El Salvador: airport to city centre

This information may change. Always check the official source.Last verified: August 2026 by Ondřej Kadlec

The airport is 50 km out and sits between the city and the surf coast - which is where most arrivals actually go.

The geography

San Oscar Romero International is about 50 km from San Salvador, roughly 45 minutes, and it is south of the city near the coast.
That puts it closer to the surf towns than to the capital. El Tunco and El Zonte are 30 to 40 minutes away, and a great many arrivals go straight there without seeing San Salvador at all.

Getting out

Pre-book a transfer or use an official airport taxi from the desk. The FCDO is explicit: only radio-dispatched, pre-booked or hotel taxis, and not unofficial ones, where it notes a small remaining risk of kidnapping.
Uber operates in El Salvador and works from the airport, and is what most visitors use.
The airport shuttle bus runs to San Salvador for a fraction of a taxi.
Agree the price before getting in to anything that is not metered or app-priced.

Onward

The country is small. Nowhere is more than four hours from anywhere else, and most of the places visitors go are within two hours of the airport.
Use private coach companies rather than public buses for intercity travel - that is the FCDO's advice, and the difference in comfort is as large as the difference in safety.
Do not drive at night, and cross the Guatemalan border in the morning.

Report a change

Getting from the airport to the city in El Salvador