maxwell

I thought I was headed to nicaragua over the weekend...after I realized flight had been delayed by a day (when I went to check in online!!), I cancelled the ticket to nicaragua and ended up in El Salvador instead. I based myself in Suchitoto for three nights and was not disappointed. The people I met could not have been friendlier and it was a great place to chill out for a few days. There were hardly any tourists there, and zero hassle even though I was traveling alone.

You can easily get to Suchitoto by public bus ($25 hour long cab ride from airport to bus station in San Salvador - from bus station it is only 80 cents and another hour and a half to Suchitoto).
I didn't book anything in advance since I was not positive where I was headed when I got off the plane. I wandered into Las Puertas as it was right on the town square
http://laspuertassuchitoto.com/
great rooms, and great balcony. Can be noisy though as is right on the square. Great breakfast and the people working there are fabulous (They don't speak English and I don't speak Spanish but they were always eager to try to help.)

Photos are at:
http://tinyurl.com/2fne3qq

Fra_Diavolo

Missed this first time around. Was the goal of the hike to visit sites from the civil war? El Salvador has fascinated me since I read Joan Didion's *Salvador*, but I haven't managed to get there yet.

Entertaining photo essay, too. I share your mistrust of ferris wheels.

Thanks for the report.

maxwell

Thanks Fra_Diavolo -
yes, I just wanted to visit Cinquera since it was easy to get to (I only had a few days in El Salvador) and it sounded interesting from a historical perspective.

rpbroz

FYI Las Puertas Hotel closed its operations on Dec 31 of 2013. It is up for sale if anyone has an extra $900,000. There are 3 more very nice hotels El Tejado, La Posada de Suchitlan and Los Almendros de San Lorenzo. There is also one mid range hotel just off the plaza called Posada AltaVista as well as several hostels. For mor information about Suchitoto check out www.suchitoto-el-salvador.com and www.gaesuchitoto.com
Suchitoto is one of El Salvadors top 10 destinations and definatly worth a visit if in El Salvador. If you do come look me up I have been living here for now just over 13 years(20 in El Salvador).