El Tunco Beach, El Salvador

El Tunco Beach

 El Tunco beach is located in El Savador. We hadn’t planned  on visiting it until later, but it turns out that bus connections are very complicated between Copan and Rio Dulce. So we scrapped our plans to visit Guatemala’s Caribbean coast and decided to hop a shuttle to El Salvador instead. The journey took about seven hours and we were lucky to only share our spacious van with two other people. It was a beautiful trip and completely hassle-free…with the exception of being harassed by Guatemalan police. 


They stopped us after we crossed the border and demanded to check our passports; claiming we didn’t have the correct documentation. We’d only been given a temporary transit visa (valid 3 days) to visit Copan, which the immigration officer had reclaimed when we’d passed through the checkpoint. We went back to speak with him and found out that the police have absolutely no authority to view our passports or detain us – they’d simply been throwing their weight around out of boredom/in hopes of a bribe. 

Otherwise the ride was pleasant. The Guatemala-El Salvador border crossing was a breeze and I instantly noticed differences between the two countries. People in El Salvador were taller, the highways wider, the countryside devoted to larger-scale farms.  We passed through San Salvador at dusk...it looked much more polished than its  rather poor reputation would suggest.

Arrived in El Tunco around 9 pm and had some difficulty finding a hotel. Finally settled on El Tunco Lodge – a bit tacky with its giant Tiki figures and thatched roof cabanas, but also close to the beach and comfortable with a wonderful pool, hammocks, and communal kitchen.

Tienda, El Tunco

Though only 45 minutes from the capital of San Salvador the tiny beach community was incredibly tranquil. Only on the weekend did it fill up with thumping music and raucous crowds of city-dwellers looking for a good time.  The beach, along with several others up and down the coast, is famous for surfing. Our neighbor in Antigua, who is from Australia and quite serious about the sport, gave the area a good report. We only body - boarded, which wasn’t ideal. The waves broke quite close to the shore and the current made it somewhat difficult to paddle out (a challenge not exactly helped by ill-fitting rental fins). Regardless, it was a great place to swim; there were some lovely sunsets, a laid-back atmosphere, and an excellent variety of cheap food. We mostly gorged on fish tacos (four tacos + beer = USD $5) and papuses (comprised of beans and cheese grilled inside a tortilla, USD $.50 each). 

El Tunco at dusk

 There’s not much else to say about our stay in El Tunco. We swam, we ate, we drank coffee on the deck of Dale Dale Café overlooking the mangroves. It was a true vacation.

FISH TACOS!!! Cost: $4. Taste: Priceless.

Last Papusa stop at the El Salvador - Guatemala border