Getting there

By air

The only airport with international flights into the country is Comalapa International Airport (airport code SAL). It’s in Comalapa, about 30 minutes from the capital. The airport is also commonly called El Salvador International.

Most of the major US carriers — including Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Continental and Iberia — fly direct to El Salvado from major cities in North America. It’s a five-hour flight from Los Angeles.

By car

If you’re doing a road trip through Central America, use the
Pan-American Highway, which runs from Mexico to Panama via El Salvador. It
can take a couple of hours to get through the border. Speaking Spanish
is essential to sort out the paperwork.

By bus

Buses link El Salvador with Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The
border crossings are open daily from 7am to around 5pm. You’ll either
have to walk across the border to a connecting
bus, or hand your passport over to the driver if you don’t need to
change buses.

Getting around

You haven’t really travelled in Central America until you’ve
survived a journey on a ‘chicken bus’. Buses are the main mode of
transport and Honduras has a two-tier system. Chicken buses are the
cheaper, second class option and they’re hot, slow, cramped and usually
suspension-shy. The good news is the journeys are usually short and
you’re plonked right in among the locals who travel with everything
from giant sacks of potatoes to squawking chickens. It’s a great way to
sample some on-the-ground local colour.

No trip is complete without regular stops to buy frescos (drinks)
that often taste as strange as they look. Buses often have salsa music
reverberating around the seats, and sometimes American R&B music
too.