1. Beach camp near El Zonte (Thomas’place)
N13.49368 W89.42276
FREE but eat at Thomas’ restaurant both evenings
Toilet at the restaurant.
At the end of the street there’s the beach. We asked permission from the locals and one of them, Thomas kindly offered to park up in front of his restaurant/backpackers place on the beach. Drove through a pond to get to the sandy bit of the beach and once there it was a great spot with curious, friendly people.
Stayed 2 night here in January 2014, hot days warm nights.
2. Beach camp near El Cuco
N13.17104 W88.06757
$5 /vehicle /night
Toilet/shower (internet at a nearby hotel -Tortuga, you have to by a dongle and pay by hour. As this is the only internet option, when it is busy they run out of dongles. We couldn’t manage to get one)
There’s a more popular campsite just 20m from this coordinates but it was too crowded so we decided to park up on the beach with palapas by a restaurant instead -right at the very end of the road. With the breeze and the shade of the palapa the first day was nice. The place has good potentials but was shame about the endless rubbish and the smell of the rubbish-burning that eventually drove us away after 2 nights.
Stayed here for 2 nights, very hot days and very hot nights.
3. La Posada de Don Manuel, car park.
N13.95357 W88.15819
$2.50 /vehicle /night (negotiated from $5/vehicle)
Toilet and shower in the restaurant and high speed wifi as a bonus.
Parking at the small parking lot of this little family-run hotel. There’s a museum in town which has another opportunity for overnight parking but no wifi so that made the decision. (In El Salvador we found difficult to get internet) It is also pretty quiet and chilled place. The family has 2 small children who are very keen to play and entertain you.
Stayed here 2 nights in January 2014, Hot days, pleasantly chilly evenings/ mornings.
4. Eco turistico camp with swimming pools (ONE OF OUR FAVOURITES)
N13.92438 W88.13573
$3/ person (it is $5/person normally)
Toilet, shower, restaurant/cafe on spot. Swimming pools. Also there are a couple of short hikes up to a view point and down to a little river with waterfall, also if interested to visit the museum in Perquin, it is walking distance. As it is only a few km below Perquin. Very nice place with coffee plantation and endless fruit trees. Parking on a green flat are with or without shade. Weekends can be busy but nights are very quiet.
Stayed here 2 nights in January 2014, hot days, pleasant chilly evenings and mornings
5. Boondock by river (El Sapo)
N13.92592 W88.10098
FREE, no facilities
Lovely spot, there are a few spots actually along the river. Knock yourself out. We were visited friendly people who welcomed us and said that we choose a good place, it is safe and enjoy. Stayed 1 night in January 2014, hot day and pleasantly chilly evening/morning.
A COUPLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS: (we didn’t stay at these places but looked very nice in the same area as the three above)
Campsite by the same river (El Sapo)
N13.92940 W88.10048
$2/person + $2/vehicle
This official campsite is located at the end of the road that leads by the river. It seemed to be a nice spot with easy access to the river for swim, with picnic tables and toilet. We didn’t take it as were spoilt by boon docking choices by the river on our way.
Campsite near hills
N13.93096 W88.11085
Couldn’t check price but undoubtedly you can negotiate a fair amount/ night. Possibly toilets, but couldn’t check.
This was a nice looking campsite surrounded by hills. This is more for hiking. There’s a trailhead to the river from here.
6. Rescue camp by road opposite hotel
N13.62708 W88.26543
FREE, asked permission at the petrol station next door. We filled up with fuel though.
Parking on a large dirt area. Reasonably quiet night though very hot and airless. Needed a spot as was getting late in the day after hunting for parts in San Miguel.
Stayed 1 night in January 2014, very hot day, very hot night.
*no photo taken
7. Camp in village, next to school
N14.11167 W88.85964
FREE, asked permission at a lady who lives in front of school.
No facilities. Parking on large dirt area. We tucked ourselves away at the back and felt very private and safe. When we were there it was very windy so left in the morning otherwise would’ve stayed an extra day and worked on the truck as it felt a nice easy-going place.
Stayed here 1 night in January 2014, hot days and pleasantly chilly evenings/mornings (Also very windy when we were here)
*no photo taken
8. La Montaňona, football pitch in village.
N14.12690 W88.91829
FREE, asked permission in village.
No facilities. Parking on the football pitch. Super remote village with very friendly people and relaxed atmosphere. There are a few interesting post-war things to see and lots of hiking opportunities. You can get Cesar who can guide you for hikes. There’s also a nice little camp area above the village with pine trees but we could get through by one tree’s low branches. Stayed here 3 nights in January 2014, warm days and chilly nights/mornings.
9. Lake boondock
N14.07102 W89.08971
FREE, asked permission in village
No facilities. Parking right by the lake wherever we wanted. Really pretty spot but absolutely full of small bugs day and night when we were there. Stayed 1 night in January 2014 hot day, pleasant evening.
10. La Palma Hotel in La Palma
N14.31508 W89.16805
$8 with electricity (needed some negotiation from $10)
Toilet/hot shower. Water can be arranged too. WIFI
Parking in the hotel’s car park -small but we could fit in. There’s a restaurant in the hotel but a bit pricey. The town is nice with groceries, market and more wifi opportunities.
Stayed 1 night in January 2014, pleasantly chilly days and chilly evening.
*no photo taken
Reading your post I was able to better understand what we are missing in El Salvador to provide a better space and time to many tourists who are willing to visit our country. For the last four years I have been willing and working to improve our tourist environment in the oriental part of El Salvador, which has so many attractive places to visit. Along with a few friends, I have began taking some actions to improve our tourist environment in El Cuco, San Miguel area and hope that in around one month we’ll have a motor home camping ground functioning beside the already existing Majague Surf Camp, https://www.facebook.com/El-Majague-Surf-Camp-329901570537047/ . This quiet and beautiful tourist development is located just three kilometers west of El Cuco and forms part of Hacienda El Toro de Oro, an hacienda with three private well known beaches, La Vaca, El Toro and El Torito. Our location is just between two internationally well recognized surfing point, Las Flores point (at one kilometer) and Punta Mango point (at 3 kilometers).
Interested tourists can contact us by:
E-mail and telephone:
mercymission@hotmail.com
503-7494-1517
orlymaz@aol.com
503-7537-0772