El Tunco what a special special place. When I envisioned the full ‘gap year’ of travel that I had this past year, El Salvador remained as basically the last place I was dying to visit. . The land of the right hand point break, El Salvador’s coastline is absolutely something else. This was the last place I was in the water before taking off a few years to work in Central Mexico as a volunteer.
The season here seems to coincide with southern swells— about May to October brings the largest waves, and for me they were the biggest of my life. Somehow I coincided my two week trip with one of the biggest swells of the summer, which at first was absolutely terrifying, but of course it ended up with me challenging myself to get my best waves yet!
If you’re looking to stay just steps away from the surf in Salvador, look no further than the party town of El Tunco, which has either the beachbreak Bocana or on the opposite end of the beach, El Sunzal.
Sunzal is probably best described by the word épico. It’s about a 600 m walk along cobblestones to get to the break, and THEN about 400 m of paddling to get out to where the waves break. While it sounds like quite a mission, it basically never disappoints. To me, Sunzal seemed to be the most manageable spot when basically the whole coast had massive waves. Sunzal really feels like a wave pool, with the highest right hand peak breaking way, way out there, then about two more inside sections, and finally a little beach break wave.
photo by piolo flores
I preferred Sunzal on low tide because it meant less water was moving around, and also the notorious crawl over the cobblestones was a little more manageable. (HUGE lifesaving tip: bring yourself some watershoes or Tevas for crawling over the rocks. Everyone is very scraped up from head to toe and if you scrape up the bottom of your feet on the first day like I did, it makes it even more painful!!) Needless to say, I really upped my surfing here by gaining so much confidence really focusing on how to ride the clean wave face. After spending the past year plateauing in my surf, I improved massively and learned of my capability to send waves up to double overhead (2021 Katia wouldn’t believe it!) I had many a wonderful session at Sunzal and loved to frequent it at sunrise and sunset, as midday is just too darn hot in the Salvadorian sun.
The day I arrived was forecasted as the smallest of the week, and it was still a bit freaky to paddle out to the overhead waves at the beautiful beach break, La Bocana. I’m very thankful my best surfer gal took me out because it was quite crowded and a difficult entry/exit over the cobblestones. In El Salvador they say if you wanna have a good session, tienes que pagar. No one makes it out unscathed due to the huge stones lining the beaches and the bottom, and just the huge waves in general which can lead to some insane wipeouts and missed duck dives. I remained a mere Bocana spectator for the rest of my visit, as the real pros and talented travelers sent it down the glassy A-frames, oftentimes double to triple overhead, right in front of the beautiful boardwalk . (The only other time I attempted to surf this spot, I paddled in and out over the rocks and lost my middle fin! As soon as the current started taking me out I felt over my head (quite literally) and promptly got out— and thank god I did. The spot seems to surge on a moment’s notice and the size picked up to double overhead!)
el zonte, just 20 mins up the road from tunco
Other than El Tunco, the other waves nearby are very easily accessible by chicken bus, colectivo, carpool, or (my personal favorite) hitchhiking. I know Salvador has it’s reputation with safety but the people who pick up surfers and surfboards are generally just there to share the stoke— we even hopped in the back of the police pick up a few times lol... The other spots you can try nearby are El Zonte (a right point break with a tricky in/ out), KM 59 (or adjacent K60 and 61), or if you wanna go a whole hour north you can hit Mizata. To the south, you will find the WSL famed spot, Punta Roca, which is pretty advanced and I didn’t feel comfortable enough to paddle out there although I loved watching my friends shred it!
the best part of punta roca is the gorgeous palm trees
There are also various beach front hostels or humble bed and breakfasts at each of these spots, but I personally prefer El Tunco because that’s where the party is at!!! The second most popular place to stay is probably El Zonte and they also have a fabulous skate bowl which I didn’t get to use as much as I liked. But if you bring a skateboard or surf skate along, it’s a whole lot more free entertainment when you want a break from the water!
K- 59 from above:
The spots definitely have their crowds, which is why it’s nice to always check out a few different places with any friends with cars, when possible. Going at sunrise also really lessens the crowds, and we had many 5 AM wake-ups to seize the days. I personally would not recommend this time of year for beginner surfers because it gets freaky out there, but if you are looking to learn, there are the slightly more protected spots and whitewater where lessons are held.
(About a 3 hour drive south, close to the Honduras border, you will find Las Flores and Punta Mango which are two other lovely right point breaks with much fewer people and infrastructure. I didn’t have time for them on this trip // I kinda wanted to be in the party place, but in the future those little paradises are for sure on my bucket list!)
In terms of the party, you don’t have to look far to find some beachy reggaeton tunes blasting through the streets, and don’t worry because you don’t even need sandals to go to the beach clubs which are all open air and have sandy floors. The parties here were super fun, fairly inexpensive (beers go for $1 in the tienda or $2 at the bar), and it’s nice because the weekdays are very calm to help recharge and refocus your energy on surfing haha. I definitely tried to aprovechar of the fiesta given this was my last hurrah before my professional girl era, and well El Tunco has ~Montanita~ vibes when it comes to the party (if you know, you know)
All in all, the two weeks I spent here were by no means enough to really appreciate for my own pace of travel, and I cannot wait to come back for round two when I can travel again. From the warm people, warm waves, and warm pupusas, this place has left me stoked to return in the future. And with that, I could really go for a fun session of glassy overhead waves right now....
