Day 1: San Salvador Arrival, Airport Pick-up
Upon your arrival at El Salvador’s airport, your driver guide will meet you and transfer to the hotel in San Salvador. You might’ve heard that El Salvador is all about volcanoes, coffee, gangs, and crimes, but the reality is, the latter two had been long lost to history before 2019. On your way to the hotel, you may let your knowledgeable guide brief you about the revolution the new president staged, how he cleansed the city centers of gangs-involved violence and replaced it with armed police, café business boom, and peaceful life.
If your flight arrives in the morning or early in the afternoon, we can do a small city tour to explore the historical center, the most engaging area of the capital. We’ll visit old plazas, beautiful colonial architectures and national monuments, including the Iglesia El Rosario, Metropolitan Cathedral, National Palace, National Library, and National Theater. Rosario is not a church you’d normally expect it to look－it’s brutalist at first glance, while there’s a holy, spacious world of rainbow colors inside free of view-blocking columns. The library is a modern design shining amid the old world, with a viewing platform just across from the grand cathedral. There are exhilarating histories to tell, as well as lively life to watch. En route, you are recommended visiting one of countless coffee houses here to try the country’s specialty coffee (self-paid), which are made of beans grown from the rich volcanic soil.
► Do I Need a Visa to Visit El Salvador?
It’s not required for travelers from over 80 countries, covering the US and many Europeans countries, to enter the country with a visa. However, a tourist card bought on arrival is needed which costs USD 12 and is valid for 90 days. If you are an American born in El Salvador, you don’t need either to be allowed in.
► Money Matters:
Transactions have also been made easy, as an official currency is US dollars with Bitcoins being another. Just take note to prepare some small bills in advance, since commodities here have lower prices and people still love to trade with cash.
Accommodation: Barcelo San Salvador (4 stars) or similar
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Day 2: Transfer from San Salvador to Jiquilisco Bay, Stay at Puerto Barillas
This day we will move southeast to the Pacific coast of El Salvador and visit the Jiquilisco Bay. Jiquilisco Bay is a spellbinding biosphere boasting the largest mangrove forest in Central America, offering shelter to countless precious species of birds. This is also where you can spot the endangered hawksbills anytime of a year, which take this place as their primary home. Preserved by UNESCO, this region also sees eco-tourism being developed and we’ll be a part of it as well, sightseeing while contributing to the conservation of local communities. Before the tour, it’s suggested you pack some eco-friendly mosquito repellent, as we’ll be in a space where the flies run rampant.
We’ll arrive at a local phenomenal hotel at Jiquilisco Bay in 2 hours. After check-in, we’ll visit the Monkey Reserve and take a boat through mangrove-packed canals to visit a private island to enjoy enough beach time. The reserve has over 30 spider monkeys, which take the name because they have one more limb－the tail－than other species, just resembling a spider. They are friendly to tourists and if you hold a banana, wait to become a star among them who’ll come off the trees to gently collect it! Your guide will also teach you to distinguish birds and spot agoutis and crocodiles hidden in nature’s colors.
In the afternoon, move back and you’ll stay in Puerto Barillas. The hotel we’ve handpicked for you is an ingenious project invested by local communities. Nestled in a rainforest of cocoa and palm trees, it offers an escape from the mundane world and, also as a marina site, best opportunities to explore the breathtaking waterscapes around. Although a bit remote and reachable by a bumpy dirt road, it is well equipped with public Wi-Fi, pool, restaurant, bar, etc. Since the restaurant usually closes before 6 pm, you need to plan your dinner earlier today.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Puerto Barillas Hotel (4 stars) or similar, Jiquilisco Bay
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Day 3: Jiquilisco Bay - Las Flores Beach - Punta Mango
This morning, head further east to the black sands and relish beach time. Drop your luggage at your hotel in Punta Mango and continue to Las Flores Beach, a hidden expansive tropical paradise. You may swim in the calm and shallow water by the beach or surf the consistent moderate waves, in more pristine vibes hardly found in El Tunco, the touristy ‘surf mecca’ near San Salvador. Just don’t forget to check the wave forecast in advance and maybe add a surf class for this day at your own expense. The sands is cleaned up by local residents and it can be an experience for you to participate in it as well. Walk 20 minutes east and you’ll discover a beachfront village named El Cuco, where people mainly make a living from fishing and agriculture. Do you know that El Salvador is also reputed as the Country of Smiles? The name matches the reality here! There are also supermarkets to browse and many restaurants to eat at. Locals said there will be an airport near Las Flores, so get here now and beat the crowds!
When you’ve enjoyed enough, let’s move back to Punta Mango. Your hotel sits away from towns on an almost private, quiet beach, which will be your exclusive memory.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel Los Mangos (4 stars) or similar
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Day 4: Gulf of Fonseca Tour: Punta Mango - La Union - Boat to Trifinio - Punta Mango
After breakfast, we’ll continue to the east end of our itinerary, Gulf of Fonseca, the well-known Trifinio area where Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador meet. We will first visit La Union, a city by Conchagua Volcano and open to the gulf, and then take a boat at the Malecon here through mangrove forests to visit several islands. Lovely coves, fishing villages, and the best local beaches, as well as dolphins and turtles are all features of this area, and each island will give you different experiences.
Of all our islandic stops, Conchaguita is a volcanic island home to a village. Martin Perez is occupied by the Salvadorian armed forces so we have to pass by. Meanguera is the only municipality on an island in El Salvador, inhabited since Pre-Spanish times by the Lencas and the Potones; it’s interesting to know that people say here buried the treasures left by Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman that completed a global journey. As we boat back, drop by Zacatillo, which involves a story about a prison that existed on it between 1915 and 1940, and for historical details, your guide and the locals would love to share with you. In the afternoon, come back to the hotel at Punta Mango.
► Recommended Dining Spots for Lunch (Self-Financed):
You are recommended tackling your lunch on Zacatillo Island, where there are plenty of top-rated seafood restaurants to pick. You’ll love the Zacatillo’s Restaurant, which provides various seafood dishes, as well as cocktails and cool drinks. Each dish is priced between USD 10-20, tip not included in the bill. But if you prefer Salvadorian traditional food, we’ll go back to La Union and you must try food made with corn, which has been the staple in the local diet since the Maya times! The restaurant Pupuseria Xochilt is where to find the national dish pupusa, a kind of stuffed corn cake. Otherwise, visit Food Company La Unión instead to try quesabirria tacos, tortilla with beef birria and cheese. We also need to mention in passing that, whenever you are thirst, don’t drink tap water or you may get your stomach upset.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel Los Mangos (4 stars) or similar
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Day 5: San Salvador Departure, Airport See-off
Today is the departure day of your 5 days El Salvador all-inclusive vacation package and we’ll escort you to the international airport, which is 3 hours from your hotel. If your flight is early in the morning, we’ll arrange an overnight stay near the airport on the previous day. If your flight is from noon, afternoon, or night, this itinerary is perfect since you’ll have enough time.
You can actually leave later and take the chance to enjoy more, whether it’s hotel facilities or the serene sceneries around. You’ll love soaking in the hotel’s infinity-edge pool and see the waves lashing and overlapping in front. The hotel also provides activities like horseback-riding, canoeing, fishing… Why not take your time?
By the way, considering you are perhaps a nature lover, please feel free to extend this trip and let us also include the world-class diving spots of Honduras, the unfathomable Great Blue Hole off Belize, and above all, the white fine sands of Cancun of Mexico, and incidentally the country’s epic Mayan pyramids and culinary delights! A reminder is that during these days’ trip in El Salvador, you might’ve received cents in coins as change, which are ubiquitous in El Salvador. Unless you want to collect them, it’s suggested you spend them here because they might be refused in the neighboring countries you may want to visit.
Meals: Breakfast
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