El Salvador Surfing

El Salvador's 320km of Pacific coastline is dominated by at least 10 or more world class righthand point breaks. Many of these waves break for 100-200 yards and don’t close out. The coastline resembles a tropical Santa Barbara county set-up. Imagine Rincon, Hammonds, Sandspit, Campus Point and El Capitan in the same swell window as Puerto Escondido with waves over 300 days of the year, 82 degree water, and no crowds. Sound like a fantasy? No, it is just a 4.5 hour flight from Los Angeles…

El Salvador is roughly divided into 2 surf zones - the LA LIBERTAD area in the Northwest which encompasses about a dozen different breaks of high quality starting at the coastal town of La Libertad (only a 30 minute drive from the airport) and extending for about an hour's drive northward along a mountainous and scenic coast. The other area is known as the WILD EAST and lies about 3 hours drive south and eastward down the coast. This remote area is less trafficked and boasts the world class righthanders Las Flores and Punta Mango.

Because of its classic point set-ups, El Salvador doesn’t close out even on the biggest swells. While at least 2 of the spots could be considered serious barrels when on, the majority of spots offer classic down the line surfing. Though waves up to double overhead+ are common, gunny boards are generally not needed. 6-0 to 6-10 thrusters are ideal. Funboards, longboards and fish also work well in the El Salvador lineups. El Salvador's waves are just so lined up and machine-like, with so much open wave face, it is like a skate park.

El Salvador has a dry season (Nov- April) and a wet season (May-October). One should not be deterred from traveling to El Salvador in the “Wet season”. The majority of days in the wet season are in fact partly sunny, with occasional afternoon and evening thunderstorms, and the wet season is generally when the surf is biggest, averaging 4-7 feet on the wave face, with days of 8-12 ft common. The dry season, or “summer” (November-April), offers beautiful, sunny offshore conditions and enjoys consistent surf in the 3-6 ft range.

The water temperature is between 80F and 85F year-round. The air at the coast is hot and humid, in the 80's and low 90's generally. Winds are non-existent or offshore in the mornings, usually shifting to light to moderate onshore (5-15 knots) by midday. Many of the breaks are well protected and surfable all-day because of the headlands and points. Strong sun protection is mandatory. Reef booties are suggested at low tide.

SURF SPOTS - El Salvador Surfing
 

La Libertad Area

Punta Roca: In the city of La Libertad you will find a world class right point break. Good waves at both tides but gets pretty shallow on low tide, also be careful with "mama roca", a big rock appearing shortly after takeoff and fully exposed at low tide. There are three main sections, the top of the point is a hollow and fast wave called "The point", eerily similar to the Indicator-Rivermouth section at Rincon. There is also mid point section in front of the cemetery. The inside cove, right in front of the town's restaurants is called La Paz- a mellower wave where all the town's kids learn to surf and have a fun evening session. This section is good for longboarding. This town is the country's surf capital, where you will find surf shops, board rentals and repair shops like "Hospital de Tablas" and "Button's repair shop"

Conchalio, Cocal and San Blas: more than 10km of good beach breaks. Also at Cocal: a small right point.

Bocana: It is the only good quality left point break in the country! There is some localism here not of a serious nature. Bocana is a powerful left with a nice wall, it can get hollow on mid tide going low.

Sunzal: is probably the most popular surf spot in El Salvador. It consists of a long and slow right and a short somewhat hollow section in the inside section. This break is always bigger than all other Salvadorian breaks and more consistent. It is a rock bottom and deep water break and it is said that it will hold its shape in any size swell. Paddling out at Sunzal can be long and arduous because it has some current near the beach that gets stronger in rainy season. During pre-sunrise sessions the current is usually calm and the surf is at its best. The outside section can give rides more than 100 yards long but during low tide the inside section gets hollow and a lot better for shortboarding. There is also the “sweeper” set that breaks in the left section for which you have to be careful no to paddle too outside on the right. There´s also a couple of board repair shops and small surf town scene. Tortuga surf lodge is a good basic hotel option right in front of the beach in a private lot. Café Sunzal, overlooking the break, is a more luxurious accommodation option here and has an excellent restaurant.

Palmarcito: right point, not very good, it is good for beginners.

Zonte: right point break with beautiful settings of the headlands and some restaurants right in front of the break. There are a few surf camps and cheap accommodations here. When the surf is small there is a very nice hollow section. It is best November to December.

 

KM 59: right point. It is in a gated comunity of beach houses but the break is a rock bottom that has good hollow waves. Best at mid-incoming tide. There is access to house owners or Punta Mango guests.


KM 61: right point. Mellower wave on the other side of the point from k.59.
La Perla and Shalpa: beach breaks.

Mizata: left and right point break which can break very good on SW190 to 210 but it is 50 min drive from La Libertad through 5 tunnels.

Fisherman's Point: There is an easy right hand break with rock bottom that is very consistent and there is a hollow left at that same point. On the other side of the break there is a nice sand bottom left but is hard to find it breaking.

There are many abandoned beaches and points with sandy bottoms, there are lots more surf spots between La Libertad and the airport that are not popular and not well known by surfers (but well known by Punta Mango guides!). From the airport to El Espino in Usulutan there are more than 100miles of beach breaks which are very good and a few unexplored point breaks just waiting to be explored.

The West Coast

Acajutla: This town has a big port nearby so there are a lot of restaurants, transport industries and sailors around. There are a few breaks right in front of the restaurants strip, it is a beach break and a small point break right besides the Texaco headquarters.

From Acajutla all the way to Guatemala there are lots of beachbreaks and rivermouths that may occasionally break. For example there is La Barra de Santiago, that has a rivermouth that get good occasionally.

This part of the country is particularly good for scuba diving and snorkeling. You will find white and shell sand beaches with lots of rock coral and reef, there is also shipwrecks and it is great for fishing too.