Santa Tecla is the second largest city in El Salvador. It is a suburb of San Salvador.

Understand

Downtown Santa Tecla preserves the antique architectural style found only in towns such as Juayua or Suchitoto, with the convenience of being located in the city. While El Salvador is considered by many to be unsafe, Santa Tecla is usually patrolled by the metropolitan guards, and by the police.

Get in

By car

Car is the easiest way to get in, as major roads, such as Monseñor Romero blvd. or the Panamerican highway, lead directly into the city.

Monseñor Romero blvd. exit to Santa Tecla leads to the 7a Avenida Norte, which can be driven through to get to the center of the city. The drive from downtown San Salvador can take as little as 15 minutes without traffic or as much as 40 minutes during la hora pica.

By bus

Bus routes are available all over town, with connections to neighboring cities and towns.

Get around

Walking is the easiest way to get around once inside Santa Tecla. Places such as Paseo el Carmen, during the weekend nights, are closed off to cars for the pedestrians to take over. You can have your hotel call for a radio taxi so you don't have to hail one on the street. Uber is available as well.

If walking through downtown Santa Tecla, common sense and precautions are needed, such as not flashing valuable objects or electronics around just to be on the safe side.

See

Joya de Ceren

• 1 Paseo el Carmen:, 1a Calle Pte.. The major tourist attraction in Santa Tecla. It is a street that is dedicated to bars, restaurants and cafés. Named after El Carmen church located on the same street, it is the night-life spotlight of the city. Family-friendly places are also available for those travelling with children, such as Casa de la MYPYME, a restaurant on a connecting street; and various street vendors that become available on the weekends. Fear not, for this food is hygienic and safe to eat, although street food is not recommended to those with a weak stomach. 

• 2 Daniel Hernández Park, Calle Daniel Hernandez, Barrio Del Centro. Open 24 hours. One of the main parks at the centre of the city. Not much to see really but sometimes they have some attractions. At Christmas they decore it very nicely. (updated Nov 2023)
• 3 Museo Tecleño:, 7 Avenida Sur 1-4, ☏ +503 2500 1356. Tu-F 08:00 - 18:00, Sa 08:00 - 12:00, closed Su-M. A museum built upon what used to be a jail. By the late 1970s and the early 80s, this place had become El Salvador's first political jail, which was shut down by 1983. It is now a museum, which also holds one of the best coffee shops in town. Home of Toño Salazar Music Academy. 
• Joya de Ceren Archaeological Park (Km. 35 on the highway that from San Salvador leads to San Juan Opico, department of La Libertad.), ☏ +503 2401-5782. 9AM-4PM Tu-Su. *A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Joya de Ceren is an archaeological site featuring a pre-Columbian Maya farming village preserved remarkably intact under layers of volcanic ash. It is often referred to as the "Pompeii of the Americas" in comparison to the famous ancient Roman ruins. $3 for foreigners; free for kids under 12 and those over 60. (updated Aug 2020)

Buy

• 4 Plaza Merliot, Calle Chiltiupin. Third shopping center in San Salvador, it is a 3-level mall with a central food court. The food court has various fast food options like burgers and such, as well as having places with home-made-type meals available, such as La Movida in the food court, and Maquilishuat, a diner/cafeteria type of place that serves typical food as well. 

Eat

Budget

• Street vendors. On the weekends, to the west from El Carmen church, there are many street vendors that set up their stands, especially in the evenings and late in the afternoon. It's a really fun atmosphere, with tables set up on one side of the street, and the vendors with their stands sitting on the opposite side. 
• Pupuserias. For those wanting to try the authentic Salvadoran pupusas, there are a few pupuserias (pupusa shops) scattered around the place. A tasty and affordable (each pupusa is about 50 cents) one is located south from the Museum, on 7a Avenida Norte. Cheese and/or bean pupusas should be preferred over chicharron (pork) if you fear getting food poisoning. The aforementioned pupuseria has a very convenient hand sanitizer right next to the cash register. 

Mid-range

• 1 Yemaya, Av. Manuel Gallardo #2-8 (a un costado de Iglesia El Carmen. una cuadra abajo de Escuela de Monica Herrera.), ☏ +503 2288 4095, yemayastrummers@gmail.com. Dietetic and tasty food. Also specialized in wine. $4-12 meals. 
• 2 Dragon Dorado, Calle Chiltiupan 6, ☏ +503 2278 7609. Daily 11:00 - 21:00. Chinese restaurant with a wide variety of dishes. Large portions at reasonable prices. 
• 3 Tipicos Margoth, Calle Chiltiupan, #25-26, ☏ +503 2250 5050. Daily 07:00 - 21:00. Corporate style restaurant with impersonal service and higher prices than you'd pay for real Salvadoran food from smaller, family run restaurants. Hugely popular with lots of parking. 

Drink

Paseo El Carmen is home to several bars that could interest thirsty travellers. El Quijote is one the busiest and most popular bars on the street. Thekla is pub-themed... pub with an Irish twist to the decor. Strumers is an alt-bar located inside the vegetarian restaurante Yemaya. This place has live music on the weekends, as well as art exhibitions up for sale by independent artists. Quite interestingly, this place also has home-brewed beer, one of the few places in El Salvador that sell them.

Sleep

Budget

• 1 La Casa de Izel, Av. Dr. Manuel Gallardo #3-2B (One block north from Paseo el Carmen, at El Carmen church level), ☏ +503 2566 6695, lacasadeizel@gmail.com. Nice and simple hotel, well located in central Santa Tecla. Clean and carefully maintained. Kind and helpful people. Has private rooms and dorms. Features hot water, free wifi, rooftop terrace, laundry service ($4.5), daily smiles. No AC (but unnecessary). from $12 to $45. 

Mid-range

• 2 El Patio de Don Mancho, 1ra Avenida norte #2-5, ☏ +503 7574 1328. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Small traditional hotel. Basic rooms. Off-street parking. US$50. (updated Apr 2024)

Go next

• El Boqueron National Park
• Santa Ana
• La Libertad