El Salvador?

Question

Any suggestions for an American tourist traveling to San Salvador?

Answer 1

bad idea

Answer 2

Yes, go there is beautifull country from the time You are arriving you will see the beach very nice trust me!

and to many places to see. you'll never forgot.

Answer 3

el salvador is not the easiest country in central america to travel in.  it may be a bit more challenging, but the rewards are HUGE.

hands down the people are the best thing.  whether you speak spanish or not.  they are so very friendly, and really want to get to know you.  and they can be fun do hang out with dispite their hard laboring in the corn fields.  i reccomend the countryside over the city.....

don't get me wrong, there are some bad neighborhoods and places just like the rest of the world, but i found the salvadoran people the warmest and most helpfull of any latin american country i have traveled too.  even as much as mexico (i have never been to brazil to compare tho)

there are some who surf near la libertad.

there are many petroglyphs all over but i know that in the north near "lago guija" there are some and there are MANY locations in chalatenango near "la montanona" and even some just across the boarder in honduras near "la montanona".  so many of them are lenca indians. the pipil indians were there too....

the "joyas de ceren is a really cool place.  it has perfectly preserved items from centuries ago.  when it was discovered, they found the soil preserved the items.  entire living quarters were discovered.  i am not sure if they are still digging, but likely so because of lack of money to excavate.

the two pyramids tazumal and san andreas....the volcanoes you can climb (not sure that this is so great tho).  

la palma is the art capital and very beautiful....

near there is el piten, the highest place in el salvador.  this place is actually on the honduras border.

there some boat rides near "la union" where el salvador, honduras and nicaragua nearly meet.  this however is far from the rest of the stuff i am mentioning

yummy coffee grows there, but you will have to seek it out because so many people drink the "nescafe" type.

like coffee there are MANY MANY different tropical fruits and some veggies.  the anonas (AKA chyrimoya or sarsop) is my favorite.

if you are interested in the history of the war, take this seriously.  in la montanona (chalatenango department) and arcatao, there were some guerilla strongholds and caves where the clandestine radio was.  speak with cesar in la montanona if you want a tour.

rio sumpul and el mozote were more tragic sites.  if you are interested, you probably already know about them.

late afternoon?  it must be pupusa time!!! yummy.  or hopefully you can try some "pasteles"  (not the mexican sweet breads or cake).

finally the pride and joy of el salvador....."colachampan"  pop (soft drink).  accept no imitations!  

do some research before you go.  it is not the type of country where you can just decide to go....like say going to cabo san lucas or heading to montreal for a few days.  

costa rica may be easier, guatemala may be more colorful and have more famous sites, mexico may have more variety...but try el salvador.  

i have been there 10 times and love it.

check out a lonely planet book (there is a central america book OR a nicaragua + el salvador book)

Answer 4

i'd highly recomend to visit its beaches...OMG! beaches are dreamed in el salvador, even they dont have white sand as the caribean coasts, they are really beautiful..

Don't miss these beaches:

Playa Costa Del Sol

Playa Costa Azul

Also it could be could to go the forest park.....Cerro Verde, i dont know if it's stiil open to public but if so i recommend to do a visit there.....

We have another beautiful park called "Montecristo"  if you reach the top of this mountain you are able to see 3 countries El salvador, Guatemala and Honduras; for this reason it also called "El Trifinio"...  

My natal city is Santa Ana and would be nice if you take a look of our gothic cathedral, it's a beautiful building built at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, you can make a tour around the whole cityt and see our typical streets, dont miss to look the down town ( look like spain)

Well i see that you're going to the capital san salvador....i just can tell you dont miss to visit the famous "Zona Rosa" i cannot tell more cause' i rarely vidited san salvador lol

Enjoy your trip

One advice: Dont make to appear soo obvious that you're a tourist ok!

Answer 5

I  would have to agree with Tomas.

El Salvador is an interesting place to visit.

Some more places of interest would be the route of flowers.

On the weekend several  towns have festivals Juayua and Atco de Concepcion come to mind. Both have food, open markets, live music and entertainment. Juayua has a website.   www.juayua.com.  you may find it helpful.

If you go to Lago Coatapeque you can also visit cerro verde park.

The ruins in El Salvador aren't as large as Chichen Itza, but nonetheless tell an interesting story of life in early El Salvador

By El Tazumal outside of Chalchulapa are another set of ruins called Casa Blanca. If you take a cotton t shirt  you can learn about dyeing cloth with indigo dye. Most ruins are active dig sites so sometimes parts maybe closed.

And most are closed on Mondays I think.

If you like to surf you can start in La Libertad and go north.

Playa Sunzal, Playa  El Zonte Playa El Tunco.

The city of San Salvador is like most large cities in the world.

Not my favorite place to visit. But there are several museums that are interesting. Also several mall if you want to shop.

In the city you want to stay in Zona Rosa as in is considered to be a safer area.

About 40  minutes out of San Salvador is a nice little quite town  called Suchitoto its a good place to spend a day or 2.

The civil is an important part of El Salvadors history.

If you can spend a day or two go to the department of Morazan and drive the route of peace. The revolutionary museum in Perquin is small but is packed with history of the time and your guides are ex fighters. El Mozote is another place to visit.

I stayed twice at the perkin lenka and enjoyed it . good prices and good food.

If you do an internet search you find many points of interest.

Also As tourism is a growth industry in El Salvador there are now maps available at gas stations hotel that list places to go .

Most hotels,hostel will be happy to help you also.

go and enjoy.