Driving in El Salvador: licence, roads and tolls

Free roads, a well-maintained network, and very short distances.

• Roads are free and among the better maintained in Central America; the coastal highway and the Ruta de las Flores are both easy drives.
• The country is 270 km across. San Salvador to the beaches at El Tunco is under an hour, to the Guatemalan border two.
• The alcohol limit is zero.
• Police checkpoints are routine and documents are checked; hire papers should stay in the car.
• Night driving on rural roads is still avoided by residents, mainly for road rather than security reasons now.
• Fuel stations are frequent on the main routes and take cards in the cities, cash in the villages.