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El Salvador has recently burst onto the traveller scene, attracting visitors from all over the world to the former murder capital of the world.
Chances are this tiny Central American country has made it onto your travel radar, and you’re wondering is El Salvador safe to travel?
We wondered the same thing.
El Salvador’s violent past can’t be ignored. The country was plagued by gang wars and had one of the highest homicide rates in the world for many years.
But El Salvador has experienced a remarkable transformation. In a matter of years, the homicide rate has dropped to the lowest in the region, and life has taken a turn for the better. It’s now one of the safest places to visit in Central America.
We decided to take a chance on El Salvador during our travels through Central America, and we’re so glad we did. We were welcomed with open arms and felt comfortable and safe travelling all over the country.
It’s completely understandable if you’re hesitant or apprehensive about visiting El Salvador, given its history. In this post, I’ll briefly explain the current security situation from a traveller’s perspective, and share our personal experience around safety in El Salvador to help you decide if visiting is right for you.
El Salvador’s violent past
Like many Central American countries, El Salvador has a troubled and violent past. From 1979 – 1992, the country fought a grizzly civil war, it has had corrupt dictators, indigenous massacres, and more recently, violent and deadly gang wars.
MS-13 and Barrio 18 have battled each other for decades, fighting for control of towns and cities around the country. Taking out thousands of innocent bystanders in the process, they made life a living hell for normal Salvadorans.
The country held the title of ‘murder capital of the world’ for many years, with homicide rates peaking at 103 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015.
Salvadorans lived under the rule of gangs. Fearing for their lives every day, being extorted by the gangs to pay mandatory bribes for ‘protection’ and not being able to live normal, fulfilling lives getting an education, running a business or moving freely.
Tourists weren’t specifically targeted, but understandably, visiting the ‘murder capital of the world’ wasn’t too high on many traveller’s agendas. Getting caught in the crossfire was a real possibility.
The current security situation in El Salvador
All this has changed in recent years.
Most of this progress is attributed to El Salvador’s new president, Nayib Bukele who came into power in 2019. The self-proclaimed ‘coolest president in the world’, big Twitter fan and Bitcoin advocate has taken the country by storm.
He took a heavy-hand approach to quelling the gangs and violence, and for better or worse, instituted a state of exception that allowed the police and army to arrest anyone suspected to be gang-associated. Often the cause was as simple as someone having tattoos that may or may not be gang-affiliated.
Since the state of exception came into effect in 2022, almost 80,000 suspected gang members have been arrested. Today, almost 2% of the population is in prison, and El Salvador has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
His approach has been extremely controversial, and it’s undeniable there have been a lot of human rights abuses in the process. Under the state of exception, anyone arrested did not have the right to a fair trial, and there are possibly thousands of innocent victims being held without access to lawyers or their families.
But, there is no denying that life in El Salvador has greatly improved.
The violent crime and homicide rates have dropped dramatically. In 2023, the homicide rate was 2.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 103 just 8 years prior.
Most Salvadorans adore the president. They are happy and hopeful and can resume a normal life without fearing for their safety or paying bribes.
We met many locals who, for the first time in a very long time, had a positive outlook for their future, and for the state of their country. The country is on an upward trend.
This positivity extends to the tourism industry, and El Salvador is welcoming visitors with open arms. Although there are still parts of the country that are best avoided, El Salvador is now a safe and secure destination to visit.
We didn’t feel any more or less unsafe in El Salvador as we did anywhere else in Central America. The region is volatile and comes with inherent risk, but if you’re planning a trip to El Salvador, you don’t need to be concerned about your safety.
Do your research about which destinations to avoid, stick to tourist destinations that are heavily patrolled by police, and follow all the usual safety precautions and you can have a safe and happy trip to El Salvador.
🎒 Start planning you trip with our El Salvador travel guide
To learn more about the current situation in El Salvador, these are some of the resources we found helpful and interesting before our trip and helped us write this post:
Our experience with safety in El Salvador
I was definitely a little apprehensive about El Salvador before we arrived. Knowing its tumultuous past and the fact that it is less visited than other countries we’d been to in Central America, I was a bit more on edge.
However this was tempered a bit as I had felt the same about Honduras, the other ‘unsafe’ country in the region, and we had an amazing and safe few weeks there before we came to El Salvador.
I’ll admit, I did get a little over the top worried about the tattoo situation. Locals were being arrested left, right and centre for no cause other than a tattoo that was possibly gang-affiliated. Brayden is covered in tattoos.
His entire left leg is one big drawing and after watching a few fear-mongering documentaries on YouTube, I was adamant he should only wear long pants for the duration of our trip. Of course, he wasn’t having a bar of that, told me to stop being paranoid, and proceeded to wear shorts the entire time we were in the country with no problem at all.
A few locals told us he didn’t need to worry, his tattoos didn’t look anything like the gang symbols (13 and 18) and he was clearly not a local, so he wasn’t going to be plucked off the street by the police.
Once I got over this irrational worry, we felt completely safe and comfortable throughout our time in El Salvador. We experienced nothing but kind, friendly and helpful locals who were thrilled to see foreigners in their country.
Safety is completely subjective, and I can never definitively say somewhere is always safe, I can only share our experience travelling as a couple. And that was that we were safe in El Salvador.
The country is on a positive trend and it really shows. That doesn’t erase history, but El Salvador felt light, people seemed happy and the outlook was generally bright.
There are a lot of tangible factors to consider when it comes to safety, but above all, it’s a feeling you get. When you travel a lot, you know when something feels off, and we never felt like that in El Salvador.
It was hard not to compare with Honduras, which we absolutely loved, but the country felt like it was in the middle of a crisis, not on the way out of it. We were a lot more on edge about our safety there, and it’s a good illustration that things have shifted in El Salvador.
We travelled the entire country via chicken bus and had no problems at all. It was one of the better countries in the region for public transport and we never felt uncomfortable on the bus, even with all our bags.
The rural towns along the Ruta de las Flores felt a lot more conservative and traditional, and I think we stood out a lot more as foreign tourists. I tried to dress more modestly and blend in, but we were never made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
We experienced some small doses of culture shock in this area, where we were the only gringoes in a sea of hundreds of locals, but that is not to be confused with danger.
I will say that we were very happy to speak Spanish in these rural areas. We’re not fluent by any means, but there was not a lot of English spoken in these areas, and we felt more comfortable knowing we could communicate.
By the time we hit the Pacific Coast, we felt completely at ease. It’s popular with foreign tourists, super modern and very cool and laidback. English is a lot more widely spoken here.
I felt comfortable wearing bikinis and beachwear, wandering around the towns in the evening and renting a scooter to explore the smaller towns and hidden beaches.
We went to San Salvador for one day (to post our drone to Costa Rica, to avoid bringing it to Nicaragua). It felt like any other big city, and there were areas we walked that felt a bit sketchy, but all in all, it was fine.
We transited there on the bus too, and had no issues. I probably wouldn’t have wanted to stay there, not for a real fear of danger, just because we much preferred to spend our time on the coast, rather than in a potentially risky city.
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Travel advisories for El Salvador
These positive changes are reflected in many government security ratings, and most countries now rank El Salvador at the same risk level as its neighbours.
It is a good idea to check your home country’s travel advisory for El Salvador. They are good resources for up-to-date information on security and regional risks.
I do think sometimes these can be a bit extreme, but you have to trust that they have intelligence inside El Salvador and they should be qualified to provide valuable information. Even if it is occasionally a bit fear-mongering to protect their liability.
It’s interesting to look at the ratings each country gives to El Salvador. Here are some comparisons:
- Australia: Level 2 – Exercise a High Degree of Caution
- USA: Level 3 – Reconsider Your Need to Travel
- Canada: Level 2 – Exercise a High Degree of Caution
- UK: No levels, but balanced safety advice
We’re Australian, and El Salvador no longer has a higher safety rating than any other country in Central America. When we visited, they were at Level 3 (Reconsider Your Need to Travel), while most other countries were at Level 2 (Exercise a High Degree of Caution).
El Salvador has now dropped to Level 2, which indicates to me that it is no more or less safe than any other destination in Central America, and this is the experience we had in the country.
The US tends to skew towards higher risk ratings, but although El Salvador is at Level 3, so are Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras, which helps to put the security situation into perspective.
Places that are safe for travel in El Salvador
Tourists do visit El Salvador, and arrivals are increasing dramatically year-on-year.
The government is heavily promoting tourism, particularly with their #DontSkipElSalvador campaign, encouraging travellers already in the Central American region to include El Salvador on their itinerary.
Places that are considered touristy and safe to visit in El Salvador are:
- 🏄🏽♀️ El Tunco and surrounding coast: this small surf town on the coast is undoubtedly El Salvador’s most popular tourist destination. It felt completely modern, laidback and safe. There is a heavy police presence to ensure security, and we never felt uncomfortable or on edge. This is the same for all the neighbouring beaches and towns along the coast, like El Zonte, El Sunzal, Mizata etc.
- 🌋 Santa Ana region: the second largest city in the country, Santa Ana is generally considered safe to visit, and is a hub for outdoor activities like volcano hikes and Lake Coatepeque. Like any city, there are rougher areas, but the city hosts thousands of travellers safely each year.
- 🌸 Ruta de las Flores: a string of five charming colonial towns in the Western Highlands, the Ruta de las Flores is one of the top tourist attractions in El Salvador. The towns on either side of the ruta, Sonsonate and Ahuachupan, can be a little seedy, but the small towns themselves are generally safe, particularly Juayua and Ataco which are major traveller hubs. Nahuizalco has had trouble in the past but we had no problems here.
- ⛪️ Suchitoto: this colonial town north of the capital has become a firm fixture on the tourist trail, and as such, is very safe. It’s small and quaint with some great outdoor activities.
- 🐢 El Cuco: part of a string of beaches in the east of the country, El Cuco and its surroundings are considered safe. They are less visited than El Tunco, but this area is quiet and peaceful. Many travellers also hike and camp at nearby Conchagua Volcano (with a guide) and cross the border to Nicaragua via boat in La Union.
- 🌆 San Salvador: El Salvador’s capital is a mixed bag when it comes to safety. There has been a huge urban renewal to try and attract tourists, and the city’s Centro Historico has been cleaned up and modernised, with lots of police presence. This area and a handful of other neighbourhoods are deemed ‘safe’, but it’s very easy to end up in dangerous areas, which sometimes might just be a few blocks away from safe zones. It’s almost inevitable that you will pass through San Salvador at some point on your trip, as a lot of bus routes transit via the city and it’s generally safe to do so.
There are dozens of other beautiful places to visit in El Salvador that are probably very safe. I haven’t travelled the whole country. However, these destinations are the most commonly visited by international travellers and are generally considered to be safe, but also have safe passages of travel to reach them.
You always need to exercise the usual safety precautions wherever you are. Being labelled ‘safe’ or ‘touristy’ does not instantly eliminate any chance of bad things happening.
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Places that are not safe for travel in El Salvador
The general advice from locals is that if a place is touristy, or has tourist appeal, it’s safe.
Many places in El Salvador are not safe, but most locals would say ‘why would you want to go there anyway?’.
We are all for getting off the beaten track and experiencing unique and unknown places, but El Salvador is probably not the place to do that, at least not without a local by your side.
The country as a whole is not a touristy place, so you can experience quiet, beautiful and undiscovered places that are still on the tourist trail.
San Salvador is the main destination that is worth mentioning here as it is a popular and well-known city that is a good place to visit, however, the risk of gang violence and crime is still high in some areas.
The city is experiencing a renaissance in certain neighbourhoods like the historic centre. But there are still a lot of areas in the city and the surrounding satellite cities that are definitely no-go zones.
Avoid Apopa, Ilopango, Mejicanos and Soyapango, among others, and check in with your accommodation in the city on exactly which streets are blocks are okay to walk through. It can turn from safe to unsafe very quickly.
I found this map online showing the areas of El Salvador that are considered ‘unsafe’. I can’t verify who made it and how old it is and it may not be entirely accurate. But it is helpful to get an idea of which places you should avoid.
*I will say, we visited Nahuizalco during our time on the Ruta de las Flores. We later learnt it had one of the highest homicide rates in the year before our visit. However, it felt like a small, rural town and we didn’t feel unsafe at all. The crime statistics have since improved there.
El Salvador travel safety tips
In addition to choosing safe destinations to visit, there are a few safety precautions you can take to make your trip to El Salvador as safe as possible. Some of these tips are standard precautions you should take anywhere in the world, but some are more specific to El Salvador.
- 💍 Don’t flash your wealth: don’t wear fancy clothes, sunglasses or jewellery, and avoid flashing cash or expensive electronics. Dress simply and practically to blend in. In practice, of course, you are going to use your phone, but don’t be wandering around staring at it without any awareness of your surroundings. Keep your phone in a zipped bag on your body, not in your back pocket.
- 🎒 Always keep an eye on your belongings: this is particularly true in transit, while at bus stations and on chicken buses. These places are notorious all over the region for snatch-and-grab thefts. We didn’t experience anything like this in El Salvador, but you always want to keep your eye on your bags and have your valuables in your day bag on your person. Large backpacks will sometimes be put on the roof of a bus or van, so make sure there is nothing overly special in there, just in case. We were mostly able to sit at the back of chicken buses where there was open space to store luggage.
- 💵 Spread your valuables: while chicken buses in El Salvador have a much lower risk of hijacking or theft than in say, Honduras, it’s still a good idea to spread your valuables out across your (close) bags and body. Keep some cash or cards stashed in your bra or shoe, so if the bus does happen to get hijacked and you need to hand over a bag, it doesn’t have everything in it.
- 🥾 Go with a guide: I’m a big advocate of independent travel and doing things solo whenever possible. We don’t love taking guided tours or hiking with a guide if we don’t have to. However, there are many places in El Salvador where guides are strongly recommended, and if this is advised, don’t ignore it. The Seven Waterfalls Hike and Chorros de la Calera in Juayua and the Santa Ana Volcano hike should be done with a guide. A big reason for this is the risk of theft or assault on the trails, so just pay a little extra and go with a local for your safety.
- 🗣️ Learn some Spanish: English is widely spoken in the popular tourist areas along the coast, but once you get further inland into more rural areas, not many people speak English. We were thankful for our Spanish, although not fluent, that allowed us to communicate. If you don’t speak any Spanish, you might not feel as comfortable navigating the buses or getting around in places like the Ruta de las Flores.
- 🌛 Don’t travel at night: always plan to be at your destination before dark. This doesn’t mean don’t leave your room at night, and of course, in popular tourist destinations you can go out for dinner and wander around in safe areas, but don’t take buses or move between destinations at night. If you are in San Salvador or more remote towns, I would be much more careful at night.
- 👛 Don’t resist robbery: if you do get robbed on the street or your bus is hijacked, just hand over what they want. You can replace any belongings, yes even your passport, but your life is irreplaceable. We have never heard of any stories of travellers being robbed in El Salvador, but there’s no doubt it happens, as it does all over the world.
- 🌊 Avoid beaches at night: pretty much anywhere you travel in Central America, this is a good safety rule to follow. Beaches are generally not well-lit and empty. Stick to busier streets if you do need to walk somewhere at night. El Tunco is always busy at night and the boardwalk and streets are fine to walk around, but don’t wander too far away from town on the sand.
- 🚙 Use Uber: Uber is available in Santa Ana and San Salvador, and from the airport, and is the preferred choice over taxis. You can enter your destination inside the app, which helps if you don’t speak Spanish, and the route is being tracked. Taxis can be risky, mainly for scamming and ripping off tourists, but if you do need to take one, get a hotel or business to call an official one for you.
- 💰 Don’t carry more than you need: if you’re transiting between destinations, you’ll obviously have all of your belongings. But if you’re just heading out for the day, you don’t need hundreds of dollars of cash, your passport and all your credit cards. Reduce the impact of a potential robbery by carrying only what you need, and also risk important documents and money getting wet or damaged.
- 🏧 Use bank-affiliated ATMs: avoid the random third-party ones on the street, they’re often tampered with. If you can choose ATMs that are provided by banks and have either little rooms to enter or are inside a store or bank, they’re the safest options. Only take money out during the day, and if you need to withdraw a big amount, plan to go straight back to your accommodation afterwards to store it securely.
- 📷 Be careful with your camera: as a photographer, I always wonder how people take any photos while also advising not to flash around electronics. I safely and happily used my camera all over El Salvador, but I only pulled it out to take photos when I needed it and then secured it away. I didn’t leave it hanging around my neck. I always got Brayden to watch closely when I was taking photos. I never use it on public transport or at bus stations though, and if I’m juggling my big backpack too, I would never take it out.
- 🍻 Don’t drink too much: this applies everywhere, and if you love partying, I won’t say don’t do it. But it’s undeniable that alcohol often equals trouble. Don’t get completely black-out drunk, don’t end up alone at night, and always have a safe means of getting home. El Tunco is a party destination, but go out with other travellers and know your limits.
- 💊 Avoid drugs at all costs: always, always say NO to drugs. Number 1, it’s illegal, and number 2, it’s the quickest way to get into trouble, willingly involving yourself with criminals. Also, take a second to consider if you want to support the people who have terrorised El Salvador for decades.
- 🇸🇻 Seek advice from people in the country: there can be a lot of sensationalised media coverage out there, and it’s easy to scare yourself into thinking it’s not safe to visit El Salvador. Instead, seek safety advice about the specific places you want to visit, from people who are there or have been recently. Facebook groups like Backpacking/Traveling in El Salvador and Backpacking Central America are a good resource, as well as Reddit. Just be prepared for some extreme responses, and use your common sense in interpreting the answers.
Travel insurance for El Salvador
If you are travelling anywhere, you MUST have travel insurance. This is especially important in a country like El Salvador where there are safety risks, and the chances of things going wrong are higher.
Your insurance cover will most likely be more expensive than going somewhere like the UK or Australia, but given the risk is higher, it’s absolutely worth paying for.
Be sure to check your policy carefully, and make sure it covers travel to countries that have a a higher risk rating on government travel advisories.
For example, in Australia, our government has a 4-level travel advisory system, with level 4 being ‘Do Not Travel’. Most Australian travel insurers will not provide any cover if you decide to go against this advice and travel to a level 4 country anyway. Although some enforce this for Level 3, so you need to be very sure about what you’re covered for.
Make sure you check this caveat in your policy and check your government travel ratings.
So, is El Salvador safe to travel?
El Salvador is on an upward trend and the statistics don’t lie. The country is entering a new era. One where people are safe, crime and homicide are down, and life can resume without fear of violence, gang control or bribery.
The country is ready and waiting to receive foreign tourists and its marketing shows this – #DontSkipElSalvador!
Our experience was that yes, El Salvador is safe to travel to.
We didn’t feel any more or less unsafe here than we felt in any other Central American country and we had a really enjoyable few weeks here. That’s from the perspective of travelling as a couple, with some Spanish skills and a lot of previous travel in the region.
Everyone’s perception of safety is different, so what we consider safe, might not be safe for you. All I can do is share our experience to provide a balanced perspective.
It’s up to you to do more research and planning and check current warnings and news. Your safety is ultimately in your hands, and you are responsible for making choices that are safe for you.
If you’ve got a sense of adventure, a desire to get off the beaten track and a willingness to open your mind and heart to a country with a deeply troubled past, but a glowingly positive future, then El Salvador is for you.
If you’re convinced and ready to plan a trip, start with my El Salvador travel guide.
The Comments
Milena
Hello, you forgot to mention whether it is safe for Latinos to travel to Central America.
What is the relationship between Salvadorans and Brazilians like?
Could you talk about it? Thank you!
Sally Rodrick
MilenaHi Milena, I’m Australian, so I can’t provide an opinion on that, sorry. Being part of Latin America, I think it is no more or less safe for other Latinos to visit Central America, and I think it would be a more familiar environment than for travellers coming from other parts of the world. Of course for Brazilians you will have a language difference to navigate, but most people do and get by okay without fluent Spanish. I hope you enjoy your trip! Sally
Arielle
This article is excellent. Curious if you feel it would be safe to younger children here? We are American, my three kids are blonde hair and blue eyed like yourself, so very obviously tourists. We would be attending a wedding, and I really want to go, however I just can’t get over the feeling that I shouldn’t bring my children. Thank you for any feedback.
Sally Rodrick
ArielleHi Arielle, my sister’s name is Arielle and spelt exactly the same way which is so rare! I don’t have kids, so I could never feel as you would as a Mom, I know it’s a whole other level of worry and caution. But I think I would feel comfortable bringing kids to El Salvador. We definitely saw lots of foreign kids travelling with their parents. If your travel budget is a little higher than ours, you could hire a private driver or rent a car for safe and easy transport between the airport and your destinations, which removes the need for public transport which can be intimidating. Once you’ve taken care of that, so long as you’re in safe towns (where is the wedding?), then I really can’t think of any other cause for concern. We felt really comfortable everywhere we went and didn’t see, hear or feel anything that gave us cause for concern. Especially if you’re on the coast, it’s super international and touristy these days, it barely even felt like El Salvador at times! If you’ve spent any time in Latin America before and have some idea of what to expect in terms of the culture, I think it would be okay. It’s also a very family-orientated culture and I know a lot of parents feel super welcome travelling with their kids. But at the end of the day, you have to be completely comfortable with your decision, as its your risk to take. I hope that helps, my gut reaction is go for it, but it’s totally your call x