Planning a Trip

El Salvador has a helpful national tourism organization, CORSATUR, which features a useful English-language website (www.corsatur.gov.sv), a central office in San Salvador, and offices in Suchitoto in the north, Nahuizalco on the Rutas de Las Flores, and Puerto de La Libertad along the Balsamo Coast. Alternatively, you can always head to the local city hall, called the Alcaldía, where you'll find the occasional English-speaking employee who can help you out. It's best to do as much research as possible before arriving in El Salvador because most towns don't have tourism offices or English-speaking tourism officials.

CORSATUR Offices

San Salvador: Edificio Carbonel 1, Colonia Roma, Alameda Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo and Pasaje Carbonel, San Salvador (tel. 503/2243-7835; www.corsatur.gov.sv; Mon-Fri 8am-5pm). The office offers local and national maps and brochures, and tourism official Claudia Argumedo speaks English.

Puerto La Libertad: Km 34.5 Carretera de Literal, Puerta de La Libertad, La Libertad, El Salvador (tel. 503/2246-1898; cat.lalibertad@gmail.com; Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat-Sun 8am-4pm). Ask for Dina; she's friendly, patient, and speaks enough English to get you where you need to go.

Nahuizalco: Km 71, Carretera CA-8, Nauizalco, Departmento de Sonsonate (tel. 503/2453-1082; cat.rutasdelasflores@gmail.com; Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 8am-4pm). No one in this office speaks English, but they offer some English-speaking hotel and attraction brochures.

Suchitoto: Calle San Martin, Barrio El Centro, Suchitoto, Departmento Custcatlán, El Salvador (tel. 503/2335-1835; cat.suchitoto@gmail.com; Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat-Sun 8am-4pm). Ask for Manuel Selada.

If you speak Spanish, one of the country's best sources for localized information is the Casas de las Culturas, or Houses of Culture. Nearly every town in El Salvador has a Casa de la Cultura, which serves as a small community center, in addition to dishing out tourist-friendly information. They're not designated tourism offices, so the quality of the information is hit-and-miss, but they're by far your best shot at getting local information in the country's smaller villages.

Passing by the Turicentro -- Don't let the name "Turicentro" or "Tourist Center" fool you. You'll see signs for these outdated parks near towns, lakes, and mountains around El Salvador but they are nothing special. Though some have pools and small restaurants or comedores, they're usually decades-old parks with cement picnic tables and chairs painted in 1970s colors with a few cinder-block cabins. There's nothing necessarily wrong with these places -- the Turicentros at Lago Ilopango and Costa del Sol, for instance, are enjoyable enough, provide lake and beach access, and are popular with locals. Just don't expect anything fancy. Turicentros are open daily 8am to 4pm and cost 80¢/40p to enter. They are run by the Instituto Salvadoreño de Turismo (ISTU; 719 Calle Rubén Darío btw. 9a and 11a Av. Sur; tel. 503/2222-8000; www.istu.gob.sv).

Other valuable tourism organizations include:

SalvaNatura (33 Av. Sur 640, Colonia Flor Blanca, San Salvador; tel. 503/2279-1515; www.salvanatura.org) administers and provides information for Parque Imposible and Parque Nacional Los Volcanes. It's open Monday to Friday from 8am to noon and 2 to 5pm. Staffer Ben Rivera speaks English.

Institute Salvadoreño de Turismo (ISTU; 719 Calle Rubén Darío btw. 9a and 11a Avenida Sur, San Salvador; tel. 503/2222-8000; www.istu.gob.sv) provides information about El Salvador's parks and has a great website. It's open Monday to Friday from 7:30am to 3:30pm.

Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Km 5.5 Carretera to Santa Tecla, Calle and Colonia Las Mercedes, Building MARN No. 2, San Salvador; tel. 503/2267-6276; www.marn.gob.sv) is the organization you have to call to enter Parque Montecristo.

Concultura (19 Av. Norte and Calle Guadalupe; tel. 503/2510-5320; www.concultura.gob.sv) is the nation's premier arts organization and offers a website with a nationwide arts calendar.

Tour Operators

El Salvador Divers (3a Calle Poniente and 99 Av. Norte 5020, Colonía Escalón, San Salvador; tel. 503/2264-0961; www.elsalvadordivers.com) is the country's top scuba certification and tour company, with 3- and 5-day English-language certification courses and dive trips around the country. Fish El Salvador (tel. 503/7899-9200; www.fishelsalvador.com) is a fishing tour company based out of Playa Los Cóbanos. They offer full- and half-day reef and deep sea fishing tours. Eco Mayan Tours (Paseo General Escalón 3658, Colonia Escalón, San Salvador; tel. 503/2298-2844; www.ecomayantours.com) is one of the country's largest tour companies, with nationwide tours, travel services, and a helpful English-language website. Tour Bus (4a Calle Poniente 2323, Colonia Flor Blanca, San Salvador; tel. 503/2260-7544) can arrange nationwide English-language tours in their unique, high ground clearance minibus -- it'll get you places other minibuses can't go.