El Salvador got famous for adopting Bitcoin as legal tender (you can see signs you can use this in the supermarket).
The country uses the US dollar as its official currency.
See the Spanish Crash Course page.
- [Banco Hipotecario](Banco Hipotecario) - charged me no fee for a a USD withdrawal
I took pre-arranged shuttles from Guatemala as I was working my way down Central America to South America.
I shopped around the tour operator shops in Panajachel, Guatemala and managed to get from there to Antigua and then change to Santa Ana for a mere 450 GTQ ($58) which is almost certainly cheaper than any flight.
In Santa Ana, Bus Terminal Francisco Lara Pineda is the local bus station where you can catch public buses to the Tudo long-distance bus station, as well as local attractions in the region.
From Tudo you can take buses to San Salvador, where you can also change to get another bus to El Zonte.
You need the #201 bus to San Salvador. But this can also be caught from other locations such as Metro Centro, but it's better to take an Uber taxi to Tudo so you can get a seat for the long journey.
Buses leave every 15 minutes to San Salvador until 6:30pm (double check this information hasn't changed since).
The town itself doesn't have much in it, after an hour walking around the small centre with Santa Ana Cathedral you'll want to go elsewhere.
The attractions are outside the town.
You can refer to this local guide for attractions and travel to nearby cities like San Salvador and El Zonte.
- Santa Ana Volcano - a 1 hour drive away, but you have to leave really early in the morning to take a shuttle or public but to get there before 11am for a guided tour. I'd just come down from Guatemala so was already volcano'd out and skipped on to Bitcoin Beach in El Zonte and the capital San Salvador
- Lago de Coatepeque
- El Salto de Malacatiupán
- Parque Arqueológico Tazumal
in town:
- Parque Libertad - the central park in town, there is street food around it
- Catedral de Nuestra Señora Santa Ana
- UNASA Human Anatomy Museum
- Western Regional Museum
- Comedor y Pupuseria Claudia - shockingly cheap local eats restaurant with live music in the evening - recommended by locals - $1-$1.5 per Papusa, $2.50 for soft drinks. The street food around Parque Libertad is even cheaper. Papusa are pretty fattening though as a dough full of cheese with a little bit of meat or shrimp. WiFi 21/22 Mbit/s
- Súper Selectos • Santa Ana Centro - supermarket to pick up groceries or household items
- Maxi Despensa - cheaper than Super Selectos above
TODO:
- [Taqueria Los Plebes](Taqueria Los Plebes) - 4.9 Mexican, affordable
- Simmer Down - 4.6, pizzas, pasta and steak
Also known as "Bitcoin Beach" for having pioneered accepting Bitcoin payments.
From the capital San Salvador you need to catch the #102A bus from the bus stop Estación Ceiba de Guadalupe opposite Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Make sure the bus has the letter A on it to go all the way to the beach, otherwise don't get on it.