The best vacations don’t have schedules or to-do lists but when the mood strikes to “do something” there is truly an endless list of things-to-do including surfing, a trip to the rim of a volcano’s crater, a shopping tour, or visiting an ancient Mayan village. We know excellent local guides and are happy to provide contact information..

Dining out 
Playa Dorada Restarante y Hotel - 1km away, serves local El Salvadoran fare and specializes in fresh fish entrees.

Shopping and infrastructure 
In Sonsonate, about 25 minutes away, you will find shopping malls, grocery stores, restaurants, ATMs, hospital, and post office. Closer to home, about 3 kilometers from Casa Tortuga, in Playa Mizata, there’s a medical clinic, a police station, and a surf village with shops and restaurants.

Surfing 
Roll out of bed, grab your board, walk past the pool and catch a wave before breakfast. It’s that close. It's that convenient. If you want to explore a different scene, head out to Playa Mizata, a 5-minute drive away, or Playa El Zonte 40 minutes to the East. Both places have right-point breaks and sets that according to the locals line up “machine-like, with so much open wave face, it is like a skate park.”
Water temperature is between 80°F and 85°F year-round. Winds are offshore and light in the mornings, and turn into light-to-moderate sea breeze (5-15 knots) by midday. Many of the breaks are well protected and surfable all day, because of the headlands and points. Sun block is mandatory and reef booties are recommended at low tide on some beaches.

Surfing Lessons 
How often do you get a lesson from a national champion?  Our property manager, Alex is the El Salvadoran National Longboard Champion.  For $50 per person - per session, Alex offers lessons right in front of the house or he will let you pick another local break of your choosing.  Lessons are best with a minimum of two people and larger group rates can be arranged.  He will even bring the boards and let you keep them for as many days as you want.  Just $15 per board, per day.
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Excursions 
For a change of scenery, you may want to explore the area around Santa Ana and Juayúa for hiking, mountain biking or to take a tour of the lush forest’s canopy. If cardiovascular exercise is not high on your list, you might want to bring a pair of binoculars to enjoy exotic bird watching, or just go for a walk and take a dip in a pool beneath a waterfall. Coffee lovers will gravitate toward local plantations that grow some of the finest beans in the world.

We can recommend guides if you desire to get off the beaten path for hiking, mountain bike riding, or a swim under a waterfall.
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Snorkeling, Diving and Fishing at Los Cobanos  
Los Cobanos is located 1/2 hour from Casa Tortuga. El Salvador's best diving is found here. You will see a major coral formation. It's not a reef, but thousands of rocky heads covered in coral. Two shipwrecks are found at about 35 feet. Go at low tide for outstanding snorkeling. You can also find diving tour operators and deep water fishing guides operating out of this beach town.

Sea Turtles 
If you are fortunate to come between September and October, you may see the Sea Turtles laying eggs or hatching on the beach in front of the house. The timing is not exact but this is when they come home to start the cycle again.  If Sea Turtles travel thousands of miles to Casa Tortuga, why wouldn’t you?

Sea Turtle Preservation (Viva Tortuga!)
As of 2010, the owners of Casa Tortuga began working with the El Salvadoran government in an effort to help preserve endangered sea turtle population. Playa Dorada has been identified by the El Salvadoran governement as one of the top three nesting beaches in the country. For more information about these efforts, please visit VivaTortuga.org.

Horseback Riding in the Cloud Forests 
There is no more magical way to see the cloud forest than on horseback.

Volcano Tour 
Geology buffs will jump at the opportunity to take a tour to the crater of the barren 6,400-foot (1,950 m) high volcano Izalco, reportedly the youngest of El Salvador’s volcanos formed less than 250 years ago near the town of Sonsonate.

Mayan Ruins 
As part of the Mayan world, El Salvador has its share of impressive pre-Columbian sites. Also near Santa Ana is the ancient Mayan settlement of Joya del Ceren, which was buried under volcanic ash in 595 AD just discovered in 1978. Hence it is often called “America’s Pompeii” and like its Italian/Roman counterpart, it has been well preserved to provide clues about the life and work of Mayan peasants.
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Additional highlights worth exploring: 

Tazumal: Part of the large Chalchuapa site, Tazumal comprises a group of flat-topped stepped pyramids and is still being studied by historians.  Located 78km from San Salvador on the outskirts of the city of Chalchuapa. 

Guija: Close to the Guatemala border on the Guija Lake. Many archaeological treasures can still be found, untouched, on the lakeshore. 

San Andres: Another group of stepped pyramids positioned between two rivers 36km from San Salvador in the Zapotitan Valley. 

Cihuatan: Ruins of cities cover an area of 4 square kilometers. A stone wall is still standing that was originally one of the ball courts called Tlatchli. 

Corinto: Consists of two caves situated on a broad plain 1 km north of the village of Corinto. Prehistoric drawings about 10,000 years old can be seen on the cave walls.

What to know before you visit. Read what others had to say.

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