El Boqueron National Park — Attraction in Santa Tecla

TL;DR The drive is pretty steep with few pot holes. 20 minute walk to the top of the mountain from entrance, paid parking, paid entrance, nice but simple view.

Drive:

The drive was a bit long from the city, because it's a bit of detour to get up cause the nature of the roads being steep and somewhat curvy so you should go slower than normal. You can easily get up there in a minivan or car, just as we did so don't worry about the 4x4. There is restaurants on the way up there and you can get some pretty good breakfast deals on typical breakfast so don't be worried about starving up there.

Parking:

Once you get up there, you will be offered parking by locals for cheaper than the government run parking lot in the actual park if you will be staying for more than like 3 hours but you most likely won't. It doesn't seem like a dangerous or sketchy area and it's only like 20 meters if that, from each other but one is in the park and the other is just outside of it.

Park Fees:

You will see a worker at the entrance that will take your payment to get into the park. If you are local, it's cheaper ($1USD), if you're a local 65+ then it's free and if you're a foreign (2$USD). They will give you a receipt with the time cause the parking is based on time so they check it once you are about to leave.

Park:

There is washrooms as soon as you walk up to the entrance of the park, across from the mini museum and selling picture package people. Don't bother buying the picture package, it's kind of pricey but beyond that, it's not a lot they will be recording or taking pictures of up there. Once you start walking, it would take like 20 minutes if you are in relative okay shape. It's lots of steps but there are some areas where you can stop and rest a little but no benches till the very top. There is signage to direct you which direction to go as it is a bit of a loop and there is an area for walking and another for camping. You'll get to the top and there will be more washrooms, a gift shop hut and then a bit more stairs to get the view of the crater. It's glass floors so some people may get scared but it's not too bad. You look at the crater and walk a bit more across it and get to the area where the coffee shop is and camping area. It's a nice view but not enough to justify the drive all the way there.

Ultimately, It's famous so I'm glad I got to say I seen it and experienced the tourism in El Salvador but if it was between El Boqueron or another mountain like Santa's, then I'd choose the others. It's not going to cost much and in total, the trip could be done in 2 hours without rushing so if you got time to kill, give it a shot but it's not...

A amazing place with great staff, it's $2 only cash, easy access and path to the volcano just a little difficult in the longest stair up otherwise it takes 30 minutes all together, there great souvenirs shops around that are super cheap and nobody is bothering you or asking you to buy anything, the atmosphere is relax, the volcano is really nice to see , plenty of benches and view point and even downstairs you have a view of the lake and this entire city and other volcano, on your way out there a few restaurants that accept cards and you can eat as little as $2 , the coffee is really good and the food is delicious

Today's vagabond way to see the volcano without spending too much if you are located in San Salvador: Uber to the site = 40minutes because of the tiny mountain roads it takes a while to get up there from Santa telca but very fun to explore and see, very tropical and beautiful with a high concentration on tourism you can find many attractions parks, hotels and restaurants on the way up to the national park. Cost $7.50

Next pay your entrance fees: $2 cash

Enjoy the view points and climb up the stairs to see the cratere and volcano or see the mini museum and buy souvenirs on your way out

Eat lunch: $3.50 with a coffee or soda With a volcano and lake view

Walk down for about 1.5miles and follow the autobus sign when you see it and there you are, just wait for the big chicken bus that says (Santa Telca) takes about a good 45minutes , runs very slow down the mountain and pick up many passengers, the views is great and cost=20 cents

Get off by the Plaza in Santa telca and enjoy the mall then take the bus that says Metro Centro or San Salvador for 20cens back.

Total cost $13.50 That includes:Round trip from San Salvador+Entry to the park+buses to Santa Telca+ Lunch Meal

Compare to $50-90 Advertise tour trips that takes hours to pick up people and don't even include the park fee .

If you exclude lunch it's $10 total or if you buy a souvenirs $15 max If you don't without the Uber on your way there it's : $6.50 total

If you wanted to do it with Uber from Santa telca $18 total . You could take a Uber or taxi from the volcano to San Salvador but the cost is much higher from there and if you pay them cash it's around $20-30 one way witch I...

I came across some blog while searching for what to do during my layover in San Salvador and I came across the highly recommended Salvadorean Tours. I was very skeptical since my flight lands at 2pm and I need to be back at the airport at 6pm but it turned out to be such a pleasant surprise!!! I wanted to see the volcano and also the city and I did end up seeing both as well as squeezing an authentic pupusa meal in! Booking was a breeze, I literally emailed them 2 days before and they asked for my flight information as well as passport info to help me skip the immigration line. I thought the tour was a bit expensive at almost $100 a person (for 4 hours) but I was so glad i did the tour!!!!! We found the tour desk after we landed and they helped us with some paperwork. Someone led it through the immigration and our driver came by in 5 minutes to pick us up. The airport seems to be a little far from the city so we drove a good 40 minutes passing through delicious looking pupusa places and then finally we got closer to the city. We drove another 20 minutes with light rain and went up the mountain for the volcano. This was the most accessible volcano that I've ever been to! The national park had a very nice trail and within 10 minutes you can see the Volcano crater! our guide kept us on track with time as we stood in awe of the beauty this country has to offer. After the volcano we came down and drove back to the city for a brief 5 minutes. I guess there wasn't too much to see in the city? Well the volcano was well worth the trip anyways. On the way back we really wanted to taste the local pupusas so we stopped by the wonderful places right on the high way and ordered a whole bunch of pupusas. Our guide was kind and friendly, we really enjoyed the tour. He was appreciative of the tips as well. All in all we would recommend anyone with a layover in San Salvador to venture out and check out this beautiful country with this...