el salvador travel - late post
sorry, I did not respond earlier - have been ill.
San Salvador airport is outside the city which is great if you don't want to visit the city. There are a couple of hotels near by - the Quality Inn is a few miles and right on the highway. We did see a more upscale hotel in the vicinity, but I can't remember the name.
The most important thing I can say is - do not drive at night - at least on your first trip. While the roads are in decent condition, there is very poor signage and if you miss your turn, it may be 10 miles before you can find a place to get back on the other side of the highway. In addition, there is a lot of construction going on due to past storm damage, including temporary bridges. There are no shoulders on most roads, people walk right on the road at night with their animals. Residents are not required to have insurance (although you are) and they drive without lights on and pass where ever they can find a smidgen of pavement.
That being said, the roads go through some beautiful parts of the country. We felt extremely safe while we were there - during the day. There are armed guards at grocery stores, gas stations, banks etc - and they are there to keep the peace. We saw no violence at all - but again, we did not go to sketchy areas and did not walk at night.
Do not bring traveler's checks unless you are staying at a large chain hotel or have located a bank where you already have an account. Bank of Scotia is big down there - but we tried to cash checks there and they would not cash them. Our landlord told us that the country doesn't like them.
We stayed in La Libertad at a rental home on the beach. The beach south of town is gorgeous, miles of accessible white sand. The area has some good restaurants - some expensive, some really cheap. There is a great street market in town where you can find fruits and vegetables that I have never seen before.
We also drove the Ruta de los Flores which is gorgeous and drove north and south from La Libertad along the beach - the only negative was the surfing beach at El Tunco. A huge commercial area has been built up, the river is terribly polluted and everything is expensive.
San Salvador itself is huge. We did a couple of museums but did not go to the market. We did go to the volcano north of town and a couple of ruins east of Sonsonate which we enjoyed.
There is also some great hiking near La Libertad - although a lot of places require that you have a guide - some free, some paid.
If you have any specific questions, please feel free to post - I'll try to respond sooner.