El Salvador

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I would recommend you think twice about going to El Salvador. I have no opinions on the beaches or tourism, but it is a very unstable and dangerous country right now. The Peace Corps even suspended it's program there due to security issues. It is part of the Northern Triangle and a hub for narcotrafficking. MS-13, what is known there as La Mara, is a very powerful organized crime ring with heavy arms imported from the United States. It is true that most Salvadoran's are good people, hardworking, the food is great (I love pupusas!), and the country does have a lot to offer. It's simply not a good time to travel there.

Really? Have you been there? Or is this all second hand info? What a gross exaggeration.

I work with asylum seekers from El Salvador. Since you're too lazy to google, here are some links.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-el-salvador-program-suspended/
https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/dsgsm1519.doc.htm
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1043576/download

Right. So your answer is no, you’ve never been there. Honestly, I don’t want to wade politics, but a very large number of Central American asylum seekers (Salvadorans included) are actually economic migrants who exaggerate their personal stories and the conditions in their home countries in order to satisfy the rigorous criteria for immigration benefits in the United States. So please keep that in mind when formulating your opinions regarding matters of which you are otherwise clueless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I would recommend you think twice about going to El Salvador. I have no opinions on the beaches or tourism, but it is a very unstable and dangerous country right now. The Peace Corps even suspended it's program there due to security issues. It is part of the Northern Triangle and a hub for narcotrafficking. MS-13, what is known there as La Mara, is a very powerful organized crime ring with heavy arms imported from the United States. It is true that most Salvadoran's are good people, hardworking, the food is great (I love pupusas!), and the country does have a lot to offer. It's simply not a good time to travel there.

Really? Have you been there? Or is this all second hand info? What a gross exaggeration.

I work with asylum seekers from El Salvador. Since you're too lazy to google, here are some links.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-el-salvador-program-suspended/
https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/dsgsm1519.doc.htm
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1043576/download

Right. So your answer is no, you’ve never been there. Honestly, I don’t want to wade politics, but a very large number of Central American asylum seekers (Salvadorans included) are actually economic migrants who exaggerate their personal stories and the conditions in their home countries in order to satisfy the rigorous criteria for immigration benefits in the United States. So please keep that in mind when formulating your opinions regarding matters of which you are otherwise clueless.

NP who also works with asylum seekers. It's the murder capital of the world. Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Pro-El Salvador poster, I'm very familiar with another part of the globe and when I hear the word "authentic" as many times as you have posted, I know what to expect. I've been to several and had a great time, But "authentic" trips are not suitable for all groups. If OP's mom is the sort that can handle those trips, I expect OP would know. Not all 70 yo's are the same in ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I would recommend you think twice about going to El Salvador. I have no opinions on the beaches or tourism, but it is a very unstable and dangerous country right now. The Peace Corps even suspended it's program there due to security issues. It is part of the Northern Triangle and a hub for narcotrafficking. MS-13, what is known there as La Mara, is a very powerful organized crime ring with heavy arms imported from the United States. It is true that most Salvadoran's are good people, hardworking, the food is great (I love pupusas!), and the country does have a lot to offer. It's simply not a good time to travel there.

Really? Have you been there? Or is this all second hand info? What a gross exaggeration.

I work with asylum seekers from El Salvador. Since you're too lazy to google, here are some links.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-el-salvador-program-suspended/
https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/dsgsm1519.doc.htm
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1043576/download

Right. So your answer is no, you’ve never been there. Honestly, I don’t want to wade politics, but a very large number of Central American asylum seekers (Salvadorans included) are actually economic migrants who exaggerate their personal stories and the conditions in their home countries in order to satisfy the rigorous criteria for immigration benefits in the United States. So please keep that in mind when formulating your opinions regarding matters of which you are otherwise clueless.

NP who also works with asylum seekers. It's the murder capital of the world. Give me a break.

Again, I don’t want to make this political (and I’m also the “pro-El Salvador poster”), but true asylum seekers would seek refuge in the first safe country they pass through (such as Mexico). El Salvador has violence of course (many places do), but it is grossly exaggerated by asylum seekers and the US attorneys and advocacy groups that represent them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I would recommend you think twice about going to El Salvador. I have no opinions on the beaches or tourism, but it is a very unstable and dangerous country right now. The Peace Corps even suspended it's program there due to security issues. It is part of the Northern Triangle and a hub for narcotrafficking. MS-13, what is known there as La Mara, is a very powerful organized crime ring with heavy arms imported from the United States. It is true that most Salvadoran's are good people, hardworking, the food is great (I love pupusas!), and the country does have a lot to offer. It's simply not a good time to travel there.

Really? Have you been there? Or is this all second hand info? What a gross exaggeration.

I work with asylum seekers from El Salvador. Since you're too lazy to google, here are some links.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-el-salvador-program-suspended/
https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/dsgsm1519.doc.htm
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1043576/download

Right. So your answer is no, you’ve never been there. Honestly, I don’t want to wade politics, but a very large number of Central American asylum seekers (Salvadorans included) are actually economic migrants who exaggerate their personal stories and the conditions in their home countries in order to satisfy the rigorous criteria for immigration benefits in the United States. So please keep that in mind when formulating your opinions regarding matters of which you are otherwise clueless.

NP who also works with asylum seekers. It's the murder capital of the world. Give me a break.

I don’t see San Salvador or any other city in El Salvador on the list. St Louis comes in at a respectable 9th place though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I would recommend you think twice about going to El Salvador. I have no opinions on the beaches or tourism, but it is a very unstable and dangerous country right now. The Peace Corps even suspended it's program there due to security issues. It is part of the Northern Triangle and a hub for narcotrafficking. MS-13, what is known there as La Mara, is a very powerful organized crime ring with heavy arms imported from the United States. It is true that most Salvadoran's are good people, hardworking, the food is great (I love pupusas!), and the country does have a lot to offer. It's simply not a good time to travel there.

Really? Have you been there? Or is this all second hand info? What a gross exaggeration.

I work with asylum seekers from El Salvador. Since you're too lazy to google, here are some links.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-el-salvador-program-suspended/
https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/dsgsm1519.doc.htm
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1043576/download

Right. So your answer is no, you’ve never been there. Honestly, I don’t want to wade politics, but a very large number of Central American asylum seekers (Salvadorans included) are actually economic migrants who exaggerate their personal stories and the conditions in their home countries in order to satisfy the rigorous criteria for immigration benefits in the United States. So please keep that in mind when formulating your opinions regarding matters of which you are otherwise clueless.

NP who also works with asylum seekers. It's the murder capital of the world. Give me a break.

I don’t see San Salvador or any other city in El Salvador on the list. St Louis comes in at a respectable 9th place though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_murder_rate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Wow, a lot of diverse opinions! Our family has been to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and we liked both places. This time, I am taking my 70-year old mom along so I am a little more risk-averse. We are hoping for pretty beaches and also hiking. Not planning on going to restaurants or stores except for groceries. In any case, thanks to the PPs and welcome any other advice or suggestions!

OP - if you want to go you should go!! I've been twice and I'm so glad I did (granted it was 15 years ago). The first was with my in-laws (pre-kids). I had an advantage because they are both former Peace Core, had lived there and knew where to take us, knew people so they were our guides and had a great inside view of the country.

The second time I went back with my mom, who at the time, was a Spanish teacher and we went on her Spring Break. We had my in-laws good friends take us around. We stayed in the nicest hotel in San Salvadore which was (in 2006) was $120.00 American dollars. Everyone is so friendly

The things I recommend 1. Learn about the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the Jesuit Priests. Fascinating history and museum display

2. Suchitoto - interesting Colonial town. We said at a nice inn right on Lake Suchitoto

3. Go to the pupupa restaurant on top of a volcano overlooking San Salvadore (can't remember the name). To this day, my husband and I say they were the best
pupusas we've ever had and what a view.

4. Take a hike and see the coffee bean fields

5. Surfing (if you're into this)

Note: we did a lot of things off the beaten track like see the medical clinic in a tiny village where my MIL worked at or the school my FIL helped get up and running or driving around the city

Sorry. Having a Peace Corps volunteer show you around is apparently disqualifying.

PP here - ha! Ok, kinda true

I'm kidding. I'm referring to a response to one of my prior posts, where some obnoxious troll gave me grief for saying I got to know Honduras by visiting a relative in the Peace Corps there.

PP here. No one trolled you. Rather, I offered a counterpoint to your bizarre and obsessive need to depict El Salvador as difficult, unclean, and having unattractive beaches. It is none of those things. I really wish you would stop maligning the country, which happens to be the homeland for some of the kindest and hardest working people in the DC area. You said you were leaving the thread, but then you couldn’t help yourself and you came back for more. It’s very strange.

Anyway, as I said above, El Salvador is a wonderful and authentic destination, and very easily could meet OP’s stated desires for a family trip. In addition to broad, sandy beaches (of course be careful of rip tides, as anywhere in the Pacific), there are mountain hikes, waterfalls, colonial towns, and volcanic lakes to explore. There is also interesting history, including the Oscar Romero museum that another poster mentioned, as well as another dedicated to the country’s civil war and related violence that I found instructive. Please accept that not everyone needs or desires the calm Caribbean waters of Roatan, or needs the handholding of a Peace Corps volunteer to enjoy the authenticity of Central America. We understand that you do, and that’s fine, but please stop forcing your brand of travel on others and disparaging a hospitable country and people in the process.

Oh, stop trolling please. I'm not "maligning the country" and I didn't say a damned thing to malign the people. In fact, I said I loved our visit and we had a great time. You really have no idea who you are talking to AT ALL. You can try all you want to paint me as someone who doesn't know what they're talking about or to make it out as if you know so much more than me and have more "authentic" experience and knowledge of Central American than I do -- but you don't, trust me.

The only point that I've been trying to make is that if someone is looking for a beach vacation in Central America for spring break, which is how I interpreted OP's question, there are better options than El Salvador. OP has clarified that, yes, she wants to bring her 70-year-old mother for a beach and hiking trip. So, I challenge you, Oh Wise and Sanctimonious One, to identify the "broad, sandy beaches" of El Salvador where OP and her mother could enjoy an authentic Salvadoran experience surrounded by the locals. Because, see, you are talking to someone who is fluent in Spanish, has explored the entire friggin' region by chicken bus on trips lasting months as a time.

It's possible to love a country and love a people while at the same time be honest about what a landscape looks like and to think that a certain location probably isn't the best choice for a certain kind of trip.

In short, get the hell off of your high horse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't want to let slide that someone above said ... "Really anything is more interesting than Costa Rica, with its greedy locals who have a 50 year head start on scamming Gringos." That is a disgusting and hateful comment.

Why is it disgusting? It’s just the truth. Like Thailand and other similar former paradises, Costa Rica has been overrun with US visitors for many decades, and so the country and people have learned to run various scams to separate Gringos from their Greenbacks. What is actually disgusting is the amount of foreign men who visit Costa Rica for the sole purpose of sleeping with hookers. The same situation exists in neighboring Panama (and in Thailand of course). Because other Central American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua receive far fewer visitors, the sex trade is not the same in those countries. So think about that next time you plan a family friendly Spring Break trip to Costa Rica. That country is truly vile.

I'm the poster who the anti-Costa Rica and pro-El Salvador poster has somehow decided I'm a gringo who loves Costa Rica. In fact, I don't. I strongly prefer Nicaragua. Having said that, I'm sorry to say that the sex trade is disgustingly alive and well in Nicaragua as well. It just attracts an even lower class of visitors looking to stretch their dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I would recommend you think twice about going to El Salvador. I have no opinions on the beaches or tourism, but it is a very unstable and dangerous country right now. The Peace Corps even suspended it's program there due to security issues. It is part of the Northern Triangle and a hub for narcotrafficking. MS-13, what is known there as La Mara, is a very powerful organized crime ring with heavy arms imported from the United States. It is true that most Salvadoran's are good people, hardworking, the food is great (I love pupusas!), and the country does have a lot to offer. It's simply not a good time to travel there.

Really? Have you been there? Or is this all second hand info? What a gross exaggeration.

I work with asylum seekers from El Salvador. Since you're too lazy to google, here are some links.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-el-salvador-program-suspended/
https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/dsgsm1519.doc.htm
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1043576/download

Right. So your answer is no, you’ve never been there. Honestly, I don’t want to wade politics, but a very large number of Central American asylum seekers (Salvadorans included) are actually economic migrants who exaggerate their personal stories and the conditions in their home countries in order to satisfy the rigorous criteria for immigration benefits in the United States. So please keep that in mind when formulating your opinions regarding matters of which you are otherwise clueless.

While seeing no reason justifying its condescending tone, I agree with the substance of this response. El Salvador actually is a lot safer now than it was when the decision was made to suspend Peace Corps operations there, and it's continuing to trend in the right direction (unlike Honduras, sadly). I wouldn't not go there for safety reasons; I just wouldn't go there if I were OP, for this particular trip, because it's just not the right fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Wow, a lot of diverse opinions! Our family has been to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and we liked both places. This time, I am taking my 70-year old mom along so I am a little more risk-averse. We are hoping for pretty beaches and also hiking. Not planning on going to restaurants or stores except for groceries. In any case, thanks to the PPs and welcome any other advice or suggestions!

OP - if you want to go you should go!! I've been twice and I'm so glad I did (granted it was 15 years ago). The first was with my in-laws (pre-kids). I had an advantage because they are both former Peace Core, had lived there and knew where to take us, knew people so they were our guides and had a great inside view of the country.

The second time I went back with my mom, who at the time, was a Spanish teacher and we went on her Spring Break. We had my in-laws good friends take us around. We stayed in the nicest hotel in San Salvadore which was (in 2006) was $120.00 American dollars. Everyone is so friendly

The things I recommend 1. Learn about the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the Jesuit Priests. Fascinating history and museum display

2. Suchitoto - interesting Colonial town. We said at a nice inn right on Lake Suchitoto

3. Go to the pupupa restaurant on top of a volcano overlooking San Salvadore (can't remember the name). To this day, my husband and I say they were the best
pupusas we've ever had and what a view.

4. Take a hike and see the coffee bean fields

5. Surfing (if you're into this)

Note: we did a lot of things off the beaten track like see the medical clinic in a tiny village where my MIL worked at or the school my FIL helped get up and running or driving around the city

Sorry. Having a Peace Corps volunteer show you around is apparently disqualifying.

PP here - ha! Ok, kinda true

I'm kidding. I'm referring to a response to one of my prior posts, where some obnoxious troll gave me grief for saying I got to know Honduras by visiting a relative in the Peace Corps there.

PP here. No one trolled you. Rather, I offered a counterpoint to your bizarre and obsessive need to depict El Salvador as difficult, unclean, and having unattractive beaches. It is none of those things. I really wish you would stop maligning the country, which happens to be the homeland for some of the kindest and hardest working people in the DC area. You said you were leaving the thread, but then you couldn’t help yourself and you came back for more. It’s very strange.

Anyway, as I said above, El Salvador is a wonderful and authentic destination, and very easily could meet OP’s stated desires for a family trip. In addition to broad, sandy beaches (of course be careful of rip tides, as anywhere in the Pacific), there are mountain hikes, waterfalls, colonial towns, and volcanic lakes to explore. There is also interesting history, including the Oscar Romero museum that another poster mentioned, as well as another dedicated to the country’s civil war and related violence that I found instructive. Please accept that not everyone needs or desires the calm Caribbean waters of Roatan, or needs the handholding of a Peace Corps volunteer to enjoy the authenticity of Central America. We understand that you do, and that’s fine, but please stop forcing your brand of travel on others and disparaging a hospitable country and people in the process.

Oh, stop trolling please. I'm not "maligning the country" and I didn't say a damned thing to malign the people. In fact, I said I loved our visit and we had a great time. You really have no idea who you are talking to AT ALL. You can try all you want to paint me as someone who doesn't know what they're talking about or to make it out as if you know so much more than me and have more "authentic" experience and knowledge of Central American than I do -- but you don't, trust me.

The only point that I've been trying to make is that if someone is looking for a beach vacation in Central America for spring break, which is how I interpreted OP's question, there are better options than El Salvador. OP has clarified that, yes, she wants to bring her 70-year-old mother for a beach and hiking trip. So, I challenge you, Oh Wise and Sanctimonious One, to identify the "broad, sandy beaches" of El Salvador where OP and her mother could enjoy an authentic Salvadoran experience surrounded by the locals. Because, see, you are talking to someone who is fluent in Spanish, has explored the entire friggin' region by chicken bus on trips lasting months as a time.

It's possible to love a country and love a people while at the same time be honest about what a landscape looks like and to think that a certain location probably isn't the best choice for a certain kind of trip.

In short, get the hell off of your high horse.

I already mentioned a nice beach near San Salvador: San Marcelino. Beautiful Pacific beach with plenty of nice seafood stalls. There are many others of course. Just ask the thousands of Canadians who flock annually to the Decameron on the coast near Santa Ana. And you claim to like the country and its people, but you just think the beaches suck and the country as a whole is dirty and not appropriate for most “North Americans”? Because those are kind of incompatible sentiments. Reading between the lines, it seems quite clear you have a superiority complex and think OP and her decrepit mother should stick to Puerto Rico or Punta Cana or whatever. We get it, you’ve said it a million times. So please let OP decide for herself at this point. Your chicken bus storiea are neither original nor exciting, thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Wow, a lot of diverse opinions! Our family has been to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and we liked both places. This time, I am taking my 70-year old mom along so I am a little more risk-averse. We are hoping for pretty beaches and also hiking. Not planning on going to restaurants or stores except for groceries. In any case, thanks to the PPs and welcome any other advice or suggestions!

OP - if you want to go you should go!! I've been twice and I'm so glad I did (granted it was 15 years ago). The first was with my in-laws (pre-kids). I had an advantage because they are both former Peace Core, had lived there and knew where to take us, knew people so they were our guides and had a great inside view of the country.

The second time I went back with my mom, who at the time, was a Spanish teacher and we went on her Spring Break. We had my in-laws good friends take us around. We stayed in the nicest hotel in San Salvadore which was (in 2006) was $120.00 American dollars. Everyone is so friendly

The things I recommend 1. Learn about the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the Jesuit Priests. Fascinating history and museum display

2. Suchitoto - interesting Colonial town. We said at a nice inn right on Lake Suchitoto

3. Go to the pupupa restaurant on top of a volcano overlooking San Salvadore (can't remember the name). To this day, my husband and I say they were the best
pupusas we've ever had and what a view.

4. Take a hike and see the coffee bean fields

5. Surfing (if you're into this)

Note: we did a lot of things off the beaten track like see the medical clinic in a tiny village where my MIL worked at or the school my FIL helped get up and running or driving around the city

Sorry. Having a Peace Corps volunteer show you around is apparently disqualifying.

PP here - ha! Ok, kinda true

I'm kidding. I'm referring to a response to one of my prior posts, where some obnoxious troll gave me grief for saying I got to know Honduras by visiting a relative in the Peace Corps there.

PP here. No one trolled you. Rather, I offered a counterpoint to your bizarre and obsessive need to depict El Salvador as difficult, unclean, and having unattractive beaches. It is none of those things. I really wish you would stop maligning the country, which happens to be the homeland for some of the kindest and hardest working people in the DC area. You said you were leaving the thread, but then you couldn’t help yourself and you came back for more. It’s very strange.

Anyway, as I said above, El Salvador is a wonderful and authentic destination, and very easily could meet OP’s stated desires for a family trip. In addition to broad, sandy beaches (of course be careful of rip tides, as anywhere in the Pacific), there are mountain hikes, waterfalls, colonial towns, and volcanic lakes to explore. There is also interesting history, including the Oscar Romero museum that another poster mentioned, as well as another dedicated to the country’s civil war and related violence that I found instructive. Please accept that not everyone needs or desires the calm Caribbean waters of Roatan, or needs the handholding of a Peace Corps volunteer to enjoy the authenticity of Central America. We understand that you do, and that’s fine, but please stop forcing your brand of travel on others and disparaging a hospitable country and people in the process.

Oh, stop trolling please. I'm not "maligning the country" and I didn't say a damned thing to malign the people. In fact, I said I loved our visit and we had a great time. You really have no idea who you are talking to AT ALL. You can try all you want to paint me as someone who doesn't know what they're talking about or to make it out as if you know so much more than me and have more "authentic" experience and knowledge of Central American than I do -- but you don't, trust me.

The only point that I've been trying to make is that if someone is looking for a beach vacation in Central America for spring break, which is how I interpreted OP's question, there are better options than El Salvador. OP has clarified that, yes, she wants to bring her 70-year-old mother for a beach and hiking trip. So, I challenge you, Oh Wise and Sanctimonious One, to identify the "broad, sandy beaches" of El Salvador where OP and her mother could enjoy an authentic Salvadoran experience surrounded by the locals. Because, see, you are talking to someone who is fluent in Spanish, has explored the entire friggin' region by chicken bus on trips lasting months as a time.

It's possible to love a country and love a people while at the same time be honest about what a landscape looks like and to think that a certain location probably isn't the best choice for a certain kind of trip.

In short, get the hell off of your high horse.

I already mentioned a nice beach near San Salvador: San Marcelino. Beautiful Pacific beach with plenty of nice seafood stalls. There are many others of course. Just ask the thousands of Canadians who flock annually to the Decameron on the coast near Santa Ana. And you claim to like the country and its people, but you just think the beaches suck and the country as a whole is dirty and not appropriate for most “North Americans”? Because those are kind of incompatible sentiments. Reading between the lines, it seems quite clear you have a superiority complex and think OP and her decrepit mother should stick to Puerto Rico or Punta Cana or whatever. We get it, you’ve said it a million times. So please let OP decide for herself at this point. Your chicken bus storiea are neither original nor exciting, thanks.

You are in serious need of psychiatric help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I would recommend you think twice about going to El Salvador. I have no opinions on the beaches or tourism, but it is a very unstable and dangerous country right now. The Peace Corps even suspended it's program there due to security issues. It is part of the Northern Triangle and a hub for narcotrafficking. MS-13, what is known there as La Mara, is a very powerful organized crime ring with heavy arms imported from the United States. It is true that most Salvadoran's are good people, hardworking, the food is great (I love pupusas!), and the country does have a lot to offer. It's simply not a good time to travel there.

Really? Have you been there? Or is this all second hand info? What a gross exaggeration.

I work with asylum seekers from El Salvador. Since you're too lazy to google, here are some links.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-el-salvador-program-suspended/
https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/dsgsm1519.doc.htm
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1043576/download

Right. So your answer is no, you’ve never been there. Honestly, I don’t want to wade politics, but a very large number of Central American asylum seekers (Salvadorans included) are actually economic migrants who exaggerate their personal stories and the conditions in their home countries in order to satisfy the rigorous criteria for immigration benefits in the United States. So please keep that in mind when formulating your opinions regarding matters of which you are otherwise clueless.

NP who also works with asylum seekers. It's the murder capital of the world. Give me a break.

Again, I don’t want to make this political (and I’m also the “pro-El Salvador poster”), but true asylum seekers would seek refuge in the first safe country they pass through (such as Mexico). El Salvador has violence of course (many places do), but it is grossly exaggerated by asylum seekers and the US attorneys and advocacy groups that represent them.

Bruja de mierda. You are no pro Salvador poster if you saying those disgusting things about Salvadoran immigrants to the US. You literally make me ill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I would recommend you think twice about going to El Salvador. I have no opinions on the beaches or tourism, but it is a very unstable and dangerous country right now. The Peace Corps even suspended it's program there due to security issues. It is part of the Northern Triangle and a hub for narcotrafficking. MS-13, what is known there as La Mara, is a very powerful organized crime ring with heavy arms imported from the United States. It is true that most Salvadoran's are good people, hardworking, the food is great (I love pupusas!), and the country does have a lot to offer. It's simply not a good time to travel there.

Really? Have you been there? Or is this all second hand info? What a gross exaggeration.

I work with asylum seekers from El Salvador. Since you're too lazy to google, here are some links.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-el-salvador-program-suspended/
https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/dsgsm1519.doc.htm
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1043576/download

Right. So your answer is no, you’ve never been there. Honestly, I don’t want to wade politics, but a very large number of Central American asylum seekers (Salvadorans included) are actually economic migrants who exaggerate their personal stories and the conditions in their home countries in order to satisfy the rigorous criteria for immigration benefits in the United States. So please keep that in mind when formulating your opinions regarding matters of which you are otherwise clueless.

NP who also works with asylum seekers. It's the murder capital of the world. Give me a break.

Again, I don’t want to make this political (and I’m also the “pro-El Salvador poster”), but true asylum seekers would seek refuge in the first safe country they pass through (such as Mexico). El Salvador has violence of course (many places do), but it is grossly exaggerated by asylum seekers and the US attorneys and advocacy groups that represent them.

Bruja de mierda. You are no pro Salvador poster if you saying those disgusting things about Salvadoran immigrants to the US. You literally make me ill

What?! It’s just the truth, and it has nothing to do with Salvadorans, as many asylum seekers (from both Latin America and elsewhere) do exactly the same. Look, I wish every Salvadoran or Honduran or whoever who wished to live in the US could do so, and that they didn’t have to fake an asylum claim in order to do so. But that’s not how it works. Frivolous asylum claims clog up the system and harm legitimate refugees who are truly in need, from places like Afghanistan. Everyone knows that.

But this thread is a travel thread about El Salvador, which is a wonderful and safe nation to visit, not about immigration politics, which is a messy and convoluted affair. Stop being naive please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Wow, a lot of diverse opinions! Our family has been to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and we liked both places. This time, I am taking my 70-year old mom along so I am a little more risk-averse. We are hoping for pretty beaches and also hiking. Not planning on going to restaurants or stores except for groceries. In any case, thanks to the PPs and welcome any other advice or suggestions!

OP - if you want to go you should go!! I've been twice and I'm so glad I did (granted it was 15 years ago). The first was with my in-laws (pre-kids). I had an advantage because they are both former Peace Core, had lived there and knew where to take us, knew people so they were our guides and had a great inside view of the country.

The second time I went back with my mom, who at the time, was a Spanish teacher and we went on her Spring Break. We had my in-laws good friends take us around. We stayed in the nicest hotel in San Salvadore which was (in 2006) was $120.00 American dollars. Everyone is so friendly

The things I recommend 1. Learn about the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the Jesuit Priests. Fascinating history and museum display

2. Suchitoto - interesting Colonial town. We said at a nice inn right on Lake Suchitoto

3. Go to the pupupa restaurant on top of a volcano overlooking San Salvadore (can't remember the name). To this day, my husband and I say they were the best
pupusas we've ever had and what a view.

4. Take a hike and see the coffee bean fields

5. Surfing (if you're into this)

Note: we did a lot of things off the beaten track like see the medical clinic in a tiny village where my MIL worked at or the school my FIL helped get up and running or driving around the city

Sorry. Having a Peace Corps volunteer show you around is apparently disqualifying.

PP here - ha! Ok, kinda true

I'm kidding. I'm referring to a response to one of my prior posts, where some obnoxious troll gave me grief for saying I got to know Honduras by visiting a relative in the Peace Corps there.

PP here. No one trolled you. Rather, I offered a counterpoint to your bizarre and obsessive need to depict El Salvador as difficult, unclean, and having unattractive beaches. It is none of those things. I really wish you would stop maligning the country, which happens to be the homeland for some of the kindest and hardest working people in the DC area. You said you were leaving the thread, but then you couldn’t help yourself and you came back for more. It’s very strange.

Anyway, as I said above, El Salvador is a wonderful and authentic destination, and very easily could meet OP’s stated desires for a family trip. In addition to broad, sandy beaches (of course be careful of rip tides, as anywhere in the Pacific), there are mountain hikes, waterfalls, colonial towns, and volcanic lakes to explore. There is also interesting history, including the Oscar Romero museum that another poster mentioned, as well as another dedicated to the country’s civil war and related violence that I found instructive. Please accept that not everyone needs or desires the calm Caribbean waters of Roatan, or needs the handholding of a Peace Corps volunteer to enjoy the authenticity of Central America. We understand that you do, and that’s fine, but please stop forcing your brand of travel on others and disparaging a hospitable country and people in the process.

Oh, stop trolling please. I'm not "maligning the country" and I didn't say a damned thing to malign the people. In fact, I said I loved our visit and we had a great time. You really have no idea who you are talking to AT ALL. You can try all you want to paint me as someone who doesn't know what they're talking about or to make it out as if you know so much more than me and have more "authentic" experience and knowledge of Central American than I do -- but you don't, trust me.

The only point that I've been trying to make is that if someone is looking for a beach vacation in Central America for spring break, which is how I interpreted OP's question, there are better options than El Salvador. OP has clarified that, yes, she wants to bring her 70-year-old mother for a beach and hiking trip. So, I challenge you, Oh Wise and Sanctimonious One, to identify the "broad, sandy beaches" of El Salvador where OP and her mother could enjoy an authentic Salvadoran experience surrounded by the locals. Because, see, you are talking to someone who is fluent in Spanish, has explored the entire friggin' region by chicken bus on trips lasting months as a time.

It's possible to love a country and love a people while at the same time be honest about what a landscape looks like and to think that a certain location probably isn't the best choice for a certain kind of trip.

In short, get the hell off of your high horse.

I already mentioned a nice beach near San Salvador: San Marcelino. Beautiful Pacific beach with plenty of nice seafood stalls. There are many others of course. Just ask the thousands of Canadians who flock annually to the Decameron on the coast near Santa Ana. And you claim to like the country and its people, but you just think the beaches suck and the country as a whole is dirty and not appropriate for most “North Americans”? Because those are kind of incompatible sentiments. Reading between the lines, it seems quite clear you have a superiority complex and think OP and her decrepit mother should stick to Puerto Rico or Punta Cana or whatever. We get it, you’ve said it a million times. So please let OP decide for herself at this point. Your chicken bus storiea are neither original nor exciting, thanks.

I've never been to either Punta Cana or Puerto Rico. San Marcelino is a decent beach, sure, but "beautiful" is a real exaggeration. Most beach lovers aren't fans of grey sand.

As for the Canadians -- HA! You can't swing a dead cat anywhere in a less expensive part of Central America without hitting a dozen of them. They'll go anywhere down there that's cheap where they won't bother trying to learn or speak the language, will stick entirely to themselves, exploit the locals, and leave lousy tips. If Decameron has "thousands of Canadians flocking" there, all that tells me is to look somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Wow, a lot of diverse opinions! Our family has been to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and we liked both places. This time, I am taking my 70-year old mom along so I am a little more risk-averse. We are hoping for pretty beaches and also hiking. Not planning on going to restaurants or stores except for groceries. In any case, thanks to the PPs and welcome any other advice or suggestions!

OP - if you want to go you should go!! I've been twice and I'm so glad I did (granted it was 15 years ago). The first was with my in-laws (pre-kids). I had an advantage because they are both former Peace Core, had lived there and knew where to take us, knew people so they were our guides and had a great inside view of the country.

The second time I went back with my mom, who at the time, was a Spanish teacher and we went on her Spring Break. We had my in-laws good friends take us around. We stayed in the nicest hotel in San Salvadore which was (in 2006) was $120.00 American dollars. Everyone is so friendly

The things I recommend 1. Learn about the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the Jesuit Priests. Fascinating history and museum display

2. Suchitoto - interesting Colonial town. We said at a nice inn right on Lake Suchitoto

3. Go to the pupupa restaurant on top of a volcano overlooking San Salvadore (can't remember the name). To this day, my husband and I say they were the best
pupusas we've ever had and what a view.

4. Take a hike and see the coffee bean fields

5. Surfing (if you're into this)

Note: we did a lot of things off the beaten track like see the medical clinic in a tiny village where my MIL worked at or the school my FIL helped get up and running or driving around the city

Sorry. Having a Peace Corps volunteer show you around is apparently disqualifying.

PP here - ha! Ok, kinda true

I'm kidding. I'm referring to a response to one of my prior posts, where some obnoxious troll gave me grief for saying I got to know Honduras by visiting a relative in the Peace Corps there.

PP here. No one trolled you. Rather, I offered a counterpoint to your bizarre and obsessive need to depict El Salvador as difficult, unclean, and having unattractive beaches. It is none of those things. I really wish you would stop maligning the country, which happens to be the homeland for some of the kindest and hardest working people in the DC area. You said you were leaving the thread, but then you couldn’t help yourself and you came back for more. It’s very strange.

Anyway, as I said above, El Salvador is a wonderful and authentic destination, and very easily could meet OP’s stated desires for a family trip. In addition to broad, sandy beaches (of course be careful of rip tides, as anywhere in the Pacific), there are mountain hikes, waterfalls, colonial towns, and volcanic lakes to explore. There is also interesting history, including the Oscar Romero museum that another poster mentioned, as well as another dedicated to the country’s civil war and related violence that I found instructive. Please accept that not everyone needs or desires the calm Caribbean waters of Roatan, or needs the handholding of a Peace Corps volunteer to enjoy the authenticity of Central America. We understand that you do, and that’s fine, but please stop forcing your brand of travel on others and disparaging a hospitable country and people in the process.

Oh, stop trolling please. I'm not "maligning the country" and I didn't say a damned thing to malign the people. In fact, I said I loved our visit and we had a great time. You really have no idea who you are talking to AT ALL. You can try all you want to paint me as someone who doesn't know what they're talking about or to make it out as if you know so much more than me and have more "authentic" experience and knowledge of Central American than I do -- but you don't, trust me.

The only point that I've been trying to make is that if someone is looking for a beach vacation in Central America for spring break, which is how I interpreted OP's question, there are better options than El Salvador. OP has clarified that, yes, she wants to bring her 70-year-old mother for a beach and hiking trip. So, I challenge you, Oh Wise and Sanctimonious One, to identify the "broad, sandy beaches" of El Salvador where OP and her mother could enjoy an authentic Salvadoran experience surrounded by the locals. Because, see, you are talking to someone who is fluent in Spanish, has explored the entire friggin' region by chicken bus on trips lasting months as a time.

It's possible to love a country and love a people while at the same time be honest about what a landscape looks like and to think that a certain location probably isn't the best choice for a certain kind of trip.

In short, get the hell off of your high horse.

I already mentioned a nice beach near San Salvador: San Marcelino. Beautiful Pacific beach with plenty of nice seafood stalls. There are many others of course. Just ask the thousands of Canadians who flock annually to the Decameron on the coast near Santa Ana. And you claim to like the country and its people, but you just think the beaches suck and the country as a whole is dirty and not appropriate for most “North Americans”? Because those are kind of incompatible sentiments. Reading between the lines, it seems quite clear you have a superiority complex and think OP and her decrepit mother should stick to Puerto Rico or Punta Cana or whatever. We get it, you’ve said it a million times. So please let OP decide for herself at this point. Your chicken bus storiea are neither original nor exciting, thanks.

I've never been to either Punta Cana or Puerto Rico. San Marcelino is a decent beach, sure, but "beautiful" is a real exaggeration. Most beach lovers aren't fans of grey sand.

As for the Canadians -- HA! You can't swing a dead cat anywhere in a less expensive part of Central America without hitting a dozen of them. They'll go anywhere down there that's cheap where they won't bother trying to learn or speak the language, will stick entirely to themselves, exploit the locals, and leave lousy tips. If Decameron has "thousands of Canadians flocking" there, all that tells me is to look somewhere else.

I’m not suggesting that OP go to the Decameron — only pointing out that if ES is safe enough for thousands of sun seeking Canadians on charter flights, it’s safe enough for OP and her mother. In any event, it doesn’t sound like OP’s sole desire for the trip is the world’s most beautiful beach, so not sure why you’re so hung up on that.