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Best Surf Spots in El Salvador

By Jaime Jacques

The rumors are true. El Salvador is a warm-water, right point haven with enough waves to keep everyone happy. The surf season here is March to October and coincides with the rainy season, when swells coming from the south can reach up to three meters high. For novices and experts alike, here are the best surf spots in El Salvador.

Waves roll in to Playa Las Flores, El Salvador. Photo © Jorge Lazo, licensed Creative Commons Attribution.

The most popular surf spots are in the west. La Libertad, Playa El Tunco, Playa El Sunzal, and Playa El Zonte attract many visitors; but if you are up for exploring, there are less publicized, hidden gems to be found all along the west coast. Fortunately, these are close enough to each other that you can easily bounce around between them, all in a day’s surf. Most hotels provide transportation to and from the best surf spots, or if you are on a budget, it’s easy to hop on the bus with your board and travel between beaches. However you choose to get there, the next wave is never more than half an hour away.

The ultimate waves in El Salvador are Punta Roca in the west, and Las Flores and Punta Mango in the east.

  • Some say Punta Roca is one of the best waves in Central America; some say it is the best. Either way, a serious surf trip to El Salvador is not complete without at least one visit to this famously fast, hollow right point break located in La Libertad.
  • In the east, five minutes west by car from the fishing village of El Cuco, you will find Playa Las Flores, the gorgeous sandy beach with a very long, consistent right point break.
  • Punta Mango is 15 minutes west of Las Flores, only accessible by boat or a 4WD vehicle; and don’t get your hopes up, there are no mangoes in sight—it was named this because of the nearby beach called Playa Mango. This powerful right point break is best left to the experts, even when it’s small, due to strong currents and shallow inside rocks.
Surfing at El Zonte. Photo © René Mayorga, licensed Creative Commons Attribution.

If you are still learning, there are plenty of other waves to keep you busy:

  • La Bocana in El Tunco is a local favorite for its left break created out of a wide river mouth.
  • Playa El Sunzal is known for its consistency and quality, and is probably the best place to learn how to surf, but also has a fast right beach break that experienced surfers love. Easy access means it can get crowded.
  • Playa El Zonte is the best place to learn how to stand up on a surfboard, because of its abundance of white water, but intermediate and experienced surfers will also enjoy Zonte’s short but fun right-hander, set in a cute little cove with gorgeous views.

Whatever wave you find yourself riding, the surf’s always up in El Salvador.

Northern and Eastern El Salvador

Jaime Jacques

About the Author

Jaime Jacques has been fulfilling her passion for travel ever since she traveled to India as a two-year-old to meet her dad's side of the family. Frequent family travel soon had her mesmerized by the sights, sounds, and smells of other cultures. After earning a bachelor of science from Dalhousie University in her hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, she set out on her first backpacking trip through Asia. She returned to Canada to complete a postgraduate degree in magazine journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto. She later lived and worked in Cambodia, Bulgaria, Ghana, and Sudan before deciding it was time for something new.

In 2011, Jaime dusted off her backpack and headed off on her first Central American adventure. She spent a year and a half exploring before ending up in El Salvador, which captured her heart with its striking landscape and altruistic people. She has since traveled throughout this small but diverse country by bus, bike, car, and on foot, encountering random acts of kindness in every corner. Jaime spends her time hiking through El Salvador's beautiful cloud forests and climbing its volcanoes, exploring San Salvador's romantic historic center, and indulging in national dishes and drinks-especially pupusas and horchata.

Jaime's work has appeared in The Cambodia Daily, The Sofia Echo, The Ghanaian Chronicle, New Internationalist, Adbusters, and Spacing. She currently splits her time between El Salvador and Canada.

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