto de Malacatiupan and then on to Ahuachapan – you can soak in these pools until 9pm or wait until the next day if you are a bit waterlogged from Salto de Malacatiupan.
It costs $10 and there is a restaurant on site plus a small changing rooms and extra treatments like massages and saunas available. But, do take your own towels and water (and mosquito repellent).
Days 4 5 6 – Ruta de las Flores
If you are in Ahuachapan, you are almost there – get the bus to Concepción de Ataco (Ataco). If you are in Santa Ana its about 1.5 hours to Juayua on the #238 bus. From the beaches get a bus to Sonsonate and then transfer to one to Juayua.
What is the Ruta de las Flores?
It is essentially a group of smaller towns joined by a very picturesque road laden with flowers in the season! This is probably the most developed ‘tourist trail’ in the country and its got plenty to offer. The towns on the Ruta de las Flores are: Juayua, Apaneca, Nahuizalco, Salcoatitán and Concepción de Ataco
There is a lot to do on the Ruta de las Flores – not least just trip around on the buses to enjoy the flowers that it is famous for – although you need to be here from around November to January or February to see this. Even if the flowers are over it doesn’t matter – it is a lovely area with plenty to do – like soak in the Santa Teresa Hot pools!
How do I get to the Ruta de las Flores?
You can drive the roads, which would be great, or just use the buses. (Of course there are tours from Santa Ana too but I would not want to do this as a day tour unless I was really really short of time.)
From Santa Ana, take the #202 bus for Ahuachapan and then the #210 to Ataco, or, take the #238 for Juayua. From Juayua to Apaneca, Salcoatitán and Ataco take the #249 bus – hop on and off as they run all day.
What can I do on the Ruta de las Flores?
Of course, from Ahuachapan there are the Santa Terese hot springs and Salto de Malacatiupan – covered above
Ataco
Ataco is full of colorful murals and wandering the streets ‘discovering’ them all is great. They really are stunning. There was a little train you can go round on too, but that wasn’t for me! Its definitely a place to while away some time in cafes as well. You can also go on a very cheap coffee tour here at the El Carmen Coffee Farm ($5). Definitely I recommend spending a night or two here.
Apaneca
Apaneca has an adventure park. I did go – and it was a lot of fun. I went for the maze. It really was a crazy huge and amazing maze and it really was almost impossible to get out of. They do have people placed in strategic positions for hints when you are completely befuddled and going round and round in circles. It also has the big rainbow slide which was fun – along with ziplines etc! The town is also near two popular hikes – Laguna Verde and Laguna de las Ninfas. I didn’t do these but have heard nice things.
Juayua
Juayua has the famous seven waterfalls walk. Ask your accommodation to organise this for you – be warned, you will be out all day bush bashing and climbing up through waterfalls and the like before a relaxing swim at the end! You do need a guide and it costs $25-30. But its a great way to spend a day!
You can also go to just one waterfall – Los Chorros de la Calera which is the last one on the seven waterfall hike. This is only one waterfall and it is 20 minutes walking from town and you can take a guide who will tell you a bit about what you see en-route. I have seen that there is now an entry fee for this and personally I think I would skip it.
Not to be missed is the food festival of Juayua – and if you can manage it – Ataco too! These are weekend affairs and the town centers are taken over by food and drink stalls with so much food and so much variety that you are going to eat (and drink) too much for sure. Just make sure you plan to be in Juayua for the weekend! It is the best fun and locals travel for this feast too. You will meet a few other tourists there, but mostly its locals and they love to chat to you if given the chance in our experience.
Days 6 7 8 – The Pacific Coast beaches
Day 6 head to one of the three better-known beaches. Its a lovely drive along the hills above the coast which I enjoyed. It takes a while to get there by public bus so most of the day will be travelling.
There are three beaches that are frequented – even though there are a lot more on this coast! But I guess these are relatively easy to get to, and there is surf so…. They are El Zonte, El Palmarcito and El Tunco.
El Tunco
El Tunco is the one where people ripping through from Guatemala to Nicaragua stop for a night. Its ok but nothing special and is very touristy by El Salvadorian standards because of the overnighters.
El Zonte
El Zonte is more of a locals beach – not so many tourists and quite pleasant but again nothing special. Are you getting my vibe – I’m utterly spoilt for beaches – but do love to swim. Still, they are ok – not more.
El Palmarcito
My favorite by far was the way way less popular but nicest of the lot imho El Palmarcito. I stayed in this lovely place with the wonderful family that own it and loved it – one of my two favorite places I stayed in El Salvador. There is little in the way of restaurants but there is a pupuseria down the road and a bread van and fruit vans come in the morning. There are a few restaurants down on the beach too. What is cool is the very pleasant (nice to stay) Atami Escape Resort on the hill lets you go up into its rock pools built into the cliffs during the weeks – and enjoy the sunset from there or there lawn and bar. That really was fun, especially when the tide comes in and waves are crashing into the pool!
So you might have guessed, my recommendation if you want time at the beach is to spend a couple of days at El Palmarcito. If you want more of a vibe with music and restaurants and more business – then I would go El Tunco – I did have a couple of pleasant nights in a ‘not on the beach’ bar and restaurant there with nice chill local musicians. You can also take a trip to the nearby waterfalls – check with your accommodation.
Days 9 & 10 – Suchitoto
Head off early to San Salvador and then transfer to another bus to Suchitoto. Don’t waste time trying to go between bus stops – just get an uber. They are cheap and way way faster in the city. The bus to Suchitoto leaves from xx and takes 2 hours??
That will be most of Day 9 gone. But you can enjoy just hanging out with the locals in the Central Plaza – Parque Central and its mid-1800s Santa Lucia Church in the evening with the locals.
Day 10, you can enjoy just wandering the delightful cobble streets of Suchitoto. It is almost a fully in tact colonial town – the best you will see. People have pride in their town and you notice it with efforts made in small gardens etc. There are also some close by ‘wild side’ things to see.
A couple of things to consider checking out if you are wandering the town
Museo De La Moneda – the money museum. Odd I know but there you go. They have a very varied collection of coins and other types of money from El Salvador and around the world. Plus lovely views!
Centro Arte para la Paz – the Peace Arts Center. This has a great little restaurant, an exhibition on the history of the area, small art gallery and gardens in what was once a convent. Programmes in art/music/movement are run for local kids here and your money goes to great use. It has a sad past as this was an area very caught up in the civil war but a great way to go forward to the long-awaited peace.
The Central Market – very cheap and good food – with a lot of pupuserias and fruit stalls underneath.
For a couple of small excursions just out of town:
Bird Island on Lago Suchitlán – Suchitoto looks over a large man-made lake with lots of migratory birds. Also lots of pelicans – they are beautiful. See if your accommodation can help out getting a trip on a boat organised to go around Bird Island, or just go down to the lake and wander round to the right if you want to organise yourself, or there will be ‘tours’ from the large restaurant on the lakeside at the bottom of the road.
Cascada Los Tercios – an amazing waterfall with fully exposed basalt columns in the dry season (no water) but I think probably even lovelier when there is water. (It was dry when Iwas there.) Great views and convenient hammocks for anyone to use were at the top of the waterfall walk area – so I decided to accidentally go to sleep in those first haha! It cost $1 to go in – just a man hanging out there taking the money but that’s his job and he’s all good. That’s what it costs so don’t stress if you wonder – there is no formal building etc.
I don’t know what I loved Suchitoto so much but I ended up there a month. Its just sooo chill, and they have a great language school so I ended up spending my mornings there. Oh and my favorite restaurants – the ones down Ave 15 de Septiembre – like Casa1800. (If you ever want to treat a local, take them there as its very pricey for them – not the cheapest place you will go in El Salvador but the views are superb!) There are other great cafes and restaurants near the central square too – I just loved the views there, and it was near my hostel!! Oh, and the pupuseria on the right when facing the church in the central square is the best!
Day 11 – Cinquera
Organise a day tour to Cinquera as soon as you get to Suchitoto. Its pretty difficult with the bus – only one each way a day and not enough time to go for a hike, although there is a little hostel there. Cinquera was a hotspot in the civil war and was a stronghold of guerrilla resistance. Now it is a quaint little village surrounded by a lovely forest – a bonus of the war. The guerrillas let the trees grow again so they could hide.
Try and arrange a former guerrilla as a guide through the forest and learn about it all from first hand knowledge – it is fascinating from the Vietnamese Kitchen they used to the lives they lived. don’t worry if you cant get one of the original guerrilla, your guide will still be good. You will also go to a mirador – viewing platform giving some lovely views and you can swim in the waterfall pool afterward. There is an entry fee and a fee for your guide. Sorry I cant remember but it wasn’t too much and I wouldn’t have cared!
Do make sure your driver will take time to spend in the village and can explain the murals and who the martyrs depicted in them were, after visiting the forest. It is quite haunting – from the remains of the government helicopter, to the bombs and the murals. Interestingly, most of the families from Cinquera emigrated to Australia during the war!
Day 12 – San Salvador
Head back from Suchitoto to San Salvador early so that, whatever you do, you get to go to the El Rosario Church / Iglesia El Rosario in the afternoon. There are other things to do in San Salvador but this is the absolute highlight and I have run you out of time!
If you can squeeze a trip to Parque El Boqueron to see the crater in a crater in the San Salvador Volcano, do do that too- its quite spectacular! (You will need to go by uber and get the driver to wait to fit this in in the day.)
Details for both are in the post I have linked you to.
Days 13 & 14 Climb Conchagua and camp for a spectacular sunrise
Head from San Salvador to La Union (6 hours by bus, 4 by car) and catch a local transport vehicle up the volcano. You need to prearrange this. The 4×4 leaves at 3pm from La Union and takes you up the mountain. You can choose to hike or not the last part. You can also hire a tent and bag up on the mountain. You can also do this as a day trip just for the view.
If you want to camp contact Mirador Espiritu de La Montaña. Message them on WhatsApp (+503 7484 9950) or on their Facebook page. These are the people who run the campsite, and, organise the transport to and from the mountain.
At Mirador Espiritu de La Montaña – ‘Spirit of the Mountain Viewpoint’ you have a 360-degree view of the Gulf of Fonseca, overlooking the islands of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Your tent will have one of the best views ever. Add a dash of sunrise to that and you have one beautiful mix to send you on your way from this stunning country!
Note book this well ahead to get one of their tents, its popular with locals and there are lots of organised tours as well – not that it will be crowded up there.
Time to leave
On Day 14 you will head back to La Union from the mountain where you can catch your bus to Nicaragua or a transfer back to the airport or central beaches.
Your three & four week itinerary for El Salvador
If you have longer, my recommendation is to consider spending more time soaking up each place.
Suchitoto and the villages on Ruta de Flores are great places to enjoy the cafes and just wandering, or, do a bit more waterfall and river chasing.
San Salvador has a bit more to offer and its worth making the time to visit the Parque El Boqueron to see the crater in a crater in the San Salvador Volcano.
Additionally you can add any of the following five things into your trip. And if you have four weeks pick one of the next hot spots below to add to your trip! Its a small country but there is plenty to do.
1. Spend a couple of nights at Lake Coatepeque
Spend a night or two at Lake Coatepeque relaxing and swimming. Captain Morgan has the backpacker market, although this seems to be changing with a few bad reviews of late. I really enjoyed staying there, but there are other options too like this Cozy Bedroom in a coffee farm in Coatepeque Lake.
Captain Morgan has great views and its fun jumping into the lake and swimming etc. But the dorms aren’t great – better to camp like we did, and if you don’t want music noise at night, its not for you. There is a great little pupuseria just down the road where the beer is much cheaper too!
Take bus #242 from Santa Ana – it takes about 2 hours and stops at the door.
Note that you can do the Santa Ana volcano day hike from here if you are thinking of having a couple of nights at Lake Coatepeque.
2. El Imposible adventure day trip from Santa Ana
I honestly think the best way to do this is via a popular tour with William! Otherwise you pretty much need a 4×4 or to do some hitching. (That may change of course.) You walk through the forest, jump off waterfalls of varying heights, do some (easy) rapelling on one fall, and slide down a natural water slide.
All the while you learn about the forest plants and can chat about local life. Food was basic but good – bring your own water, water shoes if you have them. You will get wet obviously. You need to be a bit fit for this trip – well at least very mobile. some of the walking is steepish and you are on a bit of an adventure.
3. Visit Mayan historical sites at El Tazumal and the Pompeii of El Salvador – Joya De Cerén
If you are a history buff or just curious, these are good options to add to the itinerary. You could do both on a day tour – otherwise add them in as follows.
It is easy to get to Joya De Cerén on a #108 bus from San Salvador. It takes about an hour. Read more in my post on things to do in San Salvador.
Tazumal is a small but well cared for pre-Columbian archeological site in Chalchuapa. Good to visit on the way to the Ruta de las Flores, or combine this with a trip to Salto de Malacatiupan, as mentioned above. If you have been to the grand sites of Mexico and Guatemala you may want to miss this but if it is your thing then, why not? From Santa Ana: take bus #202 to Chalchuapa which is nearby.
4. Bahia de Jiquilisco
The Bahia de Jiquilisco and Suchitoto were my favorite places in the country! Jiquilisco is just off the beaten path and so took more time to figure out and get there etc. The area is known for its monkey sanctuary – unfortunately the only place ‘wild’ monkeys are left in El Salvador. They are very used to interacting with humans.
What it should be famous for is the diversity of wildlife in the bay – from crocodiles to turtles and dolphins and birds. As well, for the stunning views across the waters of the bay to the volcanoes on the land behind.
Your options
There are three main options to visit the area:
Stay at Puerto Barillas and enjoy kayaking and the monkey sanctuary from this highly rated hotel in the bay. Contact the hotel for transport options from the airport, La Libertad , El Tunco or San Salvador.
Second, take a day trip to kayak and visit the monkey sanctuary from San Salvador.
Finally, if you have a tighter budget do what I did – but it does take longer. I went off-piste and found this great place to stay on the bay with a wonderful family. I spent my time kayaking, swimming, bird-watching, taking in the stunning views across the bay to the volcanoes behind, and of course, eating! They can organise a trip across to the monkey sanctuary if you want, but also offer all kinds of excursions on the bay. You will see no other tourists making it very authentic trip. I’m sure that will change over time.
5. Stop at La Libertad
Spend a night somewhere different on the coast and check out the vibrant fishing scene and food at La Libertad. Walking along the wharf and around the huge seafood market is really interesting – and the food is great!
Other towns and places that will likely end up on the trail if you have four weeks
Museo de la revolucion salvadoreno in Perquin – a small but highly regarded museum explaining the very brutal civil war. Photos of life inside the guerilla camps, the weapons, the stories of those that died. It is also the contact point for ex-guerrilla guides who can take you on trips through the war zone – especially El Mozote.
Comasagua – a small-mountain-town with great views and food only 20–30 min from San Salvador.
Montecristo National Park – in the northwest. This cloud forest park extends into Guatemala and Honduras as part of the Montecristo Trifinio Biosphere Reserve, and has a stunning array of plants. There is a camping area and cabins and plenty of hiking. Best to visit during the dry season, from November to April. Its definitely best to have your own car. You can get there via bus from Santa Ana to Metapán on bus #235 which takes about 1.5 hours. But from Metapán, you will need to find a driver in a 4×4 or pick-up to take you to the park – apparently they charge from $80USD to $100USD for the round-trip. I’m sure this will change and it will get easier to get there – check it out before you go.
San Miguel city – has a huge carnival in November, honoring Nuestra Señora de la Paz (Our Lady of Peace). That is likely to become more popular. Also you can climb the San Miguel Volcano / Chaparrastiquefor more great views of the city and coast. Nearby is Cuevas de Moncagua – which are apparently very clean and very cool with a pool inside with crystal clear water. You can swim inside the caves. Finally the market is famously HUGE! Take bus #301 from San Salvador.
San Miguel will probably become a jumping off point for beaches in the south east and La Union.
Summary – the best 2 week itinerary for El Salvador
With this itinerary you should have a good mix of the waterfalls, rivers, beaches, volcanoes, and cities of El Salvador. Add on a couple more weeks and you get even more to pick and choose from. Whatever you do, enjoy it and dont forget to chat to the locals and eat plenty of pupusas while youre there – the best things of all!
Let me know how you go with these itinerary items and what you did that you think should be here if I have missed something cool!
Travel Tips for El Salvador
- Don’t underestimate how much time you will want in El Salvador. I was there for 6 weeks and could have happily stayed longer. Many people allow a few days and regret it. There is plenty to see and its a good place for some chill time too! Don’t miss the volcano hikes or small towns!
- Don’t judge the country by old headlines – the murder capital of the world etc. That’s old news! In my mind its probably generally the safest place in Central America now – alongside Costa Rica. Of course normal precautions apply.
- In San Salvador use Uber. Public buses are fine on main routes or if they go exactly where you want to go – depending on how much traffic there is. But they can be very slow, so I tended to use uber as it was cheap and faster.
- Take some $USD with you (you can withdraw when you get there but its good to have some in your pocket on arrival) as its the local currency. Small shops and street stalls usually only take cash. Take small bills – $20 can be too much sometimes. You can withdraw at ATMs in key tourists towns.
- Travel times are generally longer than google maps tells you – bus or car! Don’t plan to pack too much in a day!
- Salvadorians are super friendly and really genuinely curious about you and your country, as well as so helpful. Its the people that make the country!
- Learn some Spanish before you go – even a few words will be met with big smiles and even better interactions with the locals. Key phrases:
Hola = hello
Gracias = thank you
Cuánto cuesta = how much (does it cost)
Dónde está = where is
Una pupusa, por favor = one pupusa please - Book an airport transfer ahead of arrival at the San Salvador International Airport – The San Salvador international airport is far from the city and probably closer to some of the beaches. I recommend booking a transfer for your arrival.
There are public buses to San Salvador but they do not go to the city center – you have to change or get an uber from a drop off point. I would advise saving that for your return trip if you think its worth it!
Transfers like these are available and highly rated – I recommend booking one:
El Salvador Airport to San Salvador City or vice-versa
El Salvador Luxury Airport Transfer
Transfer from El Salvador International Airport
AIRPORT – PLAYA SUNZAL, EL ZONTE, EL TUNCO, ATAMI AND PALMARCITO
Frequently asked questions about El Salvador
Where to stay in El Salvador
I use booking.com or for a hostel – Hostelworld. The following options are all highly rated and give you a great starting point when booking for your trip. Note that Hostal does not mean Hostel – it is more like a guesthouse!
San Salvador
High End – the Hyatt Centric San Salvador or Barceló San Salvador
Mid Range – The Diamond Hotel San Benito or Kaleo Hotel Boutique
Budget – try the Hotel Armonia, or, Green life or Cinco Hotel B&B
Backpackers – I stayed in La Zona Hostel which was in a safe area with restaurants and street food all around, and an easy bus or uber ride into the city center. But check out other options!
Santa Ana
High End – Casa Luna Villa Verde
Mid Range – Remfort Hotel Antigua or Kali Hotel
Budget – Casa Centro Histórico Santa Ana – an apartment
Backpackers – I stayed in the lovely Casa Coco but also check Hostal Villa Marta and Urban Nest Hostel
Juayua and Concepción de Ataco – Ruta de Flores
These are the two places I recommend staying on the Ruta Flores – Juayua and Concepción de Ataco.
High End – SimpleSerenity Country House or PROVENZA en Los Naranjas in Juayua, and in Ataco the Casa Degraciela – Hotel Boutique
Mid Range – Hostal DEYLUWIN in Juayua, and in Ataco the Casa Campana
Budget – Villa San Carlos in Juayua, and in Ataco the GuacamayaGuestHouse
Backpackers – I stayed at both Mixtepek and Hostal Doña Mercedes in Juayua at different times – both were worth the high ratings! In Ataco I stayed at Casa Bohemia – also a lovely place.
El Tunco
High End – Boca Olas Resort Villas or Mirasurf Hotel & Waves
Mid Range – Hostal Camila’s or VUE by The Cabins
Budget & Backpackers – The Salty Dogs Hostel – El Tunco or Vibes Wellness House
El Zonte
High End – Puro Surf Hotel & Performance Academy or El Xalli Hotel
Mid Range – Jungle surf Villa or The Views Resort
Budget – Beach On The Rocks or Lote 44 Guesthouse
Backpackers – Hammock plantation (not in El Zonte but nearby and absolutely great!!) or in El Zonte Casa de Colores (which is pretty good)
Suchitoto
High End – El Tejado or Casa 1800 Suchitoto Boutique
Mid Range – El mangal B&B or Casa Lichis
Budget – El Mangal 2 B&B or Hostal Raíces de mi Pueblo
Backpackers – Hostal Casa del Sol or Hostal Delmy
La Union
High End – near to La Union are Casa Libre Guest House and Casa del Golfo El Salvador
Mid Range – Apartment Nazareth
Budget – Hotel Sweet Dreams
Backpackers – Hostal Charlotte
Related Posts
The 8 best things to do in San Salvador
12 fabulous things not to miss in El Salvador – a great place for nature lovers!
And if you are heading to Guatemala and Belize:
8 Highlights of Guatemala not to miss!
Visiting Tikal: A complete guide to Guatemala’s ancient Maya city!
Your complete Guide to Semuc Champey, Guatemala!
A complete guide to the 10 towns of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala!