Santa Ana is the second largest city of El Salvador and is the hub of several economic activities. Spending a few nights in Santa Ana can give you a peek into the regular Salvadoran life. Also, proximity to several nearby attractions and activities make this almost a definite stop on the El Salvador itinerary of many travelers.
Spanning over Pre-Columbian era to Spanish colonization period to growth as a prosperous city to being affected by El Salvador’s Civil War in the late 20th century, the city has witnessed history over centuries. During this period, its name also evolved from Sihuatehuacán to how we know it today, Santa Ana. The city is a mix of preserving its heritage and history, and embracing modernization.
In this travel guide, we share with you the best things to do in Santa Ana, El Salvador, and other important information that will help you plan your own trip, like where to stay, where to eat and how reach.
As Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for supporting Paradise Catchers.
Check out our YouTube video about Santa Ana city – the town center, the things to do and a little room tour of where we stayed.
12 Things to Do in Santa Ana, El Salvador
Apart from exploring the city center itself, Santa Ana is also a great base for going on different day trips or half-day tours in El Salvador. In this section, we will list the best things to do in Santa Ana, from eating pupusas to hiking volcanoes to jumping off cliffs!
Visit Santa Ana Cathedral
The cathedral is the defining structure of Santa Ana’s cityscape today. The original structure, built in the 16th century, succumbed to the impact of lightning in the 19th century. In the early 20th century, Cathedral of Our Lady Saint Anne was built, following a neo-gothic style of architecture. In 1995, it was declared a national monument in El Salvador.
The Santa Ana cathedral has a remarkable white front face soaring against the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds. Start your discovery of Santa Ana city from here, the heart of the city, La Libertad.
Take a Tour at National Theater
Another important building right next to the cathedral is the the National Theater of Santa Ana. It is more than a hundred years old structure with influences of Greek and Roman architectural styles.
Different concerts and shows keep happening at the National Theater. So, you can book yourself a ticket for such a show. It will allow you to check out the impressive interiors too. Alternatively, you can also take a guided tour of the National Theater. A knowledgable guide will show you around, and tell you the stories of each corner.
Walk the Streets
We walked a lot during our one week in Santa Ana, El Salvador – some days, several blocks at a time.
Santa Ana is a big city with bustling areas spread across the city. At some places, you may come across hundreds of people. However, if you look beyond the regular “things to do”, you may find yourself walking on Santa Ana’s quieter streets, adorned with colorful buildings on either side. Green mountains peek in the distant horizon, and while closer to you, a pastel colored car adds pop to your frame.
Walking was our favorite way of exploring Santa Ana city.
Eat Pupusas
During our 1 month in El Salvador, we cannot count the number of times we had pupusas for our meals! If you watched our video about El Salvador Travel First Impressions, then you know that it was love at first bite!
In case you are not acquainted yet with a pupusa – it is a roundish flatbread made with corn flour or rice flour and has different stuffing options, like chicken, chicharrones, and even vegetarian options like mashed beans, jalapeño peppers, cheese, only to name a few. Some pupusa sellers also offer stuffing combinations. The corn flour variant of pupusa is more common, however there are some shops where you get to choose between rice flour and cornflour for your order of pupusas.
You can get pupusas pretty much anywhere in El Salvador. During our trip, we learnt from a Salvadoran friend, that the way pupusas are made and served, vary from the western part of the country to the eastern part, in cities like San Miguel.
Nonetheless, when you are in Santa Ana, you should definitely try some pupusas. There are some pupuserias that are like well-established restaurants, like Pupuseria La Ceiba. But the places we liked the best are the hole-in-the-wall pupuserias run by families. Probably, the woman of the house of the grandmother of the house are tossing up the pupusas next to their house garage. These pupusas taste the best!
Hike Santa Ana Volcano
This activity is what brings most travelers to Santa Ana – hiking the highest volcano of El Salvador! Santa Ana city serves as a perfect base for the volcano hike as you can take a morning bus to the volcano trailhead in Los Volcanes National Park where the hike starts.
Ilamatepec volcano, also known as Santa Ana volcano, stands tall at a height of 2,381 meters (7,812 feet). You can hike to the top of this volcano and see its stunning emerald crater lake, while being surrounded by beautiful vistas of mountains, valley, ocean and other volcanoes. It is an incredibly rewarding hike as you get beautiful views, not just at the summit, but also along the way.
The difficulty level of Santa Ana volcano hike is moderate. Without any obstructing health conditions, it should be on your list of the best things to do in El Salvador. The hike is also much less taxing than the Acatenango volcano overnight hike in Guatemala.
For a more visual feel, watch our YouTube video of Santa Ana volcano hike.
Appreciate the Views of Coatepeque Lake
Coatepeque Lake is a volcanic lake that you can visit from Santa Ana. You can take a bus to Lago de Coatepeque. Depending on your exact destination, you may need to get a taxi or a hitchhike ride from the bus stop.
There are several ways of enjoying the Coatepeque Lake – kayaking, jet skiing, swimming or even scuba diving!
If you wish to splurge a bit on your El Salvador vacation, you can choose to stay overnight at one of the lakeside vacation homes. For backpackers, a more popular choice is the Captain Morgan Hostel. Even if you do not stay overnight at the hostel, you can get a day pass and enjoy the facilities. They have many cool things like a tiki bar and a platform from where you can jump off into the lake for a swim.
You can also enjoy the views of Coatepeque Lake on your Santa Ana volcano hike. After our hike, we went for a post-hike treat of coffee and cake at the Crater Coffee House and Bistro. They have lake view seating, and also a large hammock and a wooden deck that can be good for photo ops.
Supposedly, the color of the Coatepeque Lake alternates between blue and turquoise green, due to some unexplained reason. At the time of our visit, the lake wore a stunning blue color.
Visit the Mayan Ruins at Tazumal
If Mayan history interests you, visit the Tazumal Archaeological Park. Located in the Chalchuapa town, it is an easy bus ride from Santa Ana.
Settlement history of the Chalchuapa town dates back to 1200 BC, whereas Tazumal continued to be a Mayan site from 200 BC to 900 AD. So, the Tazumal ruins constitute one of the most important archaeological sites in El Salvador.
The site itself is not as elaborate as some of the other Mayan ruins like Tikal in Guatemala or Chichen Itza in Mexico. In fact, you can explore the Tazumal ruins in less than an hour. So, if you visit Tazumal during the morning hours, for the afternoon, you can pack in another thing to do in Santa Ana or another place to visit.
To know more about Tazumal ruins and how you can plan your visit, watch our Youtube video or read our Tazumal visit guide.
Jump into a Hot Spring Waterfall Pool
Visiting the hot spring waterfalls nearby was one of our top favorite things to do in Santa Ana, El Salvador.
Away from the tourist hotspots of El Salvador, El Salto de Malacatiupan, is beautiful place to spend a relaxing day, but not without a little dose of adrenalin rush! From Santa Ana, you can take a bus and then a tuk-tuk or a moto taxi to reach the waterfalls. After arriving, the entrance costs 1 USD per person.
At El Salto, warm water pools are created at the bottom of the hot spring waterfalls. In the smaller pools, you can chill and swim. On the other hand, the larger pool is a favorite for people to dive into, right off the edge of the cliff above. Indranil ended up doing the jump 4 times!
Watch this YouTube video of our visit to Salto de Malacatiupan hot spring waterfalls.
Visit UNESCO Heritage Site Joya de Cerren
Joya de Cerren is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in El Salvador. From Santa Ana, it is a 45-minute drive to the archaeological site, whereas, from the capital San Salvador, it takes about an hour. So, you can visit Joya de Cerren from either of Santa Ana or San Salvador.
This archaeological site is small but holds immense importance in the discovery of Mayan history. In 650 AD, the Loma Caldera volcano erupted and wrecked the entire Mayan village at Joya de Cerren. For centuries thereafter, the site remained hidden, until the remains of the Mayan settlement were accidentally discovered in 1976. For this uncanny historic resemblance, Joya de Cerren is also referred to as the Pompeii of America.
Research and investigation still continue at the Joya de Cerren site, but the discoveries so far have made it an interesting site to visit. Despite the destruction of the village several centuries ago, the remains have been naturally preserved well, that provide a good understanding of the daily life of Mayans.
Visit San Andres Archaeological Park
If you visit Joya de Cerren from Santa Ana, take a side trip to another archaeological park of El Salvador. In less than half an hour from Joya de Cerren, you can reach San Andres Archaeological Park.
One of the largest pre-Hispanic sites in El Salvador, the Mayan settlement of San Andres reached its peak between 600-900 AD. The archaeological park of San Andres was possibly an important center for administration and ceremonial practices, whereas the surrounding areas of the Zapotitán valley were inhabited by the common people.
At the archaeological park, you will see mounds and plazas and pyramids, all integrated with the natural green landscapes of the area.
For people interested in Mayan history, combining visits to San Andres and Joya de Cerren ruins, can make for a nice day trip from Santa Ana.
Sample Delicious Food at Juayua Food Festival
Add a gastronomic twist to your time in Santa Ana. Juayua, one of the most prominent towns along the Ruta de las Flores (The Flower Route), holds a food festival every weekend. Several food vendors set up stalls where they sell various kinds of delicious fare. From seafood to grilled meat to refreshing beverages, you can find it all here at this Juayua feria gastronomia.
From Santa Ana, it is a 60-90 minutes bus ride to Juayua. So, if you have a free Saturday or Sunday in Santa Ana, take the bus to Juayua, and spend the whole afternoon sampling delicious food from the different food stalls.
However, not just the Juayua food festival, there are several things to do in Juayua, like hiking the severn waterfalls. The other towns on the flower route are also worth exploring. So, our recommendation is to spend at least a few nights at a town on the Ruta de las Flores.
But, if your El Salvador itinerary does not allow you to dedicate multiple days to Ruta de la Flores, you can do this day trip to Juayua for the weekend food festival.
Check Out Metrocentro Santa Ana
The city center of Santa Ana has all the historic feels and charm, but only 2.5 km (1.6 miles) away from the Santa Ana Cathedral, lies the modern zone of the city.
If you have an afternoon or evening to spare in Santa Ana, go check out the Metrocentro Santa Ana. Metrocentro is a renowned chain of shopping malls in El Salvador with presence in the capital city, San Salvador, as well as in the east, in San Miguel.
MetroCentro Santa Ana is similar to standard shopping malls with retail shops, service centers, multiplex and food court with chain restaurants and cafes. Do not go here with the expectation of seeing something out of the ordinary. Instead, go here to get a perspective of how the city of Santa Ana can be home to both heritage and modernity. It is not something you get to see in other historic towns like Antigua Guatemala.
Apart from this perspective, we also enjoyed the familiarity of modern city vibes while picking our meal from a restaurant in the food court.
Where to Stay in Santa Ana
Here are some
- Casa Blanca Tu Casa: This is a guesthouse run by two sisters. Good hot shower, high speed internet, great homemade breakfast everyday and shared kitchen make this place a great choice for long stays. We stayed here for a week and felt at home all the time. The hosts shared recommendations on local activities and food, and they also invited us to share a festival dinner with them. Click here to check prices and availability.
- Hostal Las Puertas: Located close to the town center, this highly rated hostel has a shared kitchen and a shared lounge, and offers accommodations in private rooms with AC, TV and private bathrooms. Click here to check prices and availability.
- Hostal Casa Verde: This is another hostel in Santa Ana, with accommodation options in both private and shared rooms.They have a shared kitchen and a common terrace. Some of their highlights are an outdoor pool and free bicycle rentals. Click here to check prices and availability.
- Casa Vieja Guesthouse: This is a family run guesthouse offering accommodations in private rooms with private bathrooms with hot shower. They provide complimentary breakfast every day of the stay. Click here to check prices and availability.
Where to Eat in Santa Ana
You can call us biased, but our first recommendation will always be pupuserias! So, here goes our list for where to eat in Santa Ana:
- Pupuserias, particularly the small family run ones, followed by La Ceiba.
- Several food vendors have their stalls at the main square, next to the cathedral. You can find tortas and sandwiches and big servings of french fries. It is like a street food fair. Grab a light meal or a snack from one (or more) stalls while exploring the Santa Ana town center.
- For sit-down restaurants, Simmer Down and Cafe Tejas are two popular ones. The first one is right next to the cathedral, serving pizzas, pastas and other main courses, whereas the latter is located a few blocks away.
- For a variety of options of chain restaurants, go to the food court of Metrocentro Santa Ana, the shopping mall.
How to Reach Santa Ana
Public Transport
Santa Ana is well connected with the rest of El Salvador by the public bus network. From the other major towns and cities, these are the bus routes that will take you to Santa Ana:
- From San Salvador: Board TUDO Bus #201 from Occidente Bus Terminal.
- From Ruta de las Flores:
- From Juayua: Take Bus #238 to Santa Ana.
- From other towns: Take Bus #249 or the Mini Bus to Ahuachapan and then Bus #202 from Ahuachapan to Santa Ana.
- From Surf City (El Zonte, El Tunco etc.): Take the AC Microbus #102A from your Surf City beach town to San Salvador, and then TUDO Bus #202 from San Salvador to Santa Ana.
Rent A Car
For convenience and flexibility of moving from one place to another, you can also rent a car in El Salvador. It will allow you the flexibility of defining your own travel schedule and the liberty of stopping anywhere you please.
The best place to get your rental car is right at the San Salvador International Airport. You can also drop the vehicle at the same place before departing from the country.
Alamo, Enterprise, National, Avis, Budget and Hertz are some of the popular rental car companies in El Salvador. To find the best car rental deals across different companies, check out Discover Cars.
Where Next after Santa Ana, El Salvador
If you started your El Salvador journey from the coast, after Santa Ana, move on to Ruta de las Flores and spend a few days in one of the cute mountain towns like Concepcion de Ataco or Apaneca, or in the more popular Juayua town. From relaxing in thermal springs to adventure activities like zip-lining, from visiting food festivals to hiking waterfalls, there are plenty of things to do on the Ruta de las Flores.
On the other hand, if you arrived at Santa Ana from Ruta de las Flores, you can head to the beach, El Salvador’s famed Surf City, for days of sun, sand and surf. El Tunco is the most developed and most popular beach town, but our favorite turned out to be the quieter neighbor El Zonte.
If you have already explored both Ruta de las Flores and the Surf City, head to San Salvador. Do not just use the capital city for heading in to and out of the country. There are plenty of things to do in San Salvador!
Travel Planning Logistics
- Accommodation: For several years now, Booking.com has been our platform of choice for booking accommodation while traveling. You can apply all the desired filters and shortlist the ones that meet your criteria. On continued use, you will keep unlocking their Genius benefits. For long term stays, we use Airbnb. Of late, we have also started browsing Hostelworld for finding hostels.
- Tours: When traveling to new destinations, you can plan ahead and book your activities. Check for highly rated tours on Viator and Get Your Guide.
- Packing: From swimwear to sunscreen, hiking pants to insect repellents, buy your vacation packing essentials on Amazon.
- Flights: We always start our flight searches with Skyscanner and Momondo. They are aggregators that display flight options, compiling information across airlines and combinations. What we like the best about these flight aggregators is that you can put “Anywhere” as your destination, so that you find the best flight deals from your city of departure.
Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase or a booking through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you.
