Over the winter holidays, we started thinking about destinations we could travel to during the girls’ spring break. We had heard from two different families that El Salvador was an underrated, beautiful destination. After about a 30-minute perusal of El Salvador on the internet, we were pretty set: El Salvador would be our next destination.
Our first introduction to El Salvador was late at night in the city of San Salvador. We landed at the San Salvador airport at around 9:00 PM, rented a car, and arrived at our AirBnB at 9:45 PM. We honestly loved the drive from the airport to our AirBnB. Although it was dark, the highway was illuminated by beautiful streetlights, the drive was easy, and our accommodations were great.
Day 1
Although we weren’t able to see San Salvador when we first arrived, the view the next morning did not disappoint….
After enjoying a stunning sunrise, we drove over to Denny’s for breakfast. Believe it or not, hitting up a Denny’s during our travels has been a semi-recent, semi-“let’s do this as a joke” development. Similar to seeing a McDonalds at generally every destination we visit (we just put eyes on one, we do not actually eat there), we’ve started to be on the lookout for a Denny’s and make a point to visit before we leave. The Denny’s in El Salvador honestly did not disappoint. It has a massive indoor kid’s playground, so the girls got to run around and play, and Austen and I got to have some time alone while we waited for our breakfast.
After Denny’s, we made our way over to Tin Marin which is a really fun, interactive children’s museum in San Salvador. By coincidence, a farm exhibition was taking place during our visit, mirroring the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that was in full swing back home. The girls were able to see different livestock from pigs to donkeys, before venturing over to other interactive exhibits including Aguacero, an interactive water play area that teaches how streams are redirected through channels and obstacles, and Ciudad de los Dientes, which contains a giant mouth and teaches kiddos about dental care.
After the children’s museum, we hopped back in our car and drove into the city with our sights set on the National Library of San Salvador. In front of the library is a large square and as in most squares, a ton of pigeons the girls could feed…and chase around.
After some energy was burned from pigeon-chasing, we went inside the library. To say this was one of the coolest libraries we’ve ever been to would be an understatement. Not only did this library span multiple floors, but it had themed areas (hello, Harry Potter!), an area to build Legos, and an area for sensory-awareness.
While in El Salvador, it is a rite of passage to partake in a meal of pupusas so after we spent a little of an hour in the library, we made our way over to Kuskatán. We were able to get 12 pupusas for less than $20. It was not only filling for lunch, but we also took about half of it back to the AirBnB and Austen and I ate it for breakfast the next morning.
Following the pupusas, we walked a few blocks over to Iglesia El Rosario, or the “rainbow church”. We can honestly say we had never seen any other church like it. As with most churches we come across throughout our travels, there was beautiful stained glass throughout. However, this stained glass is set up in a way that casts a rainbow throughout. It was absolutely stunning.
After visiting the rainbow church, we drove back to the AirBnB. While Austen and the girls raced each other in the pool, I (Kristen) spent the time enjoying the weather and the incredible views. To round out the evening, we ordered from Cadejo Brewing Company and had it delivered via Uber Eats.
Day 2
The following day, we ventured west to Playa Costa del Sol which we had read was a kid-friendly beach. What we ended up finding out when it was all said and done: there aren’t many “baby beach”-type beaches in El Salvador. El Salvador is a hot destination for surfers and we quickly understood why! Although we really enjoyed the hospitality, the waves at the beach were some of the biggest we had seen in our lives and the rip current was even worse. If we had to do it all over again, we probably would have visited one of the beaches popular to surfers like El Tunco so we could have at least gotten to see some of the awesome surfing we had heard about. Regardless of the situation, we all made the most of it.
For awareness, there is a restaurant at Playa Costa del Sol called Summer by Yesennia. You will see a ton of signs on your drive that market Yessenia’s. In our opinion, it was not worth the hype. The seafood was mediocre at best so bringing your own snacks to the Playa Costa del Sol would be our recommendation. You will get a credit for food/drinks when you purchase a ticket to the beach. Just use that credit on drinks.
After the beach, we drove back towards our AirBnB in San Salvador. During our drive, we saw a cow in the bed of a truck, as well as an entire herd being moved down the street. Two things the girls could say they had never seen before.
After arriving back at our AirBnB, we showered off and then walked about 10 minutes to Garage Burger. We don’t know if it’s because we were so unimpressed by our lunch earlier that day, or if it was because the food was just that good, but those burgers were some of the best we have had. The kid’s cheeseburger was salty and cheesy, the dulzona was perfection (hello, bacon jam!), and the chuca was mouthwatering with the caramelized onions.
Day 3
On day 3, we started our trek over to Lake Coatepeque. On our way there, we stopped at El Boquerón, which is a stratovolcano that overlooks San Salvador. During our hike, we were able to see incredible views of El Boquerón, or “the big mouth”, the large summit crater, and El Boqueroncito, or “the little big mouth” or “the little crater” that can be found inside. The “hiking” is a loose definition as it is mostly flat with some areas with stairs. It’s also a great National Park for kids as there is a playground on site. After some sightseeing, the girls spent about 15 minutes playing which also gave us adults some downtime to chat.
After visiting El Boquerón, we hopped back in the car and drove over to Parque Arqueológico Joya de Cerén, or the “Pompeii of the Americas”. We had absolutely no idea this archeological find or that a volcanic event of this magnitude occurred within the Americas. Maybe we’ve just been naive.
This was not only an incredible learning opportunity for us as adults, but this was an opportunity for us to explain to our girls the magnitude of volcanos and the destruction they can cause. Did you know during the discovery of this site, they found an ear of corn, preserved lattice on a housing structure, and a footprint!? We’re still in awe. We highly recommend adding this stop to your itinerary when visiting El Salvador!
The last major stop we made was to Parque Arqueológico San Andrés. Unfortunately, at this point of the trip, it was early afternoon and the sun was beaming down at a nice, stifling 95°F/35°C. The ruins are out in the open and so we quickly walked through, diverted to the onsite playground for about 15 minutes, and then left within the hour of arrival.
After working up an appetite, we stopped at Villa Italian right outside Congo. This small pizzeria was exactly what we, especially the girls, were looking for.
By the time we made it to our new AirBnB overlooking Lake Coatepeque, we were ready to just relax for the remainder of the evening. And boy, did that house allow us to not only relax, but gave us everything we could have wanted from a plunge pool to an air hockey table to stunning sunrises and sunsets directly from our bedroom. Oh, and did we mention a double rainbow?! Absolute perfection.
Day 4
The next day brought us to Cerro Verde National Park where we stopped at the Los Volcanes Bistro Café for breakfast. We highly recommend making this stop. Right outside the restaurant, you can climb trees that give you incredible views of the Izalco Volcano. Not only that, but there is a playground on site so while you’re waiting for your food, the kids can run off some of their energy.
While at Cerro Verde, you can either choose to hire a private guide or tour operator that will take you out to hike Santa Ana, or you can take one of the guided hikes directly outside of the restaurant. If you are a more adventurous hiker and you’re at Cerro Verde early in the morning, we recommend you find a private guide or tour operator. If you’re like us, get there later than planned and find that breakfast is taking much longer than you anticipated, or are just looking for a much simpler hike, the guided hike that runs about every 45 minutes to an hour right outside the restaurant is the hike for you.
After Cerro Verde, we drove about 45 minutes in an attempt to locate a waterfall and failed…miserably. We got caught down some really sketchy roads, one of which literally took us down a railroad track and another with large potholes that required a turnaround much like the one you see in Austin Powers. Although we weren’t able to find it, the time in the car allowed our girls to get a nap in while Austen and I got to see more of the country. It also allowed us to make our way over to the town of Santa Ana which we hadn’t originally planned on visiting. This visit brought us to the stunning Our Lady of Santa Ana Cathedral, which was a church with another square filled with pigeons our girls could chase…
Right outside the church, we stopped at Simmer Down for dinner. The food was nothing special, but convenient if you’re looking for a meal near the church. The lasagna bolognese cost $9.99 at the time of our visit and was exceptionally cheesy, while the steak was a whopping $14.99. After our meal, we stopped at the local grocery store for some snacks and drinks to bring back to the house. We walked away spending $12.27 for everything you see in the last picture below.
I wouldn’t be doing this post justice if I didn’t also call out the stunning sunset we experienced during our second evening at Lake Coatepeque. Night number one brought us a double rainbow, while night number two brought us this:
Day 5
What better way to spend our last full day in El Salvador than by going on a boat tour across Lake Coatepeque? Our AirBnB host recommended a tour guide, Jaime Martinez through Eclipse Tours. He introduced us to natural hot springs, as well as drove the boat around the Coatepeque Caldera to see the beautiful homes bordering the lake. The hot springs are volcano-fed and surrounded by rocks to break them up from the lake water. The closer you get to the land where the water originates from, the hotter it is. It was another incredible teaching moment for our girls. They could not believe the hot springs were coming from a volcano!
After the boat tour, we drove about 15 minutes to Restaurante Las Palmeras for lunch. Although we didn’t take advantage of it since we had just gotten through with a boat tour, you can take a tour directly from the restaurant. When we were done with our meal, the girls jumped in the pool directly in front of the restaurant before we decided to head back to our AirBnB.
Later that evening, we arranged for a private cook through our AirBnB host. After several more hours in the pool, the team arrived and made a delicious meal of steak, lobster, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. It was the perfect last meal in this beautiful country
Travel Tips
If you are planning on visiting El Salvador, it’s generally recommended not to drink tap water (same with brushing your teeth, being mindful while showering, swimming in pools, etc.) unless you’re certain it’s been properly treated. Bottled water is available everywhere, and many of the hotels and restaurants we visited did provide purified or filtered water. We recommend taking probiotics prior to your trip, and if you have one available, a LifeStraw which we’ve recommended as a travel essential before. This should not deter you from visiting this beautiful country.
Overall feelings about El Salvador
We loved El Salvador but there are several things we would have done differently if we did it all over again:
- Visited El Tunco instead of Costa Playa del Sol
- Arrived at Cerro Verde earlier so we could hike the Santa Ana Volcano
- Spent more time in Lake Coatepeque
- Been a little more cautious about the foods we were eating, and the pools we were swimming in. Unfortunately, all of us walked away with stomach issues and didn’t fully recover until several days after returning back to the States
However, there are also things that exceeded our expectations:
- The Salvadorian hospitality
- The beautiful country, especially the volcanos, mountains, and Lake Coatepeque
- National Library of San Salvador
- Iglesia El Rosario
- Parque Arqueológico Joya de Cerén
- Parque Arqueológico San Andrés
- Our AirBnB at Lake Coatepeque
- The Lake Coatepeque boat tour with Jaime Martinez, especially the hot springs
Would we visit El Salvador again? Absolutely! Would we recommend you visit with your young family? 1000% yes!
Have you gotten the opportunity to visit this beautiful country? If so, we would love to hear about it. Drop a note in the comments. If you haven’t, we really hope you get the opportunity to and can’t wait to hear all about it!
Oliver Family Adventures 
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