El Salvador
Emberlifi · CC BY-SA 4.0
El Salvador, Surf and Volcanoes
A world-class point break, a turquoise crater lake, and a coffee route through the mountains.
- days
- 6
- bases
- 3
- places to eat
- 5
- budget
- shoestring
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America and the one that's changed most in the last few years. It has a genuinely world-class right-hand point break, a volcano with a turquoise crater lake, a mountain road through coffee towns, and prices that undercut everywhere except Nicaragua. Six days covers it comfortably.
What you get
The whole trip, decided.
Not a list of sights. A route someone has already walked, with the bookings that need doing early flagged, the transfers timed, and the costs written as real ranges instead of a fantasy number.
- 6 days
- written out morning, afternoon and evening
- 3 bases
- where to sleep each night, and why there
- 5 places to eat
- with what to order and which base it is near
- 6 local tips
- the things a guidebook does not tell you
- A route map
- showing how the whole trip fits together
- Full costs
- stay, food, activities and transport, broken out
- 6 pre-trip checks
- what to confirm yourself before you book
- A printable PDF
- works offline, yours to keep
Why this one
Worth the flight.
- Punta Roca at La Libertad, one of the best right-hand point breaks in the Americas
- The turquoise crater lake at the summit of Santa Ana volcano
- The Ruta de las Flores, a mountain road through coffee towns with weekend food fairs
- Joya de Cerén, a Maya farming village buried by ash and preserved like Pompeii
- Pupusas, which cost under a dollar and are the best cheap food in Central America
Best months are November, December, January, February, March, April. Expect around $600–1,300 per person, excluding flights for the whole 6 days, excluding flights. The guide breaks that into stay, food, activities and transport so you can see where it goes.
How this stays honest
Checked August 2026
Prices, opening days and entry rules drift, and no written guide can outrun that. So costs are always ranges rather than quotes, every plan carries the date it was last checked, and the last page is six things to confirm yourself before you book anything.
I take no commission from any hotel or operator. You book everything yourself, in your own name, at the price you can see.