As mentioned in my previous blog post about hiking the Santa Ana Volcano in El Salvador , my two-week visit to El Salvador felt quite safe, despite everything I had been told about the country.

El Tunco in particular is a lovely tourist area, with travelers from around the world. Lots of places to get surf lessons, and a beautiful black sand beach. I took the local bus from Santa Ana to El Tunco and stayed at a hostel just meters from the beach.

I decided that would be my last hostel experience on a work day, as it was just very difficult to be moving my work setup and locking up my valuables throughout the day. However, it was a very affordable way to see the area.

What to do at El Tunco Beach

I loved getting up early to see the sunrise on the beach and do a meditation or yoga or workout. After work, I’d catch the sunset on the beach and then get dinner at a restaurant and relax.

I would have loved to take surfing lessons there, but unfortunately, I wasn’t watching where I was walking and stepped in a pothole the wrong way, which left my ankle out of commission for a few weeks.

There are some great hiking trails nearby, and of course, lots of nearby beaches, that the locals were quick to tell me were the best.

El Tunco was great to catch the sunrise and sunset, as well as walk in the waves, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a full day as there is no shade!

What did I eat in El Salvador?

While there, I ate a lot of the typical Salvadoran breakfast (scrambled eggs, beans, fried plantains, rolls, and crema) and some other tasty meals too, including a ton of pupusas, which is a thick griddlecake or flatbread made with cornmeal or rice flour, similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan arepa! My favorite pupusas are beans and cheese. Yum. It was a nice destination to unwind.

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