Guide to El Salvador

El Salvador has many natural riches, such as beautiful and secluded beaches on the Pacific coast of Central America, majestic forests in the mountains and striking volcanoes. The countryside of El Salvador is breathtaking, with volcanoes and mountains offering "green" adventurers exactly what they are looking for. Many environmentally-oriented community-based organizations promote eco-tourism.

• San Salvador is the capital and largest city of El Salvador, approximately in the center of the country in a valley near the base of the San Salvador volcano. The city has a long history, with origins dating back to the Spanish conquest of the Pipil tribes.
• La Libertad is El Salvador's surfing beach.
• Santa Ana is the second largest city of El Salvador and a very important one in terms of agriculture and coffee production (coffee plantations, called fincas, cover much of the surrounding land outside of town and up the hills).
• San Miguel is the third largest city in El Salvador and a center of agriculture and production. It is less cosmopolitan than the capital San Salvador in the West but the surrounding areas of San Miguel are very beautiful with many beaches around the city.
• Acajutla is a popular seaside city in the western part of the country. Popular among tourists for bodysurfing.
• Ahuachapán is a relatively small city situated near the Guatemalan border.
• Santa Tecla claims to be the country's second largest city, though it's really just a rather ordinary suburb of San Salvador.
• Suchitoto is an important tourist destination partly due to its well-conserved colonial architecture and cobblestone roads that provide a sense of Spanish colonial living.
• San Francisco Gotera is a small city in Eastern El Salvador.

• El Pital (highest mountain in El Salvador) and its rural life.
• Los Volcanes National Park (also known as Cerro Verde)
• El Imposible National Park
• Montecristo National Park
• San Diego and San Felipe Las Barras National Park
• San Miguel beaches - Playa Las Flores, Playa El Esteron, Intipuca Beach and El Cuco

Itineraries

• Ruta de las Flores this mountainous route visits six iconic rural towns in the El Salvador countryside

The country sits between Guatemala, to the northwest, and Honduras, to the northeast.

Although El Salvador only covers an area of about 21,040 km² (the smallest country in Central America), it is the most densely populated. El Salvador is home to more than 6,500,000 people. It is divided into 14 sections called departamentos. It has 25 volcanoes, 14 lakes, and four large cities and is divided in to East, Central and West with the capital San Salvador in the central region, Santa Ana in the west, and San Miguel, the largest city in the east.

History

Pre-Columbian to early independence

The civilization of El Salvador dates from the pre-Columbian time, around 1500 B.C., according to evidence provided by the ancient structures of Tazumal in Chalchuapa.

The Spanish Admiral Andrés Niño led an expedition to Central America and disembarked on the Island Meanguera, located in the Gulf of Fonseca, on May 31st, 1522. This was the first Salvadoran territory visited by the Spaniards. In June 1524, Spanish Captain Pedro de Alvarado began a predatory war against the native tribes of Cuzcatlán. During 17 days of bloody battles many natives and Spaniards died. Pedro de Alvarado was defeated and, with an injury to his left hip, abandoned the fight and fled to Guatemala, appointing his brother, Gonzalo de Alvarado, to continue with the conquest of Cuzcatlán. Later, his cousin Diego de Alvarado established the Villa of San Salvador in April 1525. King Carlos I of Spain (who also ruled in what is now Germany as Karl V) granted San Salvador the title of City in the year 1546. During the following years, El Salvador developed under Spanish rule.

Towards the end of 1810, the criollos (European descendant people born in the Spanish colonies) who had long been excluded from most real power in the colonies, wanted to overthrow the tiny elite of peninsulares (people born in mainland Spain) and the colonial administration. The moment to fight for independence from Spain arrived at dawn on November 5th, 1811, when the Salvadoran priest, Jose Matías Delgado, sounded the bells of the Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, making a call for insurrection. As with most former Spanish colonies, independence was made likelier by the fact that Spain was occupied by Napoleonic troops and the colonial administration was unsure whether they should be loyal to the former king or the new king of Napoleon's choosing. After many internal fights and setbacks that made independence seem unlikely, the Acta de Independencia (Act of Independence) of Central America was signed in Guatemala on September 15th, 1821. Like the other four Central American states that gained independence that day, El Salvador joined the short lived United Provinces of Central America, the closest those five countries have ever come to a meaningful form of political unity since.

While independence brought more political participation (at least in theory) to the (white) land-holding elites and urban middle class, the indigenous population didn't benefit at all and in fact continued to be disenfranchised and dispossessed even more. By 1900 over 90% of the land was in the hand of just 0.01% of the population, a situation that would prove to threaten the country's political stability for much of the time to come.

20th and 21st centuries

The fraudulent elections of January 1932 were the detonating factor of the social outbreak. Several voting sites were suspended in populations in which the Communist Party had a strong presence. A new insurrection began. After two frustrated assaults on the Cuartel de Caballería (Cavalry Quarters) were conducted by the rebel forces, the government ordered martial law. Strict censorship of the press was implemented. In the following days thousands of farmers and workers, carrying machetes and some few "Mauser" rifles attacked police stations, municipal offices, telegraph stations, warehouses, and wealthy landowners' properties. This insurrection was crushed. On January 31st, Manuel Antonio Castañeda sentenced Farabundo Martí to death. He was shot and killed on February 1st, 1932. Another sad consequence of the uprising and its suppression was "la Matanza", a mass slaughter of indigenous people (many of them sympathetic towards Martí but many of them not) simply for being indigenous, looking indigenous, wearing clothes deemed to be indigenous or speaking indigenous languages. While not all indigenous people were actually killed, it dealt a huge blow to indigenous culture and even today less than 1% of Salvadorans self-identify as indigenous, the lowest number in all of Central America. While this is in part due to fear of being discriminated against or stereotyped when identifying as indigenous, there are some people of indigenous descent that have lost all ties to the culture of their ancestors and don't self identify as indigenous because of that.

Over the next decades, many coups d'états followed, including the one that overthrew General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez.

Relations with Honduras deteriorated in the late 1960s. There was a border clash in 1967, and a four-day so-called guerra de futbol (Soccer War), as it was named by the international mass media, broke out in July 1969 after a FIFA world cup qualification match between the two countries. The war ended with a cease-fire prompted by pressure from the United States and the Organization of American States. The Salvadoran forces that had invaded Honduras were withdrawn. They were just a few kilometers outside Tegucigalpa, Honduras' capital.

A movement of organized leftist guerrillas sprang up in 1974 and 1975, amid increasing political violence. In 1980, three of the leftist organizations united to coordinate a fight against the government. This movement was called FMLN (Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional. English: Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front). In March of the same year Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador, was assassinated while he was celebrating Mass. It is widely believed that the order for his execution came from Major Roberto D'Abuisson, the founder and leader of ARENA, a right-wing party. D'Abuisson is best known for his suspected involvement in death squad murders. He died of cancer in 1992. On January 16th, 1992, the government of El Salvador and the FMLN signed Los Acuerdos de Paz (Peace Accords) in Chapultepec, Mexico, putting an end to one of the most painful chapters in the history of El Salvador. The 12 years of armed conflict claimed the lives of over 75,000 people and caused the exodus of hundreds of thousands more who fled to the United States, Canada, and other countries to escape the violence.

On January 1, 2001, the administration of President Francisco Flores adopted a law making the U.S. dollar legal tender in El Salvador.

The FMLN has become a legal political party and won 30-40% of the vote in elections from 1997 to 2015, but won less than a quarter of the vote in 2018. Apart from economic woes a big problem the country still faces is also somewhat of a legacy of the war as some people who left El Salvador ended up in American jails and upon release were deported to El Salvador bringing with them US-style gang culture. As many of these people were very young when they left El Salvador more or less their only source of identity was gang culture, and thus combating these extremely violent groups has proven to be extremely difficult.

In 2021, El Salvador became the first nation in the world to adopt a law making Bitcoin legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar.

Today, El Salvador is stable, safe, and has a growing economy, leaving behind its painful history.

Politics

El Salvador is governed since 2019 by Nayib Bukele and the Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas) party, a right-wing conservative party that has been accused of authoritarian behavior, and the country was declared as Partly Free in 2024 by Freedom House. In 2022, the Salvadoran government declared a state of emergency, allowing police to arrest anyone without a warrant or much evidence. It also allows police to detain people for much longer before trial. Many common legal safeguards have also been weakened or removed. This is unlikely to affect travelers who are not involved in political activity and do not break the law. Police can ask for your identity card at any time and may detain you if they suspect you are a gang member. Carry a copy of the photo page of your passport to prove your identity in the unlikely event you are stopped.

Climate

El Salvador has a tropical climate with a rainy season from May to October and a dry season the rest of the year. Temperatures vary with altitude, and are usually stable throughout the year. The Pacific coast tends to have warm temperatures, while the mountainous areas are cooler. As a country that is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea – El Salvador is vulnerable to hurricanes.

Visitor information

• Travel El Salvador

Holidays

Spanish is the official language, though many people also speak English. In some small towns in the west, about 500 elders speak Pipil, also called Nahuat or Nawat and related to the Nahuatl language of Mexico.

Visas

Immigration requires that visitors entering El Salvador have their passport and one of the following documents: visa or tourist card.

For citizens that do not need a visa, you may need to pay USD 12 (by cash, card, or bitcoin) right after disembarking at the airport.

Passports of certain countries might need to obtain a visa before entering El Salvador. Some countries pay a fee for the issuance of the visa. Check Visa policy of El Salvador (Wikipedia).

As of August 2022, all tourists must show onward flight ticket, accommodation bookings for every single night accounted for in El Salvador. Some visa-free nationals have been requested to display US visas even when it is not necessary on paper. As of June 2023, onward ticket or accommodation bookings were NOT requested from US citizens at airports.

By plane

Visitors traveling by plane usually arrive at El Salvador International Airport (SAL) near the town of San Juan Talpa, located 50 km or a 45 minutes' drive south of the capital city.

Airlines that fly into El Salvador include:

• Avianca El Salvador has been the national airline of El Salvador since its merger with Taca. They have a monopoly and high ticket prices, especially for travel within Central America. Shop around for deals. In addition to within Central America, they also fly to North America (Canada, Mexico, United States); South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, etc); and the Caribbean from San Salvador. Additional bases for Avianca Holdings are in Bogota, San Jose, CR; Quito and Lima.
• Volaris El Salvador Subsidiary brand of Volaris (Mexico) to rival Avianca as the 'budget' carrier from San Salvador, as a hub, to Guatemala City and to several cities in Mexico, and the United States.
• Aeromexico Connect (Mexico City).
• Arajet (Santo Domingo)
• American Airlines (Miami and Dallas)
• Copa (Panama City)
• Delta (Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York JFK)
• Frontier (Atlanta, Orlando)
• Iberia (Madrid)
• United (Houston, Newark, and Washington-Dulles)
• Volaris and Volaris Costa Rica (Cancun,Mexico City, New York JFK and San José de Costa Rica). Volaris Costa Rica is a subsidiary of Volaris (Mexico) to offer direct flights from San Jose, Costa Rica (as a hub), as a Costa Rican flag carrier, to the U.S., Central America and Mexico.

By car

The Pan-American highway (CA-1) serves as the main highway through El Salvador and is a safe route for entering the country and travelling between San Miguel in the East and San Salvador in the West.

Small roads are often in poor condition and can be dangerous to drive on. During the rainy season, the condition of roads deteriorates considerably.

By bus

The following bus companies offer luxury (and safer) bus travel between El Salvador and other Central American destinations:

By train

All rail transport in El Salvador was suspended in October 2002.

In 2006 a pilot scheme for reviving the rail network commenced and in 2007 a service between San Salvador and Apopa was restarted with two return trips each morning and evening aimed at commuter traffic. Whilst this will be of little use to travellers, it may be a sign of a future reopening of more of the extensive rail network.

By bus

Numerous buses traverse the highways of the country. Domestic bus services are typically very cheap (not more than $2-3 for even the longest rides) and difficult to understand except they are consistently numbered. Single and double digit numbers designate local, in-town routes while buses numbered in the triple digits travel between cities and towns. The buses themselves are often very well painted and adorned with all kinds of posters and trinkets, ranging from the religious to pop-culture. As chaotic as it may seem they do run consistently and frequently. Longer bus rides may include a stop in some town where plenty of mujeres, and sometimes their children, too, will board hawking mangos, nuts, water, and even sometimes fried chicken in a box. There is no central agency that coordinates bus routes and schedules except to see HorarioDeBuses.com to get an idea as to which bus to take get there and from where. The site also includes a map showing where the bus stations are at. It is best to just ask the cobrador or anyone at the bus station where the bus is going and when. Most are very friendly and helpful, but do watch out for scams on the buses

Microbuses are an inexpensive way to get around, but they are often very crowded, and it is very easy to be robbed.

By car or Uber

Uber is inexpensive compared to the US and many other countries with rides across town rarely exceeding a few dollars. If driving, rental car agencies include Alamo and Hertz. Buses and taxis also provide good ways of getting around. Uber is easily available in the airport area and San Salvador. Outside of that area (even in major tourist areas), it may be a long delay to get a vehicle, if available. If taking an Uber from the airport to a tourist area, ask the driver for his phone number so you can make arrangements for pickup and pay directly. Most drivers do not mind coming for a pickup and will negotiate a similar rate to the Uber one-way rate (even though the driver had to basically drive round-trip).

Distances between sights make walking an unpopular option, as does the street layout in the city; San Salvador is not a square city, but has long avenues that are straight and streets that aren't. That said, in some areas walking is a great option, such as in Zona Rosa.

El Salvador now has a well developed GPS navigation system called QFind that can help you move around either in urban or rural areas. This is a fully functional system with thousands of points of interest and turn by turn routing to your destination.

Small roads are often in poor condition and can be dangerous to drive on. During the rainy season, the condition of these roads deteriorates considerably and it is best to avoid driving at night. When gangs were commonplace it was advisable to drive with the car locked and windows closed, but today this is rarely practiced. However, it is advisable to avoid stopping when approaching accident scenes, as they may be staged.

A well-maintained and practically deserted national park is found in the west at Bosque El Imposible. Additionally, there is Montecristo Cloud Forest, and a quaint fishing village with incredible local hospitality and remote coconut islands in La Isla de Méndez. Isla de Olomega in the department of San Miguel is an excellent eco-tourism destination, as are the beautiful Isla El Cajete in Sonsonate, Isla San Sebastian, Conchagua, Conchaguita, Isla Conejo, Isla Teopan, and Isla Meanguera.

One should also visit the colonial towns of Apaneca, Juayua, Panchimalco, and Suchitoto as well as the Mayan sites of San Andrés, Joya de Cerén (the Pompeii of Central America and a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and Tazumal, whose main pyramid rises some 33 m (75 feet) into the air. The on-site museum showcases artifacts from the Pipil culture (the builders of Tazumal), and paintings that illustrate life in pre-Hispanic El Salvador. Souvenir hunters will find some of the best artisans in San Juan el Espino and in La Palma (the artisan capital of El Salvador).

The capital, San Salvador, is a cosmopolitan city with good restaurants highlighting the country’s fresh seafood, and plenty of shopping, entertainment and nightlife.

San Miguel in the East offers tourists a more authentic way to see El Salvador by getting off the beaten track to see its countryside, coastline and lakes

• Surfing El Salvador is gaining a reputation for having some of the best surfing in the world. Tourists from all over Central America are discovering the surfing meccas of La Libertad (near San Salvador), El Sunzal, El Zonte (Bitcoin Beach) and El Cuco (near San Miguel ), transforming El Salvador into the fastest growing surf tourism hot-spot in Central America.
• Stand-up paddleboarding at the famous Intipuca Beach
• Water skiing, tubing, wakeboarding, parasailing, jet skiing in Playa El Esteron, one of the most beautiful beaches in El Salvador
• Windsurfing, swimming, jet skiing at Coatepeque Lake near Santa Ana
• Volcano hiking: on volcanoes such as Santa Ana, Chaparrastique, Izalco, El Boqueron, and El Impossible which are among the most famous ones
• Nature hikes and lake tours to Isla de Olomega on Lake Olomega
• Waterfalls and hot springs

Money

El Salvador's official currencies are the U.S. dollar, denoted by the symbol "$" (ISO currency code: USD) and Bitcoin. Carry only $1, $5, $10 or $20 bills. Most stores, supermarkets and department stores won't accept $50 or $100 bills. If you need to exchange to lower denominations, you can go to any bank. ($1 coins issued in El Salvador cannot be used in the United States.)

If you have money from other Central American countries on you the banks of those countries are usually your best bet, as they almost always exchange their own currency for dollars at pretty decent rates. You can also get dollars in many ATMs in countries such as Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Large bills ($50 & $100) are almost unspendable. Get change wherever you can – gas stations are always a good bet. A good idea is to visit a bank and ask for small bills and nothing larger than a $20.

Banco Hipotecario offers free ATM withdrawals using Visa.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin has been accepted as a legal tender in El Salvador since September 2021.

Most Salvadorans use the Chivo Wallet (Salvadoran: cool) created by the government.

Bitcoin ATMs ("cajeros") are available across the country, and especially at the airport. Most Bitcoin ATMs are provided by Chivo. You can see the map of Chivo ATMs on the official website. Foreigners will not be able to install the Chivo app, but we can pay to Chivo users if they show us the Lightning or Bitcoin QR.

In practice, as of August 2022, Bitcoin's adoption is not widespread. It is accepted in most shops in beach towns in La Libertad (mainly El Tunco and El Zonte, also known as "Bitcoin Beach"). Outside La Libertad and San Salvador, Bitcoin is rarely accepted.

Some places that accept Bitcoin include:

• Immigration card to be paid at the customs cashier right after disembarking.
• McDonald's, Starbucks, and Wendy's accept Lightning, but not L1 (aka normal Bitcoin on-chain transfers).
• KFC only accept Chivo and will not accept either L1 or Lightning.

Since foreigners are not able to signup for Chivo, you will likely need to use a hot wallet with Lightning Network support for quick payments. One can use BlueWallet app to make payment through Lightning Network, and FixedFloat to move Bitcoins into Lightning.

Costs

Expect to pay $30-60 for a room in a hotel, $3-5 for a simple meal, $0.25-0.35 to ride a San Salvador city bus, $1/hour to use the Internet, and $0.25 for a bag of sliced mangos. Take note of the prices that street vendors sell their products because at times some of them will take advantage of people that look or sound foreign by raising their prices dramatically (for example, most fruits and vegetables will cost $0.25-0.50, but if they believe that you are from the first world (white and have a funny accent), they will charge you $1).

Shopping

El Salvador has the largest malls in the region (MetroCentro - MetroSur), especially in San Salvador, with many upmarket international stores. Goods can also be purchased from markets, including national and international supermarkets.

San Salvador has a number of large modern shopping malls stocking the latest in international fashion, accessories and cuisine. These are generally found in the city's upscale suburbs such as Escalón, Santa Elena, and their surroundings. These malls include:

• Multiplaza https://www.multiplaza.com/san-salvador
• La Gran Vía http://www.lagranvia.com.sv/
• Galerías http://www.galerias.com.sv/
• Plaza Merliot http://www.plazamerliot.com.sv/

For those shoppers interested in purchasing fairly traded crafts and organically grown produce, a local alternative market is held every other Saturday in the San José park in the San Luis area just west of the National University.

El Salvador has an electronics and luxury tax, meaning that electronic devices and high-end products have prices increased from 30-75 percent depending on the demand. (A $300 electronic product will cost $450-500.)

The restaurant scene in El Salvador is influenced by many different cultures. Food options include Italian, Korean, Japanese, French, Chilean, American, Peruvian, Mexican, Spanish, Middle Eastern, German, Chinese, Argentinian and others. You can also easily find American fast food chains such as Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, Subway, Quiznos, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Domino's, in the largest cities in the country such as San Salvador, Merliot/Santa Tecla, and Santa Ana. Other franchises include Tony Romas', Bennigans and others. Some of the best restaurants are located in Zona Rosa.

The typical Salvadoran diet includes lots of rice and beans, seafood (particularly among those who live on the coast), and the most common Salvadoran dish, the famous Pupusa, a round corn tortilla filled with cheese and other elements, usually chicharon (shredded pork meat). It's widely agreed that the best pupusas in the country can be bought in Olocuilta, which you can get to along the highway on the way to the Comalapa airport. You will find more than 50 pupusa stands there, competing for business.

Also Salvadorans eat fried sliced plantains (platanos) usually with beans, sour cream, cheese and sometimes eggs, yuca con chicharron, pastelitos de carne, panes con pavo (turkey sandwiches), hand made tortillas among other very delicious Salvadoran foods.

If you are staying on the coast, make sure you try the cóctel de conchas. It is a mix of black clams, lime juice, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and chiles in a spicy black sauce. You can find them for about $3/bowl, using freshly harvested clams. A wide range of other seafood dishes can also be found.

Many large modern supermarkets are scattered throughout the capital and in large towns, such as La Despensa de Don Juan and Super Selectos, which sell local produce and a large variety of international products. Like anywhere else in the world, these are a cheaper alternative to eating out every night.

Typical beverages and fruits

Try the most delicious Horchata (made from rice and "morro" seeds) and Cebada (a smooth and sweet pink barley refreshment). If you prefer (at your own risk) to drink natural juices, such as: guava, jocote, arrayan, chirimoya, granadilla de "moco" and marañon. Furthermore, you should try to savour the local fruit, as: jocotes, marañon japones, green mango (with salt, lime, alhuaiste (ground pumpkin seed), manzana pedorra (orig.from Los Planes de Renderos), "nance", "red or yellow almendras" salvadorenias, "hicaco", "paterna" (also try the cooked paterna seed with lime and hot pepper, and don't miss the suave and liquory aroma of "carao".

Clubs

In San Salvador, The trendiest night spot to visit is called La Zona Rosa. Although it doesn't cover a large area, it is home to many exclusive, upscale bars and nightclubs, and the best restaurants in town. A famous spot to go is a mall named Multiplaza, where it has several clubs and bars. There's also Paseo del Carmen.

In San Miguel the famous Av. Roosevelt that hosts one of the biggest festivals in Central America in November is where you will find numerous bars and clubs for sexy nightlife.

San Miguel has high end hotels on Av. Roosevelt by the Metrocentro mall and budget hotels near the bus terminal

Finding employment in El Salvador is difficult for both Salvadorans and extranjeros (foreigners) alike, although bilingual schools are constantly looking for English speakers, as well as other foreign language teachers. Bilingual schools offer competitive salaries for foreign teachers. For current vacancies see the schools websites (above). Most foreigners find themselves volunteering with one of a number of local community organizations or NGOs. The Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad http://www.cis-elsalvador.org is often looking to hire bilingual project managers and liaisons, and offers both Spanish classes and numerous volunteer and cultural opportunities.

The growth of the call center sector has raised the bar in the need for a bi-lingual workforce.

El Salvador underwent a profound transformation in public safety. Historically burdened by a civil war in the 1980s and subsequent decades of dominance by transnational street gangs (such as MS-13 and Barrio 18), the country is now widely regarded as one of the safest in Latin America. This change was spearheaded by the administration of President Nayib Bukele through an ongoing state of emergency (Régimen de Excepción), which grants broad powers to law enforcement, suspends certain constitutional guarantees related to detention procedures, and has resulted in the incarceration of tens of thousands of suspected gang members. Consequently, homicide rates plummeted from historical highs of over 100 per 100,000 to fractions of that, making violent crime against tourists exceedingly rare compared to neighboring nations.

Despite this dramatic improvement in security, standard travel precautions remain essential:

• Common Sense and Ostentation: Avoid displaying expensive jewelry, high-end cameras, or luxury watches in public areas or unpoliced zones, much like you would anywhere else in the world.
• Law Enforcement Interactions: Armed police and military presence is ubiquitous. Keeping a digital copy or a clear photocopy of your passport alongside a secondary ID (such as a driver's license) is recommended when walking around. Carrying your original passport in a secure under-clothing money belt is a reliable alternative if you prefer to have it on hand.

Moderate-level street harassment (catcalling) can still occasionally occur in very dense urban areas, but the drastic reduction in overall crime has made it significantly safer for women to move around (including traveling alone) than in the past.

El Salvador remains a socially and culturally conservative society, heavily influenced by traditional and religious values. While violent incidents targeting foreign tourists are uncommon, institutional recognition for LGBT+ individuals is absent—same-sex marriage is not legally recognized, and public displays of affection outside of designated safe spaces or modern tourist hubs (such as surf towns or upscale districts in San Salvador) are best kept discreet.

Travelers should be aware of local laws. Abortion is strictly illegal in El Salvador under all circumstances, with no exceptions provided for rape, incest, or risks to the health of the mother. Additionally, laws regarding drug offenses and public conduct are enforced with absolute strictness under the current security framework.

If you are not accustomed to food sold by street vendors, you might want to stay away from food sold on the streets until you acclimatize. If you want to try a pupusa, you should try to find a restaurant to taste this popular dish rather than buying them from street vendors. Street food that you see cooked can sometimes be safer than restaurant food that you do not see cooked.

'Agua en bolsa' (water in a plastic bag) is very commonly sold in the streets and corner stores of El Salvador. Don't drink tap water.

Pharmacies are easily found all over the country. Take a first-aid kit if you travel to the countryside and to archaeological sites. Mosquito repellent comes in handy.

Salvadorans are known for their great hospitality. They are among the nicest people in the world. They are friendly, industrious people always willing to help anyone. That is what has earned El Salvador the nickname of "the country with a smile". When speaking with people you don't know, it is customary to address them in a formal manner, using señor, señora and/or usted.

The international country code for El Salvador is 503.