Most travelers skip El Salvador. They fly into Guatemala City or San José, look at a map, and decide the smallest country in Central America isn't worth the stop. That was the right call for thirty years. Now it's a different story, and the story is complicated.
I spent a week there in early 2025, traveling by rental car and the occasional Uber. The country I found was not the one I'd read about. The gang violence that made El Salvador a murder capital has dropped by nearly 70% since 2022, when President Nayib Bukele declared the State of Exception and filled the prisons. The cost has been steep: civil liberties debated, due process suspended, and a visible military presence at every checkpoint, beach, and volcano trailhead. For tourists, the practical effect is a country that feels safer than many of its neighbors, provided you cooperate, carry ID, and don't argue with soldiers carrying rifles.
The capital is San Salvador, a city of 2.5 million people built in a valley surrounded by volcanoes. The historic center is walkable and heavily patrolled. Start at the Metropolitan Cathedral on Plaza Barrios, where the tomb of Óscar Romero sits under the altar. Romero was the archbishop assassinated in 1980 while celebrating mass, his murder one of the opening acts of a twelve-year civil war that killed more than 30,000 people. The cathedral is free to enter. The tomb is simple, but the memorial in Parque Cuscatlán nearby names the dead in rows of black stone. I counted the names for twenty minutes and gave up.
Two blocks west, the Iglesia El Rosario sits in a concrete shell that looks like a bunker or a collapsed aircraft hangar. The architect Rubén Martínez designed it between 1964 and 1971, and the Vatican actually approved the plans. The exterior is rusted metal and raw concrete. Inside, it is one of the most remarkable religious spaces I have seen. The building is oriented north-south so that as the sun moves, it lights different sections of a curved wall of colored glass. There are no columns or pillars. The altar sits at the same level as the congregation. The fourteen stations of the cross are rendered in concrete and black iron, showing only hands and arms, designed by Martínez in less than a month. I visited three times in two days. Each time, the light had shifted, and the room felt like a different building.
Outside the capital, the real El Salvador begins. Thirty-six kilometers west, Joya de Cerén is the country's only UNESCO World Heritage site and the best-preserved Maya village in the Americas. A volcanic eruption around 600 AD buried the settlement under four to eight meters of ash, freezing daily life in place. Archaeologists found stored maize, bean pots still on hearths, and sleeping mats rolled against walls. The site is open from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Foreigners pay $3.00, though I have seen conflicting reports of $10.00 at the gate, so bring small bills. The tour takes about an hour and covers three protected areas under large shelters. The on-site museum is air-conditioned and worth the time for the artifacts and context. You can reach it by the number 108 bus from Terminal de Occidente in San Salvador, though most tourists combine it with a guide or rental car. The bus costs about $0.50 and takes ninety minutes. The bus driver will remember to drop you if you tell him where you're going.
The Santa Ana Volcano, or Ilamatepec, is the highest peak in the country at 2,381 meters. The hike to the summit is 5 to 6 kilometers round trip, taking 1.5 to 2 hours, and the crater lake at the top is an improbable turquoise from sulfur deposits. On a clear day you can see Lake Coatepeque below, the neighboring Izalco Volcano, and the Pacific Ocean. Entry is $3.00 for foreigners. The park opens at 7:30 AM on weekdays and 4:00 AM on weekends. Guides are mandatory and included in the entry fee. A police escort often accompanies groups. The volcano is active, last erupting in 2005, and you are limited to twenty minutes at the crater rim due to gas emissions. People with respiratory conditions should skip it. Bring 1.5 liters of water and proper boots. The trail passes through cloud forest, dry volcanic terrain, and lava rock. The temperature drops sharply at the summit.
Lake Coatepeque sits in the crater of an extinct volcano and is the country's most upscale weekend escape. The water is clean and warm, and the shoreline is dotted with private homes and a few public access points. You can kayak, swim, or simply eat fried fish at a lakeside restaurant. I paid $8 for a meal and a beer. The drive from Santa Ana city takes thirty minutes. The town of Santa Ana itself is the country's second-largest city, calmer than the capital, and the base for volcano tours. The neo-Gothic cathedral on the main plaza is worth a look, and the town has a reasonable selection of hostels and budget hotels.
The Ruta de las Flores is a 36-kilometer mountain road connecting five small towns west of San Salvador. The name comes from the wildflowers that bloom in October and November. The towns are safe, walkable, and popular with Salvadoran families. Juayúa hosts a weekend food festival where you can eat grilled meats and drink craft beer for under $10. Apaneca has a coffee culture and a bike zipline. Ataco is known for murals and textiles. The road is narrow and winding. A rental car is the practical option, though the 249 bus connects the towns for about $0.50 per ride. The bus does not reach all the hot springs and waterfalls, so if you want the full experience, drive or hire a guide. A full-day private guide runs about $100, which splits well among a group.
Suchitoto, forty-seven kilometers northeast of San Salvador, is the country's most intact colonial town. Stone streets, a central plaza, and a white church overlooking the artificial Lake Suchitlán. The town was a battleground during the civil war, and the surrounding hills were guerrilla territory. Now it is quiet, safe, and popular with retirees. You can walk the streets at night without concern. The Casa de la Cultura has information on the town's history, and several local guides offer civil war tours that visit former combat zones. I paid $20 for a two-hour walking tour that included a conversation with a former guerrilla fighter who now runs a small café. He made better coffee than he did politics, by his own admission.
On the coast, El Tunco and El Zonte have become surf hubs. El Tunco is the more developed of the two, with hostels, restaurants, and a black-sand beach that breaks consistently. El Zonte is quieter, cheaper, and was the birthplace of the Bitcoin Beach experiment in 2020. The country adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, and while the experiment has mixed results, El Zonte operates largely on the cryptocurrency. You can pay for meals, surfboard rentals, and hostel beds in satoshis. A meal costs roughly $5 to $8. A surfboard rental is $10 for half a day. The beach break is suitable for beginners, though the rip currents demand respect. I watched a German tourist get dragged fifty meters downshore before a local paddled out to retrieve him. The water is warm year-round, and the rainy season from May to October brings afternoon storms that can dirty the water and close the breaks.
Practicalities. The US dollar is the official currency. Small bills are essential. Street vendors, market stalls, and small restaurants do not accept cards. ATMs in banks and malls allow withdrawals up to $400. Credit cards work in hotels and established restaurants. Tipping 10% is standard, but check your bill first, as it is sometimes included. Spanish is the official language. English is spoken in tourist areas and surf towns, but basic Spanish is necessary for buses and small towns. Do not drink tap water. Bottled water is available everywhere. Use it for brushing your teeth as well.
Transportation is the biggest challenge. There is no public bus from the international airport to San Salvador. You must take a taxi, Uber, or private transfer. Uber operates in San Salvador, Santa Ana, and the coastal areas. Rides cost $3 to $8. Street taxis are cheaper but less safe. Waze is the navigation app locals use, and it is essential for mountain roads. Renting a car costs $40 to $60 per day and gives you the flexibility the Ruta de las Flores and volcano regions require. The highways are in good condition. Mountain roads are narrow, winding, and full of sudden speed bumps. Do not drive after dark. The rainy season brings flooding and landslides.
What to skip. The public bus system is cheap but unsafe for tourists. The San Salvador historic center after dark is unpredictable despite the police presence. The beach at La Libertad can be crowded and littered on weekends. The Bitcoin experiment is interesting but not practical for most visitors, and volatility means you should not convert more than you plan to spend. The guides at Joya de Cerén vary in quality, and some rush you through the site in thirty minutes. Push for the full hour.
The best time to visit is November through April, the dry season. Temperatures are warm on the coast and cool in the mountains. May through October is the rainy season, with afternoon thunderstorms that make volcano hiking slippery and surfing unpredictable. Hurricane season runs June through November, though direct hits are rare.
I left El Salvador with a sense that I had witnessed a country in the middle of a story, not the end of one. The volcanoes are real. The civil war memorials are real. The soldiers at checkpoints are real. The surf breaks are real. The contradictions are the point. It is not a place that offers comfort, but it is no longer a place that offers only danger. That is a recent development, and like all recent developments, it is fragile. Go while you can, and listen more than you talk. The locals have stories worth hearing, and they have earned the right to tell them on their own terms.
By Finn O'Sullivan
Irish storyteller and folklorist. Finn hunts for the narratives that do not make guidebooks—the pub legends, the family feuds, the neighborhood heroes. He believes every street corner has a story if you know who to ask.