La Cocotera
A secluded getaway in Barra de Santiago, a remote peninsula on El Salvador’s western Pacific coast.
Barra de Santiago is a remote peninsula on El Salvador’s western Pacific coast. Bordered by an estuary on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, it’s also home to one of the country’s most important protected areas: the Barra de Santiago Mangrove Reserve, a designated Ramsar Site.
Tucked among coconut palms and mango trees, La Cocotera is a small rustic chic property featuring palm thatched teak wood casitas inspired by traditional palapas. There are just six rooms, spread across three two-storey casitas, each with one room upstairs and one downstairs. Two casitas face the beach and Pacific, while the third overlooks the estuary with the mountains of El Imposible National Park beyond. All rooms are spacious and well appointed, featuring Salvadoran artwork, air conditioning, and either a balcony or terrace.
Dining in Barra de Santiago is limited, aside from a few beachside restaurants ideal for fresh seafood lunches, but the lodge has an open air restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The peninsula’s black sand beach is beautiful and expansive, though not suitable for swimming. Instead, the hotel offers a generous free form pool and a smaller pool beside the bar overlooking the beach, both with ample loungers for unwinding at the end of your trip. Guests can also rent kayaks or book boat trips through the estuary’s calm, wildlife rich mangroves. The lodge is deeply involved in conservation efforts, including a sea turtle release programme.
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Maggie Wilson - Travel Expert
Maggie visited Latin America on her first backpacking trip when she was 19. Since then, she has taken every opportunity to travel, and has managed to explore a lot of the region in subsequent trips.
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