El Salvador: When to go

The best time to visit El Salvador depends on your priorities:  places visited, weather, availability, preferred activities, local seasonality, local festivals and wildlife activity. The busiest period for local El Salvadorian tourism is Dec – Feb and Easter.

• El Salvador has a typical tropical climate with high temperatures all year round at low altitudes. There’s a risk of tropical storms Sep-Nov. In general, the best time to visit is during the drier months of Nov-Feb – it gets very hot thereafter. May-Oct has short tropical showers – it is cooler, but some of the back roads may be impassable.

• The Pacific coast has a hot tropical climate all year round with temperatures peaking at well over 30°C. The dry season is Nov-Apr. El Salvador is an important area for the endangered Eastern Pacific hawksbill.  Nesting months are May and Oct. Leatherback turtles can also be seen Oct-Jan.

• The mountainous interior has a milder climate and in Dec-Jan temperatures hover around 18°C and it is cool at night. The best time to visit the Ruta de las Flores  and Suchitoto is in the dry season, Oct-Feb, when plants are in flower. In May the coffee plants are in bloom over the hillsides, a glorious sight.

• During Holy Week (Easter) there are celebrations throughout the country with processions. Culture vultures may time their holidays to coincide with the Arts and Culture Festival, Feb, in Suchitoto. The pretty colonial town hosts a world-class arts and culture festival with music and dance groups.