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El Salvador might be the smallest country in Central America, but it packs a punch.
The surf scene on the country’s Pacific Coast has attracted travellers for decades, but this tiny country is more than just pumping waves and black sand beaches. We hiked active volcanoes, sampled coffee straight from the source, strolled charming colonial towns and hiked to dozens of waterfalls.
The country was plagued by violence and controlled by gangs for many years, but the tide is turning in El Salvador. With a new president, a heavy-handed approach to crime and a tourism campaign encouraging travellers to #DontSkipElSalvador, the country is the safest it’s ever been and is welcoming travellers with open arms.
Its small size means you can navigate the country quickly and easily, and even if you’ve only got a week or two to squeeze in on your way between Guatemala and Honduras, you can see a lot. So, don’t skip El Salvador!
In this El Salvador travel guide, I’ll share the best places to visit and top things to do, how to get to and around the country, as well as handy travel info like entry requirements, money matters and phones and SIM cards.
Why go backpacking in El Salvador?
Many travellers in Central America skip El Salvador entirely on their Central America route, or if they do visit, spend a few days in El Tunco only to break up the journey between Guatemala and Nicaragua.
This is so sad, as El Salvador is a wonderful country with a lot to offer, that has some unique differences from its neighbours. With the security and safety situation vastly improving, there’s no reason not to spend at least a week here. Given its size, even that would give you a good taste of the country, but the longer you have here, the better!
- 😌 Fewer tourists: Central America as a whole isn’t that popular with international visitors (with the exception of Costa Rica), but El Salvador is even less popular. Most tourists you’ll see around the country are domestic travellers, which is a much nicer experience. El Tunco is the busiest and most popular tourist destination in the country, but outside of weekends, even that feels like a tiny, quiet beach town!
- 🏄🏽♀️ Amazing Pacific coastline: El Salvador may not have a section of the Caribbean coast, but it has the best part of the Pacific in my opinion! The surf, the stunning black sand beaches and the laidback and fun towns along the coast all combine to make this the best surf region we visited in Central America. It’s got a vibe that its neighbours just don’t have!
- 💰 Affordable prices: El Salvador is cheap! If you’re backpacking, you can enjoy some of the cheapest prices in the region. If you stick with pupusas and stay away from the bougie cafes and funky restaurants, you can see and do a lot here without breaking the bank.
- 🚌 Small and efficient to get around: we found El Salvador to be the best country in Central America to travel around. The chicken buses are extremely efficient, and during our two weeks, I don’t think we waited for a bus for more than 10 minutes (and we caught dozens). The routes are clear, the prices are cheap and you can get to many towns and sights around the country via bus, with no need for pricey tourist shuttles.
- 🌋 Volcanoes: in the land of volcanoes that is Central America, this isn’t necessarily something to boast about, but El Salvador is home to 20 volcanoes! The Santa Ana Volcano is reason alone to visit, with its gaseous crater lake that is so turquoise it looks radioactive!
Is El Salvador safe to travel?
Before we get any further into this El Salvador travel guide, I know the main question on your mind – is El Salvador safe to travel?
El Salvador has had a troubled and violent past with extremely high levels of violent crime and ongoing gang warfare. The country held the undesirable title of the murder capital of the world for many years.
This has completely changed in recent years, with a new government taking an iron fist approach to gangs, incarcerating almost 80,000 suspected gang members and dropping homicide rates to some of the lowest in the region.
El Salvador is now a safe and secure destination to visit. We felt completely safe and comfortable throughout our trip and experienced nothing but kind, friendly and helpful locals who were thrilled to see foreigners in their country.
We’ve got a detailed article about safety in El Salvador, sharing our experience travelling around the country, more information about the reformed security situation and safety tips.
⚠️ Read our in-depth guide is El Salvador safe to travel?
Language in El Salvador
As with most countries in Central America, Spanish is the official language in El Salvador.
With the exception of El Tunco and popular areas on the coast, most people did not speak any English in El Salvador.
In the more rural areas like Ruta de las Flores, Santa Ana etc. we spoke Spanish almost exclusively. Chicken buses, restaurants, most of our accommodations and even at tourist attractions, we were speaking in Spanish so brush up!
Of course, if you’re on a higher budget staying in nicer hotels and taking more day tours or private drivers, the staff will most likely speak English.
Best time to visit El Salvador
El Salvador follows the standard Central American wet/dry season.
The dry season generally runs from November to April, when you can expect milder temperatures, mostly dry conditions and less humidity. The highland areas, like the Ruta de las Flores, can get quite cold so be prepared with some warm layers!
December and January are peak tourist months, so expect slightly higher prices and reduced availability.
Because El Salvador doesn’t attract as many foreign tourists as its neighbours, local holidays are more important to consider for crowds, like Christmas, New Year and Semana Santa (Easter).
The wet season is usually from May to October but can start slightly earlier or later in different areas. Temperatures, especially along the coast, reach sweltering before the rains break to cool and refresh everything.
It doesn’t rain the entire time, but planning a trip during these months definitely increases your chances of running into a multi-day rain event or storm.
If you’re coming to El Salvador to surf, the rainy season is actually the best time to visit. The swell picks up as the wet season arrives and you can expect much bigger waves in these months.
☀️ We think February and March are the best months to visit to avoid the crowds of the peak holiday season, but enjoy mild weather with little rain
Places to visit in El Salvador
El Salvador is full of beautiful places to visit, and we only touched a small amount of them. If you’re planning to visit somewhere outside the usual tourist trail, ensure you understand the security situation.
- 🏄🏽♂️ El Tunco: aka Surf City. This small surf town on the coast is undoubtedly El Salvador’s most popular tourist destination. Visited by keen surfers for decades, it’s burst onto the backpacking scene, and for many travellers, it is the only place they visit in El Salvador. While we think there is more to this country than just El Tunco, I can’t deny the appeal of this beach town!
- 🌴 El Zonte: for something even smaller and slower-paced than El Tunco, head a few minutes up the road to neighbouring El Zonte. With just a handful of sandy streets, a few small hotels, some funky eateries and good surf, El Zonte is the ultimate place to unwind and unplug.
- 🌋 Santa Ana region: what this small colonial city lacks in charm, it more than makes up for with its proximity to fantastic natural attractions. A common jump-off point for climbing volcanoes in the Cerro Verde National Park or visiting the volcanic Lake Coatepeque, you can base yourself in the city or bypass it completely and stay at the lake.
- 🌸 Ruta de las Flores: a string of five charming colonial towns in the Western Highlands, the Ruta de las Flores is a must-visit. Home to dozens of waterfalls, coffee plantations, volcanic hot springs and colourful towns with tasty local cuisine, you can get a taste of everything.
- ⛪️ Suchitoto: a gorgeous colonial town nestled in the mountains north of the capital, Suchitoto has a charming historic centre, and beautiful surroundings set on a lake with waterfalls and hiking opportunities.
- 🐢 El Cuco: an alternative beach destination in the east of the country, El Cuco is a blissfully relaxed place with black sand beaches, turtles and surfing. It’s a great jump-off point into Nicaragua, just an hour from La Union where boats depart, offering an alternative and more enjoyable journey across the border.
Many travellers also visit the capital city San Salvador. The city is experiencing an urban revitalisation, with increased security and a refresh of the city’s historic district. There are some great sights to see in and around the city, and areas that were formerly no-go zones are safe for visitors. However many neighbourhoods still have a lot of gang activity.
We visited San Salvador for the day from El Tunco (because we had to post our drone to Costa Rica to avoid bringing it to Nicaragua), but we opted not to stay any longer.
We didn’t feel it was worth the risk to visit just another city that didn’t look any more beautiful or special than others in the region like Antigua, Granada or Panama City, and we couldn’t justify spending time away from the beautiful coastline. But if you’ve got the spare time, I think there are some sights worth seeing.
Top things to do in El Salvador
There are so many great things to do in El Salvador. I’ve listed many in my specific destination articles, but if you’re wondering what are the absolute top, bucket list experiences that you should plan your trip around, here’s my top 10!
- 🌋 Hike the Santa Ana Volcano: easily the highlight of our time in El Salvador, hiking up the Santa Ana Volcano to peer down into the bright turquoise crater lake, oozing with sulphur gases was insane. It was unlike anything we’d ever seen and so worth the walk! Sitting inside the Cerro Verde National Park alongside other volcanoes, Izalco and Cerro Verde, you must hike with a guide.
- 💦 Seven Waterfalls Hike: wading through rivers, clambering over rocks and climbing up the side of 40-metre waterfalls, this ‘hike’ isn’t for the faint-hearted. Located in Juayua on the Ruta de las Flores, the Seven Waterfalls are a collection of stunning waterfalls in a green and lush forest.
- 🏄🏽♀️ Go surfing: surfing is what put El Salvador on the global traveller map. For decades keen surfers have travelled to the Pacific Coast to ride some of the world’s best waves. El Tunco is the surfing hotspot of the country, but there are great breaks all along the coast. Whether you’re just starting out or an experienced shredder, you have to get out in the water at some point in El Salvador!
- 🌈 Slide down the rainbow slide: El Salvador recently became famous on social media for its giant rainbow slide. As the name suggests, it’s a huge, colourful slide that you hurtle down at high speeds on an inflatable tube. The original one is in San Salvador, but there’s an even better one at Cafe Albania on the Ruta de las Flores.
- ♨️ Swim in a hot springs waterfall: have you ever heard of a hot waterfall? Yeah, we hadn’t either until we visited Salto de Malacatiupan! This thundering waterfall flows steamy thermal waters and takes hot springs to an entirely new level. You can easily access the waterfall from the Ruta de las Flores or Santa Ana.
- 🫓 Eat pupusas: the iconic national dish of El Salvador, pupusas are cheap, delicious and readily available across the whole country. The perfect backpacker dish, most are less than $1, and no trip would be complete without eating pupusas every day! They’re kind of like a stuffed tortilla, most commonly made with corn (masa) dough and filled with goodies like cheese, refried beans, chicharron etc.
- 🌊 Explore the rocky Pacific coastline: while surfing is the biggest drawcard to the Pacific Coast, this region is worth exploring further. The volcanic black sand beaches, rocky cliffs full of hidden sea caves, ocean pools and miradors perched overlooking an expanse of blue, rent a scooter and cruise independently along the coastal highway.
- 💧 Hang out in a volcanic crater lake: there are only a few places in the world where you can hike an active volcano in the morning and swim in a volcanic crater lake in the afternoon! Lago de Coatepeque sits at the foothills of the Cerro Verde National Park in a huge volcanic caldera. A handful of restaurants and hotels line the shores, with rickety wooden docks suspended above the lake. Visit for the day, or stay for a few nights for the ultimate relaxation.
- ☕️ Take a coffee tour: El Salvador grows some of the world’s best coffee and it is an integral part of the country’s culture and history. Whilst you’ll find coffee fincas all over the country, the Ruta de las Flores region is synonymous with coffee, and this is a great place to do a tour. You’ll also find excellent cafes everywhere you go, even in the smallest of towns!
- 🌞 Enjoy a famous El Tunco sunset: if you’re wondering if a sunset really qualifies as the best thing to do in a country, you’ve obviously never seen an El Tunco sunset! The whole sky lights up as the fiery orange ball drops towards the horizon, illuminating the town’s namesake rock, Tunco Rock (Pig Rock). The whole town is on the beach enjoying the show, with a Pilsener beer in hand soaking up the amazing atmosphere.
Visas and immigration to enter El Salvador
Citizens of many nationalities can enter El Salvador without a visa for tourism purposes for up to 90 days.
El Salvador is part of the CA-4 agreement with Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, allowing travellers to spend 90 days total across all 4 countries.
If you are entering El Salvador from another CA-4 country, they will find your original entry date to the region and calculate your remaining days based on that.
There is generally no entry fee charged if you enter by land (it’s informal and inconsistent), but if you arrive by air, you will need to purchase a tourist card for $12 USD.
Border officials may ask for proof of yellow fever vaccination, depending on where you have recently travelled. We were not asked to show this, but we did have one as it is enforced more strictly in neighbouring countries.
You may be asked for proof of onward travel. This is more likely at the airport, and not enforced consistently, but something to be mindful of and prepared for.
This throws a spanner in the works for most backpackers in Central America who generally don’t know their plans further than a few weeks in advance, and are probably exiting El Salvador via bus or tourist shuttle.
If you don’t have a flight out of El Salvador, I would recommend asking around in Facebook groups closer to your time of visit, and see if you can find a recent report of someone crossing the border to confirm if they were asked about proof of onward travel.
We were not asked about this, and El Salvador was the quickest and easiest border we crossed throughout our time in Central America, but you don’t want to get caught out.
Be prepared to buy an onward ticket if needed. You can use a service like Onward Travel, which instantly books you a real flight ticket for just a few bucks, and automatically cancels the booking after 48 hours. You don’t have to pay the full amount for the flight, just their service fee (currently $16).
When you depart El Salvador, you may have to pay an exit tax. If you’re flying out, this should be included in your airline ticket. If you’re crossing by land, chances are you won’t be charged this, we weren’t.
I have read some travellers are charged the exit fee, but we didn’t have to pay anything to enter or exit El Salvador by land. It was all very easy, straightforward and friendly. I don’t think we got any stamps in our passports though, so be aware this is normal.
Getting to El Salvador
✈️ BY AIR
There is only one international airport in El Salvador, SAL El Salvador International Airport (Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez). Given the country is quite small, most destinations are within a few hours’ drive of the airport.
The airport is well connected to neighbouring countries around the Americas, with direct flights to multiple US cities.
🚌 BY LAND
If you’re already travelling in Central America, you can easily cross into El Salvador from Guatemala, Honduras or Nicaragua.
Although it is possible to take a series of chicken buses for any of these routes, we’re big advocates of paying more tourist shuttles, especially for border crossing days. It costs more, but it’s quicker, easier, safer and way less hassle.
- 🇬🇹 From Guatemala: this is probably the easiest border to cross independently if you want to tackle multiple chicken buses. Otherwise, there are multiple shuttle routes. You can book Antigua – Ruta de las Flores, Antigua – Santa Ana or Antigua – El Tunco. You can also depart from El Paredon in Guatemala, with El Paredon – Santa Ana or El Paredon – El Tunco.
- 🇭🇳 From Honduras: the most common place to depart Honduras would be Copan Ruinas, where you can get shuttles to Ruta de las Flores or Santa Ana. This route will almost always involve briefly crossing back into Guatemala before you enter El Salvador, as it’s much quicker this way. Gecko Trails runs these routes, but also check out Go Travel El Salvador.
- 🇳🇮 From Nicaragua: there are two ways to do this route: by land or by boat. Land is the most common and these routes run daily, usually between Leon – El Tunco, and involve a brief crossing into Honduras on the way.
The other option is by boat, where you will take a combination of shuttles and a boat across the Gulf of Fonesca to La Union in El Salvador, where you can continue to destinations like El Tunco, or stick around this area for a few days at nearby El Cuco. Gecko Trails runs the boat service, but it does not run every day, so you need to check this against your itinerary.
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Getting around El Salvador
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, and we found it quite quick and easy to get around. Most journeys between destinations aren’t more than a few hours.
- 🚌 Chicken bus: chicken buses are by far the most common way to get around the country, and we found them efficient and easy to use. They’re cheap, very frequent and in our experience, safe. Although timetables are still tricky to come by, the routes are numbered (e.g. #210) and there is enough information online and from your accommodation to work out routes quite simply. CentroCoasting is a really good resource for routes and timetables.
- 🚐 Tourist shuttles: whilst shuttles are a really common way to get around neighbouring countries, this isn’t really the case in El Salvador. Unless you’re entering or exiting the country, or on an organised day tour, you probably wouldn’t find a shuttle.
- 🚙 Uber: surprisingly a pretty effective way to get around the country. If you’re in Santa Ana, San Salvador or at the airport, you’ve got a good chance of connecting with a driver and you can use it for lengthy (1 hour +) trips quite easily.
- 🚕 Taxi: outside of the cities, there aren’t that many taxis around. It’s more common to hire a private driver, rather than flag a taxi down on the street. Your accommodation can usually help with this.
- 🚗 Rental car: given El Salvador’s small size and the fact there is only one airport, renting a car is a really great way to see the country. Especially if you’re flying in and out. You can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time, and a car gives you the option of basing yourself in one place but doing a lot of day trips, that would otherwise be hard to coordinate with the bus. If you want to rent a car, it’s best to do so in larger cities like Santa Ana or San Salvador, or from the international airport.
- 🛵 Scooter: scooter rentals are quite common in touristy areas like El Tunco and Santa Ana. It’s a great means for day trips. Expect to pay around $25 USD for a one-day rental.
- ✈️ Flights: air travel isn’t common within El Salvador. There are a few other smaller domestic airports around the country but it’s not necessary to fly.
El Salvador backpacking routes
This isn’t just for backpackers, but I do think that backpackers see El Salvador in the best way.
Even if your budget is bigger, I encourage you to plan your itinerary ‘backpacker style’, moving around and staying in multiple destinations, rather than basing yourself on the coast and doing lengthy day trips. You don’t see the best of the country this way.
I think two weeks is the perfect amount of time to see a broad range of destinations in El Salvador. We travel quite slowly so we focused on fewer destinations in more depth, but if you move a bit quicker, you could easily squeeze in a couple more places.
I’ve got an in-depth El Salvador itinerary post with a suggested route for 2 weeks in the country.
The order in which you visit places will depend on where you’re arriving – via air, across the border from Guatemala or Honduras in the north, or via Nicaragua in the south. Here are some suggested routes based on what we did.
From Honduras 🇭🇳 / Guatemala 🇬🇹
We arrived from Honduras (it would be the same if you were coming from Guatemala) and exited via Nicaragua, and this is what we did:
- Ruta de las Flores (5 nights)
- Lago de Coatepeque (2 nights) *in place of Santa Ana city
- El Zonte (3 nights)
- El Tunco (4 nights)
From Nicaragua 🇳🇮
If you’re coming from Nicaragua, reverse this:
- El Tunco (4 nights)
- El Zonte (3 nights)
- Ruta de las Flores (5 nights)
- Lago de Coatepeque (2 nights) *in place of Santa Ana city
Flying in and out ✈️
If you’re flying in and out of the country, I’d rearrange the itinerary slightly to do an anti-clockwise loop:
- Lago de Coatepeque (2 nights) *in place of Santa Ana city
- Ruta de las Flores (5 nights)
- El Zonte (3 nights)
- El Tunco (4 nights)
🗺️ Copy our exact 2 week El Salvador itinerary
Accommodation in El Salvador
We found accommodation in El Salvador to be generally affordable and of a pretty decent standard. We didn’t struggle too much to find private accommodation with a private bathroom for our usual budget of around $50 USD per night.
The exception to this is El Tunco, where accommodation is limited and in demand. It’s pretty expensive and the quality is not great. I’d recommend booking as far in advance as possible, and unless you want to party, avoid the weekends.
There are some really beautiful boutique hotels and resorts around the country if your budget is a bit higher. There aren’t too many stock-standard international resort chains (big win!) so the properties are unique and representative of the environment and location they are in.
Some top boutique options in El Salvador:
If you’re backpacking El Salvador and looking for hostels and dorm beds, you can expect to pay around $8 – $15 USD per night.
Some top budget-friendly options around El Salvador:
- Samay Hostel, Juayua
- Hostel Casa Verde, Santa Ana
- Captain Morgan Hostel, Lago de Coatepeque
- Papaya Lodge, El Tunco
I’ve got more detailed recommendations on where to stay (for a range of budgets) in each respective destination guide.
Costs of travelling in El Salvador
In relation to other countries in Central America, El Salvador was at the cheaper end of the spectrum. The inland areas (Ruta de las Flores, Santa Ana region) were more affordable than the coast.
We could have kept the costs down a bit more, but once we reached the beach, we did take advantage of all the amazing cafes, international restaurants and cocktails so blew the budget out a bit with food. If you stuck with pupusas and local beers, eating out was very very cheap.
We found accommodation and transport affordable, and most of the activities we did were pretty reasonable. However, the surf lessons added up, as well as the tourist shuttles coming in and out of the country.
I’ve got a post about our El Salvador trip cost, with more detailed info about what we spent and what things cost.
Some typical costs of travel in El Salvador:
- 🏩 Private accommodation: $50 – $60 USD per night
- 🛌 Dorm bed: $8 – $15 USD per night
- 🫓 Pupusa: $1 USD
- 🍜 International main meal (bao buns, noodles, cafe meal): $10 USD
- ☕️ Barista coffee: $3.5 USD
- 🍻 Local beer: $1.5 USD
- 🚌 Chicken bus Juayua – Santa Ana: $0.80 USD
- 🛵 Scooter rental 24 hours: $25 USD
- 🚐 Tourist shuttle El Tunco – Leon: $45 USD
- 💦 Guided tour to Seven Waterfalls: $20 USD
- 🌋 Entry to the Santa Ana Volcano: $3 USD
- 🌊 Surf lesson 90 minutes: $35 USD
💵 Find out exactly what we spent in El Salvador
Money in El Salvador
The official currency of El Salvador is the US Dollar. Prior to 2001, they used the Salvador Colon, but USD has been used since then.
If you’re from the US, this is easy for you. If you’re not, it’s a nightmare! All the notes and coins look exactly the same, and given everything is so cheap, you’ll constantly be picking through piles of coins trying to find the right one (well, at least I was!).
Officially they use all of the US notes, but in practice, you’d be hard-pressed to get change for anything above $20, so try to avoid having larger notes.
El Salvador is largely cash-based, and you should expect to pay in cash for buses, at local restaurants, in smaller accommodations, for most national park entry fees and informal tours.
In the cities, credit cards are more widely accepted and at larger establishments along the coast in places like El Tunco. Sometimes there is a surcharge for paying with card, but we were able to use our card quite frequently on the coast without any fees.
ATMs are available in most towns, although if you’re going somewhere smaller or more remote, it’s a good idea to stock up.
Banco Atlantida and Banco Hipotecario both offer free ATM withdrawals, although their ATMs are mostly found in big cities.
As you probably have heard, Bitcoin is also an official currency in El Salvador. It was the first country in the world to adopt cryptocurrency as legal tender. You can pay for many goods and services around the country with Bitcoin.
It seems to be what the country is known best for outside its borders, but once you’re there unless you’re really into Bitcoin or already hold some of the cryptocurrency, it’s not really as big a deal as people make it out to be.
We aren’t particularly interested in it, and it didn’t really have any bearing on our time in El Salvador, but it’s another option and I guess a cool quirk of the country.
Tipping in El Salvador
Tipping culture is not as crucial in El Salvador as it is in places like the US.
Most restaurants (unless they are very informal/street food) will usually add a 10% service charge to your bill, this is sufficient. If it’s not included, add it yourself.
If you’re staying in a nicer hotel with porters and daily room service, a few dollars is a kind gesture. As is a tip for a great tour or a good driver, but it’s uncommon you would be asked or expected to tip.
Phones and SIM cards in El Salvador
The two major phone providers in El Salvador are Tigo and Claro. Digicel and Movistar are alternative, but less popular options.
Both Tigo and Claro work pretty well all over the country, and we didn’t experience a lot of dead zones. Claro is probably a slightly more popular choice for quicker internet speeds.
Both offer decent pre-paid plans, although there isn’t as much data included as in neighbouring countries. Claro has a $12 plan for 30 days, with 4 GB of data, but that includes unlimited social media usage for certain apps and a separate 2 GB allowance for YouTube and TikTok. Tigo’s packages are similar.
If there is an actual Claro or Tigo store at your first destination, I would recommend going there to purchase the SIM card and have them set it up for you. They will explain the data plans and make sure it’s working. Bring your passport.
If there aren’t any stores, you can buy SIM cards from most convenience stores or tiendas around the country. Just look for a Claro or Tigo logo. Some will say you can only top up an existing plan, but most should sell you a SIM.
Just ask them very nicely in the best Spanish you can to set up the card for you and put you on the correct data plan.
If you’ve entered El Salvador from another Central American country and already have a Claro or Tigo SIM card, it SHOULD keep working in El Salvador, ours did.
However, you can’t top up your SIM card outside the original country you bought it in. So before you leave your previous destination (Guatemala, Honduras or Nicaragua) top up your SIM card as much as you can, to get through your stay in El Salvador.
We topped up our Guatemala Claro SIM cards as we crossed the border, and they worked for the duration of our time in El Salvador.
Food and drink to try in El Salvador
Central America is not famed for its cuisine. If you’ve experienced the incredible food of Mexico, it’s basically all downhill from there as you head south, and you’ll eat a looooot of rice and beans.
El Salvador isn’t too bad though, for one reason – pupusas! The national dish is tasty, cheap and readily available. While you’re in smaller, more regional towns, this is probably what you’ll be eating most days.
Along the coast, there is a lot more diversity. Basically every international food option you could imagine, and the quality is really good. We ate amazing bao buns, Vietnamese, delicious cafe meals and nice Italian. It’s more expensive, but you will accrue some extra pennies if you only eat pupusas for a while!
Some of the most popular dishes and drinks in Salvadoran cuisine that you should try are:
- 🫓 Pupusas: El Salvador’s national dish, pupusas are like a flat, thick tortilla, most commonly made with corn (masa) dough and stuffed with fillings. You can choose from flavours like cheese, garlic, jalapeño, refried beans, chicharron, chorizo, or local green leafy vegetables.
They’re served with curtido, a pickled cabbage-based salad and a mild red tomato salsa. Pupusas usually cost anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50, and 2 – 4 would be a good meal, depending on how hungry you are. They’re most commonly served in the evenings for dinner.
- 🍳 Desayuno tipico: the ‘typical breakfast’ is similar in all Central American countries. The exact inclusions vary from restaurant to restaurant, but you can expect to get a plate with eggs, fried plantain, beans, avocado, white cheese, some crema and usually some bread rolls on the side.
- 🌽 Riguas: a rigua is a traditional corn cake. It is savoury, but because it is made with sweet corn and topped with cheese and crema, it kind of has a sweet flavour too. We tried them at the Food Festival in Juayua.
- 🍠 Yuca: also known as cassava in other countries, yuca is a starchy root vegetable that is a staple in Salvadoran cooking. It is served in many forms and is commonly found at street food stalls and markets. Yuca con chiccaron (pork rinds) is a very typical dish.
- 🥭 Mangoes: we visited El Salvador in March which is peak mango season, and there were literally mangoes everywhere on the coast. We would wake up to dozens of mangoes carpeting the streets around El Zonte, and they were so sweet and delicious. If you see mangoes while you’re in El Salvador – gobble them up!
- 🍻 Pilsener: the national beer of El Salvador, Pilsener is a light, refreshing lager. It was one of my favourite national beers in Central America. There is a big craft brewery scene in the country too, Cadejo is one of the bigger breweries.
- ☕️ Coffee: coffee is a big business in El Salvador, and some of the best coffee in the world is grown here. We were absolutely shocked at the calibre of the cafes, even in rural areas. You could get any kind of extraction method you wanted, and the baristas were *chef’s kiss*.
- 🥛 Horchata: widely found throughout the region, the horchata in El Salvador is quite different to the Mexican version. It’s a non-alcoholic beverage, and the Salvadoran version is made from morro seeds, mixed with flavours like cinnamon, vanilla, cacao and of course a healthy dose of sugar!
El Salvador travel guide: Final thoughts
Whether you’re backpacking El Salvador or travelling on a higher budget, Central America’s smallest country more than makes up for its size.
With security concerns easing, the country is the safest it’s ever been for tourists and the locals are waiting with open arms.
From the green coffee-laden highlands of the Ruta de las Flores to the black-sand, surf beaches of the Pacific Coast, you can get a taste of everything in El Salvador.
I hope this El Salvador travel guide has inspired and equipped you for your trip, and if you still have any questions, please drop them in the comments.
Don’t forget to check out our other El Salvador articles, for more detailed guides to the best destinations around the country.
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