If you are in San Salvador, El Salvador wondering what to do for the day than I have a GREAT day trip idea! Take a break from the city and go to one of El Salvador’s prettiest black sand beaches in El Zonte! Below, I will explain how to get to El Zonte from San Salvador by public transportation and fun things to do while having a beach day!
how to get to el zonte
by Public transportation
First things first!
This is definitely not the only way to get to El Zonte. This is just what worked out for Zack and I based on our Airbnb location in San Salvador! So by all means if you know of other routes or if you personally took a different route than PLEASE share in the comments below so that fellow travelers can learn from us!
As of February 2023, the buses to La Libertad can be found zooming past the Terminal de Occidente without stopping inside the terminal. SO, that being said, flag down bus number: 102 or 102A headed towards La Libertad. Most all of the buses either have their bus number and/or name of their destination painted on the front (and back) of the bus. We were recommended by the locals to wave down the buses traveling WEST. We waited 15-20 minutes along the road until bus 102 came and picked us up. We paid a whopping $3 for both Zack and I to travel 1.5 hours to La Libertad!
AND! On the way you get to experience the local way of life! Meaning…LOTS of vendors selling an array of goods from dried plantains, yucca, chips to toothbrushes and pain medication! We listened to some incredible locals give a 5-10 minute TED talk about a certain pain medication he was trying to sell. El Salvadorians know how to advertise!
After 1.5 hours goes by you will finally catch glimpses of the ocean! You have reached La Libertad!
Now what? Well it’s time to get off the bus :)!
Where? We decided to exit across the street from Sunset Park – Surf City. Why we decided this was our stop…Well I honestly don’t know I just know that we were supposed to change buses in La Libertad. Bus #2 was a tad tricky to hunt down but most of the locals were super helpful in pointing us in the right direction to try and catch Bus 192 or 192A towards El Zonte. You can either hang out along highway 2 and see if any buses are headed toward El Zonte or ask the locals to point you in a better direction to find Bus 192 or 192A. We paid a total of $1 for both Zack and I for a 25-30 minute trip to El Zonte from La Libertad.
You’ve Arrived!
El Zonte is a very small town with only a couple of “main” dirt roads leading to the ocean. The one we went down had an “official” El Zonte sign pointing us in the direction of the beach! A quick 5-10 minute walk past a few beautiful, well maintained hotels/hostels to smooth black sandy beaches with great surfing waves crashing upon them! 
We walked down the beach to the right, over a small river, as we noticed the sand was a little smoother and newbie surfers were tackling the inviting waves. We found ourselves posting up for a few hours in front of Olas Permanentes Hostel! They had a great bar/restaurant right on the beach if you are wanting some place to eat/drink. We even bumped into a fellow traveler we had met in Santa Ana who was staying there and noted he was enjoying his stay! So if you were wanting to stay a few days (which we would definitely consider doing next time) Olas Permanentes may be worth looking in to.
Getting Back to San Salvador
Time to go back to San Salvador! Grab any bus headed south toward La Libertad! Then have them drop you off in La Libertad and look for bus 102/102A headed back toward San Salvador! Depending on where you picked the bus up at in San Salvador your bus will more than likely pass that same location so just let the bus driver know that you would like to stop there :)!
what to do in el zonte
- Beach Day – Relax, read a good book, take a nap and just enjoy the sights and sounds of crashing waves and beautiful warm waters of the Pacific Ocean!
- Surfing – El Zonte is a GREAT beach to surf. Whether you are a beginner or expert, these waves were consistently rolling in throughout the day providing small swells for surfers to play in! We rented a surfboard at Olas Permanentes for $15 USD for the whole day and had a blast! They also offer surfing lessons! There are multiple places where you can rent surf boards for the day so just ask around!
- Boogie boarding – We saw a few people riding the waves on boogie boards which actually looked like a ton of fun! Definitely something to look in to if you aren’t up for surfing! Not sure the rental price so ask around.
- Body boarding – This can be really fun AND you don’t need to rent any equipment! You simply learned how to time the wave right with your chest and heave your body in the direction of the traveling wave and hope that the wave carries you a few feet! (Women beware as this can potentially remove bikini tops!)
- Drink/Eat beach side – For being a smaller town there are a handful of restaurants on the beach to grab a bite to eat or drink!
Where to stay
- Olas Permanentes El Zonte Hostel (a fellow traveler stay here and noted clean rooms and great location)
- Horizonte Surf Camp
- Esencia Nativa
- Canegue Hostel
There are lots of other ones as well these are just ones that we walked past that after some research had more than 4 star reviews on google :)!