| 💰 Trip Cost | Very Affordable |
|---|---|
| 💵 Typical Budget | $40-$130/day |
| 🍀 My Budget | $59/day |
| ✈️ Trip Total | $416 |
| 🗓️ Trip Length | 1 week |
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Is El Salvador Affordable To Travel To?
El Salvador is a very affordable destination worldwide, but it’s not considered one of the cheapest countries to visit in Central or Latin America.
- Due to the country’s recent violent history, El Salvador lacks mass tourism compared to some of its neighbors. The low number of visitors and high number of affordable activities keep costs down.
- The country has incredibly cheap modes of transportation (local buses are a popular budget way to get around), and the country is small, so you don’t have to travel far.
- Local food is also very cheap – pupusas are a staple and typically cost less than $2 each.
For comparison, here’s my daily budget for destinations in Central and South America:
| Country | My Budget |
|---|---|
| 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | $235 |
| 🇧🇿 Belize | $186 |
| 🇵🇪 Peru | $144 |
| 🇸🇻 El Salvador | $59 |
| 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | $59 |
See all my daily budgets.
About My Trip
To give context to the expenses below, here’s what you need to know about my trip:
- I spent over 2 weeks in El Salvador, but for this cost breakdown, I only include costs for 1 week when I was traveling like a tourist (and not a nomad). I visited San Salvador, Santa Ana (including Ruta de Las Flores), and El Tunco.
- My trip was in November, during the start of the high season, when things are more expensive.
- I traveled with another person, which allowed us to split costs like housing.
- For this trip, I was between a budget and mid-range budget traveler.
- I finance my trips and don’t receive sponsorship.
- All expenses are per person and in US dollars, which is El Salvador’s official currency.
Total Cost
- $681
- $416
- $59
A mid-range budget traveler can expect to spend about $120 per day in El Salvador. This budget generally means:
- Staying at accommodations that cost about $60 per night
- Eating at $ to $$ restaurants that cost less than $30 per day
- Getting around via shuttles, Uber, and local buses
- Booking group tours and classes for top attractions and activities
Budget Breakdown
Here’s a breakdown of my expenses by travel category:
| Category | Cost | % of Total | Daily Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✈️ Flights | $265 | 39% | – |
| 🏠 Accommodation | $96 | 14% | $14 |
| 🍛 Food | $122 | 18% | $17 |
| 🚗 Transportation | $36 | 5% | $5 |
| ⭐ Entertainment | $162 | 24% | $23 |
| Total | $681 | 100% | $59 |
Flight Cost
- $35 (this is not a flight; I typically fly to destinations, but for this trip, I booked a shared shuttle from Guatemala to El Salvador)
- $218 (from El Salvador to the east coast of the US)
A round-trip flight between the US and El Salvador costing under $300 is considered cheap, as international flights typically cost over $350.
Accommodation Cost
- $96
- $14
The accommodations I stayed at:
| Accommodation | Total Cost | Cost/Night |
|---|---|---|
| San Salvador Airbnb | $16 | $16 |
| Santa Ana Airbnb | $24 | $12 |
| Ruta de Las Flores Airbnb | $23 | $23 |
| El Tunco Airbnb | $34 | $17 |
My accommodation budgeting tips:
- The cheapest options start at $15 a night – Shared-room hostels in some areas start at $15. However, finding cheap accommodations in places like San Salvador and El Tunco is hard.
- Stay outside central locations – I always stayed a 10- to 30-minute walking distance away from central locations. I found it helps reduce my accommodation costs significantly. For example:
- El Tunco – The most expensive places, which can easily cost $100+ a night, are right on the beach. I stayed a 10-minute walk from the beach.
- San Salvador – Most visitors stay within the historic center area, which usually starts at $50 per night. I stayed 30 minutes outside of it and took $3 Uber rides to get to the downtown area.
- Santa Ana – Santa Ana has more hostel options, so it’s generally cheaper. Accommodations in the central area will start at $50, and one of the most well-rated hostels that some of my friends rave about starts at $25.
- Forgo hot showers – El Salvador is a destination where hot water is not super common, so you can save $5 to $15 a night by taking cold showers.
- Stay at Airbnbs – I found that Airbnbs, especially ones where you can book just a room and have shared common areas, are much more affordable than hotels in El Salvador.
Food Cost
- $122
- $17
My most affordable meals:
| Meal | Location | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Chilate, nuegados, yuca frita | Chilate bocaditos tipicos de occidentes (Santa Ana) | $2 |
| Pupusas | Agua Marina (El Tunco) | $3 |
| Typical chicken rice plate | Local Food Stand (San Salvador) | $3 |
My most expensive meals:
| Meal | Location | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistani meal & appetizer | Palilo (San Salvador) | $15 |
| Falafel entree | Jungle (El Tunco) | $10 |
| Typical chicken rice plate | San Jose Restaurant (Juayua) | $9 |
My food budgeting tips:
- Eat pupusas as much as you can – Pupusas, which are cornmeal cakes stuffed with various ingredients and cheese, are El Salvador’s national dish and typically cost $0.50-$1.50 each. An average person can eat 2-4 pupusas per meal. You’ll find pupuserias (places that sell them) at almost every corner.
- Find local food stalls – If you don’t mind eating outside at a park or next to the street, you can eat at food stalls for as little as $3 a meal in many places in El Salvador. Some of my favorite meals were at a random stall next to my Airbnb in San Salvador, where I was the only tourist.
Transportation Cost
- $36
- $5
The transportation I used:
| Transportation | Total Cost | Cost/Ride |
|---|---|---|
| Uber | $25 | $1.22 |
| Local bus | $11 | $3 |
My transportation budgeting tips:
- The local bus is very cheap – I found taking local buses in El Salvador to be more pleasant than in other Central American countries. Some nicer buses, like the Tudo bus that runs between Santa Ana and San Salvador, cost a bit over a dollar. Ruta de Las Flores, a popular tourist route near Santa Ana, is also very doable via bus.
Another great thing about local buses in El Salvador is that buses have a sign that states their prices, so locals and tourists can pay the same amount (this is not true in neighboring Nicaragua and Guatemala).
- Uber is affordable – Uber is available in many areas in El Salvador and is inexpensive for short- and medium-distance travel. I booked one of my Uber drivers for four different rides by coordinating with him through WhatsApp.
Entertainment Cost
- $162
- $23
The activities/attractions I did:
| Experience | Location | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 💧 7 Cascadas Hike | Ruta de Las Flores | $10 |
| 🌋 Santa Ana Volcano (Ilamatepec) | Santa Ana | $6 |
| 🌈 Café Albania | Ruta de Las Flores | $10 |
| 🍗 Juayua Gastronomic Festival | Ruta de Las Flores | $12 |
| 🏄♀️ El Tunco Surfing Lessons | El Tunco | $95 |
| ⚽ Cuscatlan Stadium Soccer Game | San Salvador | $9 |
| 📚 National Library of El Salvador | San Salvador | Free |
| 🌅 La Puerta del Diablo | San Salvador | $3 |
| 🚶♀️ Historic Center Walking Tour | San Salvador | $10 |
| 🚶♀️ Centro Walking Tour | Santa Ana | $8 |
My entertainment budgeting tips:
- Visit natural attractions – El Salvador has a nascent tourism industry, so many natural attractions (e.g., volcanoes, beaches, parks) are free or have a very low entry fee (many are less than $5).
- Skip the tours and take the local bus – As mentioned, taking the local bus is an affordable way to get around the country. The cost of many attractions can be cut by more than half this way. For example, tours that take you around Ruta de Las Flores typically cost $50+, but taking the bus is less than $1 per ride.
- Take tip-based walking tours – El Salvador is in an interesting transitional period with President Bukele, so go on tip-based walking tours to learn about the changes happening.
Cost Breakdown by Destination
Below are my trip expense breakdowns for the places I visited during my trip.
San Salvador
- 1 day
- $81
- $81
San Salvador is a mixed bag in terms of affordability for El Salvador. The city lacks a developed tourism infrastructure, so it lacks cheap accommodations such as hostels. However, because it’s a local place, food and attractions (e.g., soccer games) are relatively cheap.
Santa Ana
- 3 days
- $139
- $46
Santa Ana is one of the more affordable and popular tourist cities in El Salvador. It offers several hostels in the central area and acts as a gateway to several cheap attractions, including Ruta de Las Flores and Santa Ana Volcano.
El Tunco
- 3 days
- $196
- $65
El Tunco is one of the most expensive and popular destinations in El Salvador. The beach town caters to tourists and has many nice cafes and bars. Cheap accommodations and food (besides pupusas) are hard to find in the area.
Do You Need Cash?
- El Salvador’s economy heavily relies on cash transactions, so make sure to bring cash.
My tips on using cash:
- USD is the primary currency that’s used in El Salvador. The country also adopted Bitcoin as its official currency in 2021, but the cryptocurrency is not widely used.
- Carry $40-$60 worth of cash per day. I spent $224 ($32 per day) in cash during 1 week of my trip. Of the 68 payments I made, 53% were done using cash because places were either cash-only or had a 5% upcharge for using a card.
- Tipping is optional in El Salvador (it’s appreciated but not obligatory).
I found that one of the best ATMs to use in El Salvador is Banco Hipotecario. It has no ATM fees for Visa cards.
