El Salvador

Dwarfed by its Central American neighbors and saddled with a somewhat sketchy reputation—partly the legacy of its long-running civil war, which engulfed the country in the latter decades of the 20th century—El Salvador also claims a steadily growing fan base among globetrotters. Crime (mostly an issue for El Salvadorans, not tourists) and poverty remain grim realities, but tourism is steaming ahead at full pace as this little Pacific country’s beaches, surf breaks, and archaeological wonders gain fame.

You’ll find some of the best beachfront in Central America—and some of the finest surfing on Earth—along El Salvador’s long Pacific coast. Given the caliber of the sands and the breaks, it’s remarkable these seashores aren’t more thronged, though more and more surfers in particular are coming here to ride the world-class waves. Among the well-known beaches are La Libertad, Intipuca Beach, Costa del Sol, and Playa Herradura. Good scuba diving can be had, meanwhile, off Los Cóbanos.

Head inland from the coast and trek into the El Salvadoran highlands, and you’ll discover an enchanting volcanic landscape: cloud forests, caldera lakes (such as Ilopango and Coatepeque), and steaming craters. Several national parks offer impressive looks at El Salvadoran ecology and geology: Outside San Salvador, for instance, El Boqueron displays the deep mouth of San Salvador Volcano, while Montecristo National Park showcases species-rich cloud forest in the high Guatemalan and Honduran borderland.

El Salvador’s cultural attractions include a significant share of pre-Columbian archaeological sites, the flagship being the bold pyramids and other ruins of Tazumal. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Joya de Cerén, meanwhile, has been compared to a New World Pompeii: Here, toward the end of the 6th century, an eruption of Loma Caldera entombed a Mayan farming village, whose residents apparently escaped in time. The settlement itself, surrounding farm fields, and a slew of personal belongings—utensils, sleeping mats, devotional items—were stunningly preserved for the ages under multiple layers of ash.

If you don’t require your travel destinations to be ultra-sanitized, and if you’re at all inspired by the idea of uncrowded Central American beaches, national parks, and Mayan ruins, El Salvador may just sweep you off your feet.