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Santa Ana is El Salvador’s second-largest city and one of the most popular places to base yourself while exploring the western part of the country. While there isn’t a huge amount to do in the city itself, it’s within easy reach of some of El Salvador’s biggest attractions, such as the Santa Ana Volcano, Lake Coatepeque and the Ruta de las Flores.
We spent a few nights in Santa Ana during our 10-day road trip around El Salvador. Although it wasn’t my favorite place we visited, I think it’s the perfect base for day trips. It’s easily accessible and safe, and offers affordable accommodations and good restaurants/
In this Santa Ana, El Salvador travel guide, I’ll cover where to stay, how to get there, the best things to do in and around Santa Ana.
Why Visit Santa Ana, El Salvador?
The biggest reason to stay in Santa Ana is its location. The city is surrounded by some of the best things to do in western El Salvador, including Santa Ana Volcano, Lake Coatepeque, archaeological sites and the Ruta de las Flores. Instead of constantly switching accommodations, it’s best to stay here for a few nights and use the city as your base.
We also found Santa Ana to be an easy place to stay. There are plenty of affordable hotels and hostels, decent restaurants and a pretty historic center. We felt safe and comfortable walking around the center, including at night when the square was filled with locals hanging out. We visited with our rental car and found it easy to drive around and find parking on the street in front of our hotel.
That said, Santa Ana itself wasn’t one of the highlights of our trip. If I returned, I might choose to stay at Lake Coatepeque instead because I loved being by the water. But if your priority is convenience and easy access to several different day trips, Santa Ana is the more practical base.
How to Get to Santa Ana
Renting a Car
Santa Ana is very easy to reach with a rental car, and having your own vehicle also makes exploring the surrounding area much easier. It’s roughly two hours from El Salvador International Airport, 1.5 hours from San Salvador and around two hours from El Tunco, depending on traffic.
To learn more about our experience renting a car in El Salvador, check out my post 10 Day El Salvador Roadtrip.
Getting to Santa Ana Without a Car
You can also visit Santa Ana without renting a car. Many tours to the nearby attractions start from Santa Ana, making it the ideal base for those solo traveling without a car in El Salvador. ,
Although you can get to from San Salvador to Santa Ana with public transportation, I would recommend booking a private transfer as it will be quicker, safer, and easier if traveling with luggage. Checkout Daytrip, which offers transfer from the airport and San Salvador for about $25 per person.
Once you’re in Santa Ana, you can book guided day trips to many of the attractions below rather than trying to reach them independently.
Where to Stay in Santa Ana
Best for Backpackers & Solo Travelers: Casa Coco Hostel
Casa Coco Hostel is a very affordable hostel in Santa Ana and a good option for solo travelers who want a more social atmosphere. The hostel has a rooftop and organizes social activities, including a popular pupusa cooking class, making it easier to meet other travelers.
Best Budget Guesthouse: Casa Vieja Guesthouse
We stayed at Casa Vieja Guesthouse during our time in Santa Ana and loved it. It’s a simple, affordable guesthouse run by a lovely couple. It was nothing fancy, but was comfortable and offered everything we needed including a delicious breakfast every morning.
Best Hotel: Kali Hotel
If you’re looking for something a little more upscale, Kali Hotel is a stylish hotel in the center of Santa Ana. The rooms have a much more modern, polished feel than most of the budget guesthouses and hostels around the city.
How Many Days Do You Need in Santa Ana?
I would recommend spending two or three nights in Santa Ana if you’re using it as a base for exploring western El Salvador.
You really only need a few hours to see the city itself, but you should reserve about 2 full days for day trips from Santa Ana. One day could be spent hiking Santa Ana Volcano and visiting Lake Coatepeque, while another could be used for Tazumal, El Salto de Malacatiupán or the Ruta de las Flores.
If you have more time, I would personally move on after a couple of nights and stay somewhere along the Ruta de las Flores or at Lake Coatepeque rather than spending your entire western El Salvador stay in the city.
For more about how I fit Santa Ana into my trip to El Salvador, read my 10 Day Roadtrip to El Salvador.
Things to Do in Santa Ana, El Salvador
There aren’t a huge number of attractions within Santa Ana itself, but there’s enough to fill an afternoon or evening between day trips.
Take a Pupusa Cooking Class
Taking a pupusa cooking class in Santa Ana was one of my favorite experiences of our entire El Salvador trip. I found our class randomly on Google Maps and contacted the host, Maria, directly through WhatsApp. The experience ended up being private with just us and Maria, and we spent the evening learning how to make curtido, salsa and pupusas filled with cheese, beans and meat.
Maria also made us hot chocolate and sweet plantains, so the class became our entire dinner. We finished the evening eating with Maria and her daughter and talking about life in El Salvador, which was my favorite part of the experience.
If you can’t book with Maria, Casa Coco Hostel also offers a popular pupusa cooking class in Santa Ana.
Read More: 10 Best Things to Do in El Salvador
Visit Catedral de Nuestra Señora Santa Ana
The Catedral de Nuestra Señora Santa Ana is the city’s most recognizable landmark and the main reason to walk around the historic center. Its white Gothic-style façade overlooks Parque Libertad, which is a great place to sit for a while, people watch and experience everyday life in the city
I’m not sure if this was just a thing while I was there, but the cathedral was surrounded by hundreds of pigeons. It seems like people feed them right in from which is why they hang around the area. I didn’t mind, I actually love what the birds added to my photos. I even got this awesome shot of all of them flying away!
Take a Walking Tour of Santa Ana
If you want to learn more about Santa Ana, consider joining a guided walking tour of the city. A local guide can give you much more context about the cathedral, historic center and Santa Ana’s history, while also showing you places you might otherwise walk right past.
Eat at Simmer Down
For dinner, I recommend Simmer Down, a pizza restaurant located right next to Parque Libertad. They serve pizza, drinks and other casual food, but the best part is the atmosphere. Depending on where you’re sitting, you can get a great view of the cathedral while you eat. We ate there two nights in a row and had some delicious meals after busy days of sightseeing!
Best Day Trips from Santa Ana, El Salvador
Hike Santa Ana Volcano
Santa Ana Volcano, also known as Ilamatepec, is the most popular day trip from Santa Ana. The hike leads toward a volcanic crater at the summit, with views over the surrounding mountains and Lake Coatepeque on a clear day.
Although you can drive there yourself and join a guided group after arriving, I’d recommend booking a tour ahead of time. Most tours also include transportation from Santa Ana, so a rental car is not required.
Unfortunately, our visit happened on an extremely windy and cloudy day, so we weren’t allowed to hike all the way up to the crater. Even though we didn’t reach the summit, we still got some beautiful views of the surrounding volcanoes once the clouds began to clear.
Spend the Afternoon at Lake Coatepeque
Lake Coatepeque is a huge volcanic crater lake surrounded by mountains. It’s located very close to Santa Ana Volcano, so I highly recommend visiting both on the same day.
After our volcano hike, we drove to Captain Morgan Hostel, where we purchased a day pass for $5. It included a soda or beer and gave us access to their large deck and the lake. You can swim, jump from the platforms or simply relax by the water. We also rented a jet ski for $40 for 30 minutes, which was super fun.
Honestly, we liked Lake Coatepeque so much that we wished we had stayed there for a couple nights or reserved a whole day for enjoying the lake!
Parque Arqueológico Tazumal
Parque Arqueológico Tazumal is a small archaeological site in Chalchuapa, located less than 30 minutes from Santa Ana.
We stopped here while leaving Santa Ana and heading farther west. The site itself isn’t huge, so you only need about an hour there. But it’s still an interesting stop if you’re interested in El Salvador’s pre-Columbian history.
Swim at El Salto de Malacatiupán
El Salto de Malacatiupán is a waterfall about an hour from Santa Ana. It’s great to combine with Parque Arqueologico Tazumal as they are close by.
It’s an amazing spot for swimming and relaxing, and is popular with cliff jumpers, hence the name “salto” which means jump in spanish. My boyfriend loves cliff jumping, which was the main reason we added it to our itinerary.
Getting there is a bit difficult because the final stretch involves driving a couple miles on an unpaved road. I haven’t seen many organized tours that visit, so this day trip requires your own 4 wheel drive rental car.
Explore the Ruta de las Flores
The Ruta de las Flores connects several colorful mountain towns known for coffee farms, murals, mountain views, waterfalls and small shops. It’s less than 2 hours from Santa Ana, so it’s totally possible to explore the Ruta de las Flores as a day trip.
That said, if you have enough time, I actually recommend staying for a couple of nights somewhere along the Ruta de las Flores. We based ourselves in Juayúa and loved having more time to explore the area. It gave us time to hike the Seven Waterfalls trail, and visit Cafe Albania and Concepsion de Ataco, my two favorite stops along the route.
But if your itinerary doesn’t allow for an overnight stay, a guided day trip from Santa Ana is an easy way to see several highlights in one day.
Final Thoughts on Santa Ana
Although Santa Ana wasn’t my favorite destination from our El Salvador road trip, I still think it’s an essential stop because of it’s close proximity to some of the country’s best landmarks. The city gives you affordable accommodation, restaurants and a walkable historic center while putting you within easy reach of Santa Ana Volcano, Lake Coatepeque, waterfalls and the Ruta de las Flores.
Continue planning your trip to El Salvador with my other helpful posts!
This site contains links to affiliate websites, and I receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website, at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
