from Henning
Henning lived for several years in El Salvador, working as a teacher. He is Co-Founder of the SAY ZONTE! project. Writing for this blog is his way to give s.th. back to “el pulgarcito.”
Suchitoto: a hiddem gem in El Salvador
There’s no country in Central America without a typical colonial town. In El Salvador, it’s “Suchitoto”.
About a two-hour drive away from El Zonte, Suchitoto is worth a trip for a few days if you want to get away from the beach.
El Salvador‘s colonial town is not as big as Antigua Guatemala, for example, but actually, that’s what I like about it.
Read more to get an impression of what Suchitoto is all about and to get some useful travel tips!
What are the best things to do?
Hordes of tourists won’t surround you here. With its cobblestone streets and colorful houses, the iconic church, and the lake “Suchitlán”, Suchitoto is a perfect “stop-over” on your way to the world heritage site of “Copan” in Honduras, for example.
Suchitoto is a paradise for bird watchers and photographers. You can make boat trips on the lake and hire a guide to show you the best places around.
Also, close to Suchitoto, there is an imposing waterfall (“Cascada Los Tercios”). During dry season sometimes there no or little water, but then you can see the unusual rock formation with hexagonal, column structure of its rocks.
The waterfall “Los Tercios” runs out of water during dry season sometimes, but the hexagonal rock formations a pretty unique and worth a trip!
Besides that, Suchitoto is a pretty quiet town with a couple of cafés but a wide selection of hostels and hotels. Try Casa 1800, the “rocking chair” on the top of their terrace is one of the most “instagrammable” places in El Salvador.
Also, there’s a recommendable tour operator that offers a large variety of one or multi-day trips all over El Salvador. Try “Salvadorean Tours“! The “Volcano “Santa Ana”, for example, is something that you shouldn’t miss when you’re in El Salvador.
How to get to Suchitoto?
There’s cheap public transport from El Tunco and San Salvador to Suchitoto. Please check this excellent website: Centrocoasting!
Nevertheless, it’s quite a hassle to do so, and if you don’t have that much time, a private shuttle would be the better option probably. Again, Salvadorean Tours would be an option to get there from Playa El Tunco or El Zonte.
Another option would be a rental car. Please read more here, to get some useful tips how to get from A to B in El Salvador.
Where should I stay?
There’re several budget options in Suchitoto, starting at about US$20 per night. The Hotels can get a bit pricy, especially during public holidays. So be sure to have a reservation before you arrive. Depending on your budget, there’s a large variety of accommodation options.
For the most expensive ones you can easily spend more than a US$100 per night. But it’s definetely possible to find something cheaper.
The best thing to do in Suchitoto
It sounds weird, but: Try to do nothing! Sit around in a small café and watch the scenery, try to talk to some local people and take your camera if you want. Sometimes traveling can be stressful if you’re going to see as many places as possible in a short amount of time.
Stroll around and see if something will come up to you. In general, Suchitoto is safe for tourists, but you should accept the usual safety advice (click here).
I like taking pictures; Suchitoto is definitely a perfect place for it!
