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Town in La Libertad Department, El Salvador
Photo: Martin Haeusler, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
El Zonte is a beach town on the Pacific Ocean in Western El Salvador. It is a popular destination for surfers who regard it as one of the best beaches in Central America. The town is known for accepting Bitcoin and being the impetus for El Salvador to accept the cryptocurrency as an official currency.
Spectacular scenery from an open-air palapa-style dining area with modern furnishings and contemporary Salvadoran cuisine. Large breakafasts with fresh squeezed juices. Big drinks. Friendly service.
Small cafe with a beautiful dining area and creative breakfasts made with locally sourced ingredients. Espresso and coffee drinks can be laced with a homemade plant-based milk substitute. Organic and vegan options available.
Popular fusion restaurant with hearty breakfasts and elegant dinners with spectacular ocean views from the open air dining room. Many of the dishes have indigenous (particularly Nahua) origins. Fresh squeezed juices and baked goods in the morning. The frutti del mar is recommended for dinner.
Popular seafood restaurant with open-air dining room. Large drinks made with fresh squeezed juices at very reasonable prices. Lobster is excellent as is the sopa de mariscos.
Artesanal cacao shop selling hot chocolate unlike any you've had before. All-natural cacao up to 100%. Also sells cacao nibs and chocolate bars of varying levels of cacao.
Popular surfer hotel about 100 meters to beach. On-site restaurant. Rooms have good air conditioning.
Expensive upscale hotel with rooms in a main hotel building and a series of standalone villas. On-site infinity swimming pool. Yoga sessions Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On-site restaurant.
Excellent surfers hotel with clean, but somewhat basic rooms that are pleasant and have balconies with hammocks. On-site restaurant and bar in a beach palapa. Swimming pool on-site. 50-meter walk to the beach.
Comfortable hotel with friendly service. Rooms are spacious and clean. On-site swimming pool. Free yoga Monday and Wednesday mornings. On-site restaurant and bar. Garden area with hammocks under the shade trees.
By bus
From San Salvador take the route 102 chicken bus. The trip will take about 1 hour and cost about US$2. The bus passes through La Libertad before turning west along the coast to El Zonte.
The town is very small and everything is within walking distance. Bikes are a good way to get around though a lot of young people prefer skateboards as their preferred transportation method.
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Articles and travel topics about El Zonte and El Salvador.
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