5 Reasons to Visit Santa Ana, El Salvador in 2024
Throughout Central America we can find many beautiful colonial cities and towns, however El Salvador’s Santa Ana may just be that diamond in the rough that you were looking for.
Known for its jaw-dropping cathedral, friendly locals and abundance of awesome day trips into the surrounding regions, we feel it’s worth heading here when traveling through Central America.
In this guide we’ll explore the very best things to see and do in Santa Ana, as well as other important things to know before heading on a trip here.
Visiting Santa Ana, El Salvador
Having just finished traveling through Nicaragua and Honduras, I (George) felt a little underwhelmed with the actual cities and towns in each.
Sure there were some great activities such as volcanoboarding and diving, but each place didn’t really hit my “need to come back here” list.
Then I crossed over to Santa Ana in El Salvador, and that quickly changed. This city is full of colorful colonial buildings, and around the Parque de La Libertad we can see the impressive Santa Ana Cathedral as well as rows of pastel-painted houses all around.
There are also many incredible day trips you can do here too, such as up Santa Ana Volcano, to the hot waterfalls of Malacatiupán and also to the Mayan ruins of Tazumal.
Even better though is the people and local culture. El Salvadorians remain some of the friendliest people I have met in Latin America (along with Venezuelans and Colombians), and can also help you get a real local’s taste of what it means to be in El Salvador.
When Is The Best Time To Visit Santa Ana?
Overall the dry season remains the best time to visit Santa Ana. This runs from November until April, where as little as 0-1 inches of rainfall will fall throughout each month.
This makes it perfect for exploring the city and nearby regions with blue skies and little interruptions.
The wet season starts in May and lasts until October, where between 3-5.5 inches of rainfall fall within each month. Whilst you can definitely still head here during this time, you’ll want to bring a solid poncho with you in case you get caught in the rains.
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The Best Things To Do In Santa Ana
Below we’ll now take a look at 5 awesome things to do in Santa Ana as well as in the surrounding region.
Visit The Hot Waterfalls Of Malacatiupán
By far one of the most unique things you can do in El Salvador, it’s actually quite surreal swimming in these waterfalls.
This is because they are naturally heated from geothermal activity beneath the earth, meaning we can get both a fun and therapeutic trip in one!
We recommend bringing trainers as the path down can be slippery, as well as not spending too long in there (it’s pretty warm after all).
Getting here isn’t too tricky either, and will take just under two hours from Santa Ana. First you’ll want to take a local bus to Atiquizaya, and then hail a mototaxi to take you to the entrance of the site. From here it’s just a 5 minute walk to the falls.
Hike Through The Lush Cloud Forests Of Cerro Verde
Most travelers will visit the Cerro Verde National Park anyway given the Santa Ana Volcano Tour includes hiking for an hour through green vegetation.
However it’s worth spending longer to really relax and breathe, especially as the big cities in Central America can often feel quite congested.
On this specific route you’ll also get to visit the extinct crater of the Cerro Verde Volcano. In and around the area you’ll also find shacks that serve locally-made Pupusas too – which are the national dish of El Salvador.
Explore The City Highlights Of Santa Ana
First of all, there’s nothing better than going for a stroll around the Parque Libertad – and I highly recommend basing yourself near here if possible.
There’s often local shows going on here, and there’s a long row of local food tents which are perfect for trying El Salvadorian cuisine (such as Yuca con Chicharrón, Tamales and Pupusas).
From here we can head inside the jaw-dropping Cathedral of Santa Ana, and also see other cute churches hidden within the colorful streets around.
I also recommend heading into the Western Region Museum for a bit too – where you can learn about both the ancient and colonial past of both Santa Ana and El Salvador as a whole.
Summit The Santa Ana Volcano (And Also Visit Lake Coatepeque)
Whilst the most notorious and popular, there’s no way we could leave this one out on our list Also known as Llamatepec, the Santa Ana Volcano sits at an altitude of 2381m – and is the overall highest volcano in El Salvador.
Still active, at the top we can find a bubbling crater with a bright green lagoon, which makes it one of the most mesmerizing volcano hikes you can do in Central America (along with that of Acatenango in Guatemala, and Masaya in Nicaragua for their red hot lava).
We highly suggest heading on this day tour, where you will hike up to the crater through the cloud forest and also get to visit the beautiful Lake Coatepeque too.
Visit The Mayan Ruins Of Tazumal
Next up we have quite an underrated destination, and one that few travelers actually visit during their time in Santa Ana.
Now to be completely honest, there are other Mayan ruins in Central America that are more visually impressive (for example Tikal in Guatemala and Copán in Honduras), however those of Tazumal are just as important.
Here we can get up and close with the main pyramid and wander the forested site, where many ancient artifacts were excavated. This includes a human-resembling sculpture as well as many jade and metal artifacts – the latter of which are some of the oldest to have ever been made in Mesoamerica. Tazumal is located in the town of Chalchuapa, which is just a 50 minute bus ride from Santa Ana.
Santa Ana Backpacking Tips
Here we’ll share some of our best tips for exploring Santa Ana, based on our own time spent exploring this underrated El Salvadorian city.
- Stay Within The Historic Centre – First of all, Santa Ana is actually quite a big place and can surprise those who thought it was a tiny town. We recommend staying within the historic center, which is the nicest area with many awesome things to see and do nearby. You can stay at the Hostal Plaza Antigua which is just a few blocks from the Plaza Libertad, and has both cheap dorm beds and private rooms.
- Setting Your Time & Budget For Santa Ana – First of all, we recommend spending more time rather than less in Santa Ana. There’s so much to see and do here, and that’s not including many other awesome sites not covered in this article. We suggest planning 5-7 days for Santa Ana. And when it comes to budgeting, you’ll need around $20-25 a day here (which is similar for the rest of El Salvador). This budget assumes you’ll be living the usual backpacker way, which includes staying in a dorm bed and eating local meals.
- Pre-Book Your Tours Online – Whilst many of the experiences can easily be done alone (such as the waterfall, Tazumal Ruins and the historic center), others are best to plan ahead for. This includes Santa Ana Volcano and Lake Coatepeque, especially if you aren’t planning to stay long in Santa Ana. We highly suggest heading on this one day combo tour, where you’ll visit the Cerro Verde National Park, Lake Coatepeque as well as the other Mayan ruins of Joya de Cerén and San Andrés. In the tour you’ll also have all logistics and entrance fees included.
Visiting Santa Ana In El Salvador
And that’s all for this guide on why you should visit Santa Ana in El Salvador.
A really refreshing city to explore in Central America, here you’ll feel a more relaxed pace in comparison to busy cities such as San Salvador, Guatemala City and San Pedro Sula.
Santa Ana is also home to some incredible hikes and day trips too, so it’s really worth spending at least 5 days here to take advantage of it all.
In this guide we’ve explored the best things to see and do in Santa Ana, as well as why you’ll want to visit. We’ve also included some of our very best tips based on our time spent here.
Next we highly recommend you to read our Backpacking El Salvador Guide for more ideas on what to see and do when traveling here.
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