General notes

I would get a big “garrafón” of water (like a water cooler jug) from a Super Selectos (a local grocery store, the closest thing to Meijer you’ll find in San Salvador) to carry with you in the car for you time there, just in case you need water and wherever you’re staying doesn’t have potable water.

I wrote a blog about El Salvador that was geared towards grade schoolers. It might be toned down a bit for the casual adult reader but I think it would still be good for you to look through if you have the time! 

Anything underlined is a hyperlink that will point you to useful information. Enjoy the guide!

Santa Ana Volcano hike

You can drive to Cerro Verde National Park and really park anywhere on the mountain. I remember parking by a hostel (I think it was Bosques de Tibet) and just kind of walking to this general meeting point, where a group was meeting to get to the hike (you can also ask the hostel owners about when/where people meet to go hike). I think these guides (and you can find more guides online – I linked one page in the title of this section) would help you locate the entrance to the park, but it’s pretty easy to find. Just make sure you hike up with a group, because it’s not as safe to go by yourself. Just FYI, they don’t have a full fence around the entirety of the volcano so be careful with your kids. It’s a long way down and if you survive the fall, there’s boiling water / sulfur in the crater. 

The volcano is active but it’s highly unlikely that it will erupt when you climb. It’s nice because you can see Volcan Izalco from the Santa Ana volcano. Volcan Izalco used to be called “The lighthouse of the Pacific” because it was so active and emitting a constant stream of lava / flame, so much that it helped sea-goers with their orientation / navigation. 

You can do this hike in one day and even drive there and back from San Salvador if you time it right. You should go get pizza at this place called Simmer Down in the town of Santa Ana after you go hike. It’s right next to the Santa Ana cathedral which is really beautiful (and you can just walk in to go see it). 

Lago Coatepeque

This is a beautiful place to stay for one or two nights. It’s an old (“old” in like, archaeological terms) volcano crater that has filled in with water. Just FYI you have to respect what they say about swimming in the lake. Stay by the dock and respect the areas that they outline for swimming because there are funky currents in the water that might be dangerous. (Or if you’re into the local lore, “coatepeque” means “serpent” in Nahuat, the indigenous language of the Nahua Pipil or the native peoples of El Salvador. The island in the middle of the lake was of great spiritual importance to them and this lake in general. Some say that there’s a Salvadoran version of the Loch Ness Monster in the lake… I’ll let you decide on that for yourself!) Regardless of any lore and what not, this place is just stunning because the water is super fresh, the view is amazing in the evening and in the morning, and it’s really tranquil. 

I did a modeling session for this hotel (Cardedeu Residence) and they gave me a free stay there in return. It’s nice and I liked the rooms. The only thing is that they don’t have a restaurant on the premises but it’s a short drive away. Otherwise you can get pupusas nearby or maybe bring your own food to cook. One of their rooms is haunted so if you’re into that you can see if they have that room available. 

Concepción de Ataco (or in short, Ataco)

This is a really cute town of El Salvador’s west. The area is well known for their coffee and temperate climate. I would suggest getting an Airbnb or hostel out here for a couple days. You can probably do the Santa Ana hike when heading back from check out in Ataco if you play your cards right. There’s a really fun labyrinth that’s nearby in Apaneca, and there are great restaurants in the area for before/after. \

Stuff to do in / near San Salvador

El Boquerón national park

This is a fun trip. You can drive all the way up to this park and go tour the crater of the volcano. Again, it’s active, but there hasn’t been much activity and chances are low of eruption. Also historically it has erupted away from the city so that usually means that future eruptions will happen in that direction, too. You need a guide to take you into the crater if you want to actually go down inside, and you can probably ask around to find one, but when I went I kinda just winged it. Not the smartest thing but I was young and in love, haha, so my judgement was a bit skewed. You don’t have to go into the crater and you can just walk around the outer edges, which is cool. 

After seeing the crater (or before), you should check out Linda Vista Gardens. You can eat there, but it’s overpriced and not that good. It’s this beautiful area that’s been curated by one of the richest families in El Salvador and it’s fun to go just walk around there. I’m friends with someone who’s like, the daughter of that family and they have this beautiful giant dog named Beethoven who will sometimes say hello. They have this fun little house of instruments and other areas that are just really quaint. If you want food or coffee, you can go to a couple other places further down the volcano. One of my favorite cafes there is Café 1200 – the staff is super well trained, and the view is stunning from their place. There are other places in that area where you can get pizza or pupusas or other food.  

Pupusas

You HAVE to have pupusas when you’re there. I love going to this neighborhood called Antiguo Cuscatlán – they usually have the best pupusas. I especially like el Rincón del Olucuilta, but I found out that they only have a place in Cuidad Merliot which is a bit outside of Antiguo Cuscatlán. Regardless, try their pupusas! And any others you find, honestly. Eat the pupusas with your hands by ripping off bits of the pupusa and combining it with the curtido and salsa they give you (the green coleslaw-without-mayo-looking-thing and the red sauce). Nothing is spicy there. I love pupusas de frijol con queso, queso con loroco, and queso con ayote. Just don’t eat the curtido if you get pupusas from the street because it could cause you stomach problems. 

Los Planes de Renderos

I lived in this area for a little while. It’s in the mountains and is really beautiful – you can go to a national park there and just hang around at night (just make sure you take the main road to get up there. Do NOT take the road called “Calle Ahuizucar” because that, at least when I was living there, was notorious for gangs stopping you and robbing, etc.). The pupusas are great there, too. Go at night and you’ll get a beautiful view of the city. 

The Historical Center of San Salvador

Definitely go to Club la Dalia, the national theatre, La Iglesia del Rosario (it’s this beautiful concrete building with stained glass that is just absolutely stunning. During a protest, people were gathered in the historical center and the military started shooting into the crowd. People took refuge in this church and those who died there were buried in the church. They preserved the bullet holes in the doors of the church as a reminder of the past), and the Cathedral of San Salvador. This one is interesting because the cathedral exists in two parts. The upstairs, which kind of represents the bourgeois, the part that pleased the rich oligarchy of El Salvador, and the downstairs, which is more of the proletariat, the people’s church, where services are more grounded and of the community. This is where Oscar Romero’s crypt is. The energy is just so different in the two parts, and once you read or learn about the history of Oscar Romero, you’ll feel the importance of the downstairs crypt and area of the cathedral. Really impactful. I suggest watching the movie El Cielo Abierto for a great depiction and learning moment before heading to El Salvador. 

For parking in the historical center, you can use the parking structure next to the national theatre. It’s well-priced, safe, and in a good location. 

The beach! 

If you want a chill beach, go to El Zonte. You can also go to El Tunco but it gets a bit hectic at night and the beach is made of rocks and not sand. Regardless, there’s a fun place to go to that’s pretty family friendly called La Guitarra that usually has live music at night (and I used to play there). If you want a more exclusive beach that’s a bit more remote (and is a bit more expensive), go to Playa Mizata. I played at and stayed in this place called Nawi Beach House. It was too pretentious for me to want to stay there for real but I think they have excursions and such that would be cool. 

If you want to go east instead of west, try going to the Costa del Sol. The beach is distinct, just another flavor of Salvadoran beach. Just be careful there because random sink holes form in the flatter beach and people have unexpectedly drowned due to these little sink holes. 

The Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) and the Monseñor Romero center

It would be good for you to go to this museum. I would definitely consider whether you want your kids to learn about this story, but I think it’s necessary history of El Salvador. Essentially, there were Jesuit priests who lived at the UCA during the civil war, and essentially the Salvadoran government had them brutally assassinated at night. They surrounded their residence, broke in, and dragged each Jesuit out into the garden and shot them in the head, kind of to make a statement that they wanted them dead and didn’t appreciate the revolutionary ideas they were teaching to the Salvadoran people. They saved the clothes the Jesuits were wearing and died in, and have memorials / stories of how everything led up to that. This will give you good context of the recent history of El Salvador, but it’s your decision as to whether you want your kids to learn about that yet. But generally in El Salvador, everyone is kind of grown up having to face death in a different way that we see and come to understand death in the United States. Anyway I won’t get too deep there. Here’s something you can read about to get a better idea of the Jesuits’ stories. 

The Museum of Anthropology

If you have the time, take a day trip to or stay one night in Suchitoto, which is an old Spanish-style town that’s got a special feel to it. It’s hot, but worth it. I have a friend who runs a hostel called Casa Flamenco Suchitoto, and it’s beautiful. They can guide you around the area (I trust their recommendations) and I can alert them to your arrival if you decide to go there.