Last Updated: January 20, 2022
The Best Beaches in El Salvador
El Salvador is the only country in Central America without a Caribbean coastline but to be honest, it doesn’t need it. The western coast of El Salvador is blessed with some of my favorite beaches in the world and some of the best in Central America.
Whether you love surfing, horseback riding, kayaking, SUP-ing or just relaxing on a beautiful beach with Volcanic peaks and palm trees in the background swimming in the Pacific Ocean, the El Salvador beaches are a great place to hang out.
Blessed with warm weather and warm waters all year round, El Salvador is a great destination for a beach holiday. Join me as we take a look at the best beaches in El Salvador so you can spend your valuable vacation time in the perfect spot for you.
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La Costa del Sol
La Costa Del Sol is one of the best beaches in El Salvador if you’re looking to stay in a tourism area with lots to do. The beach town of Costa Del Sol is located less than an hour from the international airport in El Salvador’s capital city San Salvador, you can be relaxing on the beach of Costa Del Sol in no time after getting off your flight.
You’ll find vacation rentals, a luxury resort, local restaurants serving fresh fish, hotels, and resorts all right on the beach. There are even hostels for backpackers traveling on a budget too.
La Costa Del Sol is one of the most popular beaches in El Salvador with both tourists and locals. It’s also one of the most visited beaches during the Holy Week, Christmas, and summer holidays, so avoid those times if you want this nice beach with fewer crowds.
There are more beaches to check out in the La Costa Del Sol beach town area including San Marcelino, and Los Blancos.
Playa El Tunco
Image courtesy of Wikimedia
El Tunco Beach sits in the La Libertad region and is one of the best beaches in El Salvador for surfing. The surf breaks off El Tunco beach can be quite intense, so it’s not the best surf beach to learn how to surfer, but if you’re an experienced surfer, you’ll have a lot of fun on the waves at El Tunco.
As well as being an awesome surfing spot, El Tunco is also famous for its series of caves which are accessible at low tide, magical sunsets, wild El Tunco nightlife at the local bars, and being a hot spot for budget travelers.
If you’re not a surfer and looking for a shoreline to relax on and enjoy swimming in the ocean, El Tunco probably isn’t the place for you.
La Libertad
Another of the top El Salvador beaches is La Libertad, just outside of La Libertad city. It’s a famous beach with locals as it’s easy to get since La Libertad is connected to San Salvador via large main roads meaning weekends see a large influx of people.
There are lots of popular activities to do around La Libertad black sand beach including visiting the pier, port, fish market, and stopping at seafood restaurants along the shore.
One of the top activities in La Libertad is surfing and the waves at La Libertad are famous with international surfers around the globe. You’ll find gentle waves in the dry season with many surf lodges willing to teach you how to surf if you want to learn.
Playa El Cuco
Image courtesy of Wikimedia
Playa El Cuco is a black sand beach on the eastern Pacific coast of the country and is one of the top beaches in El Salvador to visit if you like to relax, enjoy a swim, and surf on chilled waves.
Located just near the city of San Miguel, Playa El Cuco would be a lot busier if it was easier to get to, meaning you’ll be one of few foreigners on El Cuco beach and enjoying it with locals.
With golden sand, a gentle sea, and loads of space, you’ll be able to enjoy the long stretch of El Cuco beach without any worries. There are vendor huts and restaurants running along the beach plus accommodations including hotels, oceanfront villas, and affordable guesthouses.
Playa Las Flores
Playa Las Flores is right next to El Cuco beach, literally around the corner of a headland, and you can walk to Playa Las Flores from El Cuco at low tide. Playa Las Flores is a little different though as it’s located right next to a point that creates amazing waves that surfers can not get enough of. It is a favorite spot for local surfers from the surrounding area and San Miguel.
The small bay around Las Flores beach is also rather beautiful as it’s surrounded by palm trees and jungle, making it quite picturesque. The beach is lined with many surfing lodges that are great to stay at and serve up some great drinks and lovely food. You can also book surfing lessons there and try it out if you like.
Playa Los Cobanos
Playa Los Cobanos is one of the western beaches of El Salvador and you’ll find it in the regions of Sonsonate. This is the perfect beach to head to if surfing isn’t your thing but everything else beachy is.
Sitting just offshore of Playa Los Cobanos is a huge coral reel that runs for almost 100 miles and is the longest coral reef on the Pacific side of Central America. If you love deep and shallow scuba diving, this is the beach you should go to, and scuba divers come every year to experience the amazing marine life.
The sand on this beach is golden, the ocean is calm for swimming, the snorkeling is excellent, you can kayak inside the reef, it’s the perfect place to explore the ocean on a boat looking for whales and dolphins, and the deep-sea fishing is great too.
Playa San Diego
Image courtesy of Wikimedia
Probably the best beach in El Salvador for living a “real beach life” on is the white sand beach of Playa San Diego. Playa San Diego sits on the La Libertad part of the El Salvador coastline and it’s a wide beach with long stretches that are perfect for long walks, sunbathing, and the sea is calm for swimming too.
While Playa San Diego has easy access for everyone, it’s usually not crowded at all, meaning you can find a little of El Salvador’s coast all to yourself for the day. The shore is lined with accommodations and upscale beach homes, so you can stay right on this beach if you’d like.
Playa El Zonte
Playa El Zonte is a crescent-shaped beach with black sand in the La Libertad region that is very popular with surfers. The waves are always good and the surfing is more relaxed as there are far fewer surfers looking for a wave in comparison to the likes of other beaches like Playa El Tunco.
The vibe around El Zonte is also very chilled and is one of the top El Salvador beaches for travelers looking for affordable accommodation while staying on a calm pretty beach with mellow surf.
Playa El Espino
Playa El Espino is another amazing beach in eastern El Salvador close to San Miguel. It’s not the easiest beach to get to as the roads aren’t great but once you’re there the wards are worth it.
This beach stretches for over 10 kilometers and is one of the longest in El Salvador. The sand is golden, the beach is empty, the sea is calm enough for swimming and great for a mellow surf too.
Next to the beach is a series of mangrove systems in the jaltepeque estuary with mangrove tunnels you can kayak through while bird watching and fishing, and there is lots more to explore too.
Playa El Sunzal
Image courtesy of Wikimedia
Playa El Sunzal is a very famous surf spot and it hosted the 2021 ISA world championship games. The wave at Playa El Sunzal wraps around a point and can hold big swells of over 10 feet making it a great place to catch a barrel or two if you know how.
You’ll find Playa El Sunzal in the La Libertad region and close by to other El Salvador beaches such as El Tunco. There are numerous restaurants and hotels serving up craft cocktails and good food nearby the beach for visitors to hang out at and the sunset is great.
But it’s not the best beach to be at unless you surf as the ocean is pretty gnarly so a swim or snorkeling is out of the question.
Jiquilisco Bay
More of a wetland than a beach, Jiquilisco Bay is a place that nature-lovers will never want to leave. Made up of vast waterways and rocky mangrove islands, the wetlands are home to more than 90 different bird species, monkeys, and other mammals, plus 4 species of turtles.
The best place to head to in order to see this magical place is Puerto El Triunfo where you can organize boat tours around the area to see the amazing wildlife. You can also go to Puerto Barillas where you’ll find a resort that organizes tours around the area as well as sport fishing and more.
Make sure to stop at Isla Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit Island) as it’s an interesting place where you can see organic coconut oil production.
Isla de Tasajera
Image courtesy of Erik Cleves Kristensen
If you really want to relax and get a break from, well, everything, then the beach at Isla de Tasajera is the place for you. Cut off by a river from the busy Costa Del Sol, or sun coast, this mangrove island is formed by an estuary and features a beach with nothing on it but sand and driftwood plus a small town on the freshwater side.
Probably the most uncrowded beach in El Salvador, this is where visitors come to lie in a hammock, read books, swim, watch the sunset, and forget about the rest of the world. There is no wifi on the island, just a couple of shops in town, a restaurant or two, and very few accommodations.
Punta Roca
Punta Roca is another beach in El Salvador that is famous for surfing and you’ll find it right next to La Libertad beach on the other side of the pier. It’s a favorite local spot with many visitors coming on the weekends from San Salvador.
On your visit, you can walk down the long sandy stretches, watch the surfers, visit shops in town, and even join in on a game of beach soccer if the locals let you.
You’ll find lots of other things to do in town too plus there are some lovely places to eat that overlook the waves so you can watch the surfers catch waves while sampling delicious food.
Playa El Majahual
Playa El Majahual is a long beach in La Libertad and one of the busiest beaches in the country. Locals love to come to El Majahual beach as the accommodation around it is very affordable and it’s one of the easiest spots to get to from El Salvador’s capital, San Salvador. If you plan to visit Playa El Majahual, avoid the weekends and you’ll find the beach is a lot quieter.
The shore is dotted with many restaurants, bars, and places to stay and you’ll find that it’s the perfect place to spend the day eating, drinking, tanning, and having a few swims to cool down.
Playa Mizata
Playa Mizata is another great surf beach on El Salvador’s western coast. It’s a little more off the beaten track in the country and therefore you’ll have a more chilled-out visit and the natural surroundings of the beach are pretty spectacular too.
This is a great beach in El Salvador to head to if you’re looking to unwind away from crowds whether you surf or not. You’ll find plenty to do in the area, the beach is lovely for swimming, and the neighborhood is very mellow.&
About the Author Roger Timbrook
Roger is a little obsessed with travel. He has been to over 40 countries, broken 3 suitcases and owned over 10 backpacks in 12 months. What he doesn't know about travel, ain't worth knowing!
