I loved it. I spent a couple months there last two summers. My son attends a surf/language school july and august.
I can definitely give you highlights based on what you want to do.
Discussion
Amazing! Im also going for a longer period. 2 or 3 months. Maybe looking to settle there, i have heard great things about it. Definitely will rent a car and discover the country. Did you stay in El Zonte? And did you rent a car?
I did rent a car and drove all over. You don’t need a car if you stay in El Zonte. There’s only one main road and there’s busses every 20min or so. Either .50 or $1.50US
El Tunco is the next surf town over and its a bit more touristy but its still tiny.
Make sure you do the waterfall hike near El Tunco. Its really worthwhile.
Ive done it twice. *make sure you use a guide and INSIST on having him hire you a truck to get you to the farthest point. The first mile sucks and is boring. A truck can get you to the gate (there’s a bathroom and a shop too) but cars cant get down there.
Amazing! Thanks for the tips man! With which company did you hire a car?
Not sure. Just used priceline.
I had to put a very large authorization on my credit card so make sure you have a big limit card.
Make sure you visit and stay on the volcano lake near Santa Ana.
Stay at an upscale hotel right on the lower lake (on right) Swim, jetski etc. my son loved it there.
We stayed the Cardedue Residence and it was amazing. (food is mediocre)
A nicer room there is recommended for views. ~$200 US when we stayed two summers ago
^Its an hour and half from the airport.
El Zonte is like 45 min from airport $25-$30 cab depending on time of day. Past dark is pricier. Maybe $45
You really don’t “need” a car. Last summer, I took a taxi to El Zonte, then I hired a tour to Santa Anna. Spent 3 nights there and taxi’d back to airport. I don’t think I’ll bother renting a car again.
Perfect! Thanks a lot!
If you’re gonna do surf lessons, I’ll refer to a good instructor based on your skill level. There’s a few we didn’t like. Bamba surf in El Tunco is great. He’s a legend in that town.