I want to add to my post. El salvador had the best and biggest surf I have ever had and was what i consider the pinnacle of my limted surf travel. The people and the food were great and I would encourage everyone with a spirit for adventure to go there, I loved that place. Unfortunately for me I've lost all desire to travel so taking any risk, even the smallest outweighs the benifit at this point. That might change but right now I have no desire to go back but you should its worth it. Generally speaking dont expect carribean blue water, at least in El Cuco the water was as brown and silty as any east coast beach.
A friend of mine made it back from El Salvador a while ago and she loved her time there (she is salvadorian for the record). She was able to catch some really good waves and she said she did not run into any trouble with regards to MS-13 or anything of the sort. However, she did concede that there is still some amount of unrest (for good reason) and she probably didn't have any trouble because she didn't stand out. My advice is don't let fear stop you from catching a good wave, but just make sure you proceed with caution.
Haven't been to El Salvador. Nica & CR & other places, si. Butt here's my point: I played ball in Santo Domingo, in the stadium against the DR National Team; after our series was over they loaded us onto a bus for the trip to the airport. On the way to the airport the driver took a wrong turn off the highway. We ended up in a local neighborhood. There was a riot, literally, going down. People burning tires, guys racing around with bandanas over their faces, waving machetes. Lotta rocks being thrown at the policia, and at our bus. When we heard gunshots & the windows of the bus disintegrated is when we all hit the floor of the bus. And we stayed on the floor until the cops escorted us out to the airport. Turned out to be a riot of very angry locals over the jacked up prices of food. Point being, you could be anywhere & odd stuff happens. Or, not. You should go & surf it up. One man's humble opinion.
There have been a few rather violent episodes in the Rincon-area during the past 12-15 months that are unrelated to confrontations in the water. One was a drug addict related robbery gone bad and the others were events you'd normally associate to Baja/Mexico/C.A. incidents. For obvious reasons most of the ex-pat community and local folks and the municipality want to keep the lid on bad publicity. This part of the island, outside of Aguadilla and Mayaguez, used to be very safe.
just got back from el salvador a couple of days ago.. THis is my fifth or sixth trip and this one seemed to be no different than prior. One year we did see some extra police activity on the main roads, but it was related to the inauguration that was happening at the time... otherwise very nice people that we interacted with ...
El Salvador trip just lined up for me late August. I'll be going with a couple friends. Any bad azz boat trip recommendations? I want to do at least one and I won't be staying at a surf camp
They still do boats from Las Flores to Punta Mango...but I hear they upgraded the road and there's a big old 5 start luxury surf camp on the point at Mango now...so that might ruin it. Place doesn't handle a crowd very well.
Just stay within the confines of the surf camp and don't go outside of that unless you want trouble since you're all massive gringos there. Also, watch out for the Trump effect, you may be stuck in Savvy for awhile if he shuts the gates.
Omg really? That spot would be terrible with a huge crowd. Imagine everyone pushing each other deeper and deeper on that point and what happens if you fall? They day we were there together it was relatively small but my god if it was big with a las Flores size crowd it would be carnage.
I saw that the have small cabinas for rent on the property just back from mango and also an old 3 star hotel but I haven’t been able to find the 5 star surf camp other than the one at Las Flores... or any updates on the road improvements. Anyway, suggestions on board rentals? I’ll be flying United and it’s 200 each way so f that. Thanks for the help
place sucks. brazilians have invaded the place. if you want to get dropped in on by 100 angry brazilians have fun.
I haven't been to Mango or Flores but up near Sunzal there has been a large influx of Brazilians. Never had a bad encounter with any, but if you're there on a Brazilian holiday week, it is ridiculous.
At least at Las Flores you can prone out and walk back around if you get pinched or caught inside. There is very little chance to that at Punta Mango. On a big day I would imagine you would get swept way down the "beach" and would have to hike it back. I remember when I was there someone said don't ride past that tree. There was a tree at this little hump in the beach. Well I finally got a good one and saw the tree coming but couldn't resist riding past it. When it was all over I was in the middle of no mans land, looking at what would turn into an epic journey, back to the line up. As I floated there in the dead water looking at the beach a little Salvadoran kid came into focus sitting under a tree. I picked up my hand and waved, he did the same. That always stuck with me for some reason. This day was not big by Punta Mango standards, maybe head high on set but had that pacific power. I just can't imagine beginners crowding that place from a resort. The take off is so small you would never get a wave. I got waves only because I sat wide and waited for one to swing that way. That was like one out of twenty waves that came through, all the rest broke on the point. Crowds of beginners would be in hell as would everyone else trying to maneuver around them.
hotelpuntamango.com The link is blocked at my work for some damn reason, but if I remember the pictures right, that's pretty close to 5 star as far as El Salvador is concerned!
Where exactly is that resort? If I'm remembering correctly there was a steep hill right on the land at the point and very little beach or flat area right there. Is it south of the point, like a long walk away?
