Sitio Arqueológico San Andrés — Attraction in Municipio de Ciudad Arcé

Horrendous experience. If you have limited time skip this place. Go to Casa Blanca and/or Joya de Ceren. CB has a 5 star tour guide. Tazamul is also neat. San Andres has very limited written information and the emloyee's are rude liars. Quick recap:

I can understand that folks get tired at work but the

1. Employee lied to us 2) She was constantly annoyed by me asking her anything--in Spanish--as she had to look up from her cellphone 3) this was a rare opportunity for me with my family 4) I was being polite and only got visibly upset when she lied & implied that because I have an accent, I did not understand her 5) somehow all the guests that came after me also didn't want a tour unless they were lied to as well 6) I always tip the tour guides after to thank them for their work so she lost out on this by refusing to give us a tour
2. Which again, was made worse by the fact that she tried to gaslight me into thinking she didn't refuse but that it was my accent that made me not understand her. Anyone who speaks a second language can verify that having an accent does not mean you cannot understand the language.

December 2024: I went here with my family. Upon arrival, we asked the young female employee if we could find a tour. She was on her cell phone & said that the tour had just left. We asked if we could catch up with them--she said no, they had left a while ago (already contradicting herself). She said in 45 minutes the other group would return and she would give us a tour.

My family then spent an hour in the museum. We saw the other group return but the employee avoided us. Finally, I went to ask her about the tour. She said that there was a ceremony taking place & she was unsure if she could give us a tour. I asked if we could get a refund? She said she didn't know but that her co-worker was asking the manager if we could get a tour despite the ceremony. According to her the ceremony made the ruins a "big mess" and we might not even be able to go at all---with or without her. Then she went back on her phone.

We had left the amazing & informational Joya de Ceren to come to San Andres. By this point we had gone through the museum for an hour & only now was she saying we might not even be able to see the ruins at all. My family decided to quickly go into the park. There is NO written information by the ruins. It is hard to understand the historical context of the layout without written information nor a guide. The museum is neat but it is so removed from the ruins that it is unhelpful once you are outside. We saw many guests come out after us--also with no tour guide. They walked around as confused as we did. Others were preparing for a ceremony but it was not a 'big mess' and did not interfere with anyone. The lack of information was the true big mess.

When we were leaving, I went up to the employee (who was still sitting down & on her phone) and asked what the manager had said. She looked annoyed, 'didn't you go already?' I said we had but that I was curious. She said, yes she could have given us a tour but we didn't want to wait so it was our fault. At this point the park was still going to be open for 45 minutes but given her very negative attitude, inability to get off the internet and refusal to offer a tour, I didn't remind her that there was still enough time for her give one. After all, she was already being paid to go on social media, why bother her by making her do her job? I didn't want to deal with her irritation for another 45 minutes.

I did however, tell her that she had said we might not be able to go at all so we had left without her. She said that that was untrue & that I hadn't understood her. I can admit I have a big accent in Spanish but I understand it 100 percent. In fact I did admit this to her after I said that I had not misunderstood her. She had told me that we might not be able to go see the ruins, even by ourselves. Her response? Non-verbal. She smirked at me & shared a smug look with with her co-worker before they both went back on...

So I gotta say, I was very excited to visit the ruins but I was a bit disappointed after seeing them.

Now the staff were nice, the shops were lush, the food offered was great, and of course seeing a fellow NYer miles away from home is always welcoming but it just wasn't what I was expecting.

Hard to put in words cause they're ruins but basically I wasn't fulfilled going there and because of COVID, areas are restricted, can't go in the museum and you can't climb the ruins anymore (regardless of COVID).

I mean it was ok to see and be where history was but I wouldn't lose sleep if I missed out on this place.

I'm giving it 4 stars because of the souvenir area, the staff and the fact that it is history and we can't control how it ages... But I'm ok with never going back...

Things are changing in El Salvador. I remember visiting the place many years ago and having the freedom to walk freely respecting the signs. Do to Covid19 your tour will be restricted every 45 minutes and you will be a control group with a good explanation of the site excavation and history. You can't visit the museum part that has a great exposition of artifacts and pictures of the discovery steps up today. I do recommend some bug spray during the raining season and be aware that driving directions from Google maps might take you for a funny loop. If you see the signs for the site slow down... the entrance can be a challenge especially because it comes unexpected. Luckily you can turnaround almost everywhere on the road... just be aware of your...