Overview
El Salvador is a pocket-sized country of wild beauty. Volcanic in more ways than one, it has emerged from a period of civil strife with a strengthening economy. Mindful of its tourism potential the authorities have renovated the historic centre of San Salvador and opened up national parks to visitors. Overall the country is refreshingly natural, with a bucolic rhythm to its lifestyle and some of the friendliest people in Latin America.
While farming has undeniably made its mark on the countryside, El Salvador has some unforgettable landscapes. The tropical forest of El Imposible National Park is cut through with hiking trails. The winding Ruta de las Flores splices the country’s beautiful coffee heartland dotted with highland villages.
There are spruced-up colonial towns, such as of Suchitoto with its cobbled streets and thriving arts scene, and Joya de Cerén – a pre-Columbian village remarkably preserved under layers of volcanic ash. Beaches are undeveloped: Punta Roca is a popular destination for surfers. In the east, the rucked hills around Perquín, the guerrilla movement’s base in the civil war, are now a haven of serenity.
Our top holiday styles to El Salvador
Holidays El Salvador
From expertly designed Private Journeys to trail-blazing Group Tours, browse our range of carefully crafted holidays.
Group - Discovery
Panama / Costa Rica / Nicaragua / El Salvador / Honduras / Guatemala
Alcion: Central America Discovery
(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)
Group - Discovery
Panama / Costa Rica / Nicaragua / El Salvador / Honduras / Guatemala
Alcion: Central America Discovery 2024
(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)
Private Journeys
El Salvador
Signature El Salvador: Revolutionary road trip
(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)
Group - Classic
Nicaragua / El Salvador / Guatemala / Belize
Tropicbird: Highlights of Central America
(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)
Places To Visit In El Salvador
Discover our guide to the most exciting, memorable and inspiring places to visit.
Gulf of Fonseca and Eastern El Salvador
Discover lush mangroves, tangled wetland forests and sparkling shores overlooked by volcanic hills.
Pacific Coast
Unwind on the soft white sandy bays and dark volcanic beaches of El Salvador’s Pacific coastline, punctuated with small fishing communities.
Ruta de las Flores
This extremely scenic route passes through the principal coffee-growing region, linking several quiet highland towns.
San Salvador
San Salvador is a large, dynamic city full of noise and movement.
Things to do
We proudly offer the widest range of activities, excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences across all our destinations, tried and tested personally by our travel experts.
Accommodation
Browse our unrivalled portfolio of accommodation . Every option has been carefully chosen by our team of travel experts, so you can rest assured that you’ll relax in utter comfort.
Where to go when - our guide to El Salvador
The weather in El Salvador is wide and varied
Compact and bijoux El Salvador is a place of wild beauty. Having emerged from a period of unrest, the locals are some of the most friendly and welcoming in Latin America and you will find colourful restored colonial towns, surfing beaches, national parks and coffee plantations. As with much of this region El Salvador has a typical tropical climate with high temperatures all year round at low altitudes. In general, the best time to visit is during the drier months of November-February – it gets very hot thereafter. May-October has short tropical showers – it is cooler, but some of the back roads may be impassable and there’s a risk of tropical storms from September-November.
During Holy Week (Easter) there are celebrations throughout the country with lively processions. In February the pretty colonial town of Suchitoto hosts a world-class arts and culture festival with music and dance groups. From May to October you can see the nesting Easter Pacific hawksbill turtles and from October to January you will find Leatherback turtles along the Pacific coast.
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