Tips and Tricks for El Salvador (As Of 2012)

El Tunco:

Getting there – We got to El Tunco from San Pedro by shuttle. This will mean you’ll have to find a place to stay for a night in Antigua and leave first thing for El Salvador the next morning. We paid 270Q each. It’s a direct route and is actually much cheaper to leave from San Pedro than even from Antigua somehow. If you do leave from Antigua, you can book at the Black Cat Hostel for 260Q to El Tunco. The border crossing is a synch…didn’t even check our bags!

Staying – We shared a room with a friend at El Tunco Lodge, which cost $30 for the three of us and included a nice swimming pool, very clean room, private bathroom, and at night there is a security guard who opens the door with a monster machete. There are dorms there as well and we felt it was a better option than La Guitarra.

Eating – We have 2 big recommendations here. The first one is at a small stand around the corner and down the road about 5 minutes from where we stayed at. The bean and cheese pupusas were decent, but the ones with the chicken are a must! They’ll cost you about $.60 each. Another place we loved her is popular spot right next to El Tunco Lodge called Comedor La Esquina. The burritos are amazing and we never heard a complaint about any of the food here. Two huge burritos will run you about $2.50-$3.00.

Getting Around – El Tunco is a very small beach town easily walked within 10 minutes. If you need to make a run into a bigger town for any reason, you can catch a bus on the main road (5 min walk) for only $.25 to La Libertad. Some people had stories about how it wasn’t very nice at night, but Nate was there twice during the day and was completely fine. Also, if you’re in need of an ATM, there is only one and town and only accepts VISA…so if you have a Mastercard you should either load up before coming or plan on hitting up La Libertad. You can take the Coaster back to San Salvador for $1.50 and from there a cab for $6 to just about anywhere in the city. Our Tica bus from San Salvador to Managua ran us $30 each, pricey but worth it.