Layover tour San Salvador city and a charming colonial town, Panchimalco

Overview

Available languages

English

Spanish

Mobile ticket

Undoubtedly San Salvador is a city full of surprises and this tour is the ideal opportunity to discover the country of short distances. We will start this tour enjoying a tour of the city of San Salvador, discover the history through the most representative monuments of the capital, we will finish walking in the heart of the historic center of San Salvador, where we can appreciate the day to day of the Salvadorans. Know the main monuments such as the Metropolitan Cathedral, the National Palace. We will continue with a visit to the enchanting and small colonial city of Panchimalco. Colorful city of painters and sculptors, which preserves the oldest church in the country

• Duration of 5 to 7 hours according to your flight itinerary

• Visit to the top of the Devil's Door

• Explore the city of San Salvador

• Visit to the Historic Center of San Salvador

• Incredible landscapes of the salvadorean territory

Additional Info

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Passport name, number, expiry and country is required at time of booking for all participants

Complete itinerary of arrival and departure is necessary to process departure tax exemption

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Professional guide

National Park fees

Airport pickup and drop-off

Driver/guide

Food and drinks, unless specified

Lunch

Gratuities

Airport/Departure Tax

Bottled water

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Comalapa Intl Airport

San Salvador El Salvador

What To Expect

San Salvador

At your departure from the plane, our team of collaborators will be waiting for you, inside the airport, to assist you in an express migratory process, where they will accompany you at each step, and carry out the exoneration of exit taxes from the airport. Once outside the airport, our guide will be waiting for you to accompany you on this fabulous adventure. And your first destination will be the busy city of San Salvador, considered one of the most overpopulated of Latin America. Undoubtedly, if you are in El Salvador you would love to know the city.

45 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

San Salvador

We will visit the most important monuments of the city, crossing the streets and avenues of the most modern metropolitan area. All the way to the Historic Center of San Salvador. In this tour you will be able to see up close as it is the day to day for the Salvadorans, you will have the opportunity to walk through the open markets, and walk in the heart of the historic center of San Salvador. We will visit the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador and the Crypt of Monseñor Romero. We will have beautiful views of the National Palace, we will walk in the square Gerardo neighborhoods. We will visit La Plaza Libertad and discover El Rosario Church, which looks like an abandoned building on the outside, but when entering the architectural beauty is unique at the continent level.

1 hour • Admission Not Applicable

Options

Layover tour San Salvador city and a charming colonial town, Panchimalco

Pickup included

Reviews

4.50

10 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Nice city
Stephanie M,
Jul 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
3.00
The tour guide was very nice but didn’t really suggest bring much more to the tour. I wanted to go somewhere specific and emailed them in advance and they shut it down immediately. That was the whole point of hiring a driver. I would have been better off just ubering. The city is very safe and uber is cheap.
Great guide, providing me...
Charles W,
Jun 5, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Great guide, providing me plenty history and culture background of the city and country. he even took me to the places where local eat, providing me a rare opportunities to experience the local authentic lives. Thank you!
Take this layover tour in El Salvador
claudia q,
Apr 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
I booked this layover tour because I made a mistake in my flight arrangements and had an extra half day in El Salvador. I was born in ES. Since we didn't have much time, this layover tour sounded great especially because I wanted legit pupusas from Los Planes de Renderos and I have childhood memories of Panchimalco so I wanted to go there again. Osmaro picked us up at 1pm as requested and drove us everywhere my little heart desired. We went to the historic center, stopped for drinks at La Dalia, toured Iglesia El Rosario, had pupusas at a nice scenic restaurant in Los Planes and walked around Panchimalco, admiring the church of the Holy Roman Cross (what a beauty! It's constructed on a river and if it's quiet you can hear the water!) . We admired the art and textile history that continues to be preserved in the women's textile coop. Throughout the tour Osmaro provided an excellent historic, social and political commentary and even corrected some of my historical errors- in the nicest most humble way possible! That guy is a walking encyclopedia. You font need to google anything. He was flexible with pickup, dropoff and everything in between. I absolutely recommended this tour!
Great easy tour
Brenda M,
Nov 16, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00
A great experience for a long layover! Osmaro was our guide and he explained things really well. He was very knowledgeable, kind and considerate as I was traveling w my elderly mother to make sure she was comfortable. It was a great preview into all that El Salvador has to offer. It was nice to just go w the flow and not have to plan or research anything.
A must to do, if you have a layover at San Salvador airport.
Roland S,
Sep 22, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00
I found out about the cosmopolitan city of San Salvador and the its colonial cultural past. I give my guide Osmaro a rave review in being most accommodating and informative.
Best layover day trip
Joshua L,
Jun 25, 2023
- Review from Viator
5.00
I would totally recommend these guys! They were super helpful and friendly, we got in a little early and so they picked us up early. Took us all around and we saw way more stuff then we thought we would have. Super nice and didn't mind us napping between locations since we had a long travel day the night before. Best layover day trip.
Historical
dogojim,
Feb 14, 2020
- Review from Viator
4.00
Osmaru, my guide, is very knowledgeable about Salvadoran history, which was great because I like history too. He took me to Iglesia Rosario, where there was a massacre by the army ( bullet holes still visible in the door) back in the 1970s, and the crypt where Oscar Romero is buried, now a shrine. Also up El Boquron where there is a good view of seemingly half the country. Unfortunately my plane arrived late in the day which meant our time was limited. Also the archaeological site at Joya de Ceren, which I had hoped to see, is closed to tourists just now.
Amazing!
yohanya30,
Dec 21, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
It was a really amazing experience! From the beginning the staff was very friendly and attentive. I fully recommend it! And the pupusas are veeeery tastyy
Colonial beauty
Ernesto M,
Dec 10, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00
Panchimalco is best visited on the weekend. You can do many activities, which are not available during the week. Ex: your beautiful church.
Great Overview of El Salvador with a Knowledgeable Guide
Emily M,
Dec 2, 2019
- Review from Viator
4.00
Our tour started at 7AM after an overnight flight. We met the collaborator at the Tourist information desk in the airport, and she helped us through customs, making the whole process pretty easy. We met our guide, Osmar, who was very knowledgeable on the history of El Salvador, the economy, and the culture. He was a joy to talk with and was very flexible with plans. Panchimalco was very quaint and interesting to visit, and San Salvador was bursting with life! We didn't get to enter the Cathedral as mass was currently going on, but the Rosario Church was an impressive surprise! We didn't have time to go on top of the Devil's Door or try pupusas (but we did get to have a tipical breakfast!). Missing the Devil's Door is the only reason I stepped down to 4 stars, but I highly recommend taking this tour and getting to see El Salvador beyond the news headlines!