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El Zonte Rivermouth, El Salvador

Stay in El Zonte: see the trip Its beds, the way there and every spot near it.

Also within 20 km of El Zonte

All 17 on El Zonte's map

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El Zonte (01.2011) - panoramio
El Zonte, the nearest town. Photo: Martin Haeusler, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

About El Zonte Rivermouth

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces S (187°), so it takes swell from the S. The wind blows offshore from the N (7°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 350 m out (1 in 37). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 28°C in January, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 30°C in April, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually March, April, May and July, with about 6 good days in 7; in January and December, about 4. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is El Zonte, 0.5 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 5 surf spots.

Water about 30°C: no wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 9 h 35 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to SAL, direct.

    See flights ORD → SAL · Skyscanner from about £235 returnAd
  2. Getting there. 1 h 05 from the airport to El Zonte Rivermouth.

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in El ZonteAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay in El Zonte (ad) on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire and lessons.

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

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Forecast

The score for experts, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

Forecast and score for expert surfers at El Zonte Rivermouth, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct49, good5 ft13 scrumbling856kJwind from the south-south-east, 3 knots28°C
Mon 19Oct45, fair5 ft11 scrumbling583kJwind from the east-north-east, 3 knots29°C
Tue 20Oct36, fair4 ft10 scrumbling373kJwind from the east-south-east, 4 knots28°C
Wed 21Oct30, too small4 ft11 scrumbling316kJwind from the east, 5 knots28°C
Thu 22Oct38, fair4 ft11 scrumbling440kJwind from the south-south-east, 2 knots29°C
Fri 23Oct34, too small4 ft12 scrumbling478kJwind from the north, 4 knots, offshore29°C
Sat 24Oct28, too small4 ft11 scrumbling292kJwind from the north-north-east, 5 knots, offshore29°C
Sun 25Oct20, too small3 ft11 scrumbling185kJwind from the north-north-east, 6 knots, offshore29°C
Mon 26Oct12, too small2 ft10 scrumbling77kJwind from the north, 7 knots, offshore29°C
Tue 27Oct14, too small2 ft14 shollow151kJwind from the west-south-west, 3 knots29°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for expert surfers. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Direct flight ORD to SAL, then 1h 05 by road. About 9h 35 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 4 ft at best.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 4 ft at best.

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 4 ft at best.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 4 ft at best.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 4 ft at best.

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Direct flight ORD to SAL, then 1h 05 by road. About 9h 35 door to door

The plan picks the best of 6 spots near El Zonte each day: Atamis, El Zonte, El Zonte Rivermouth, K59, Palmarcito, Punta Coco.

The trip from El Zonte, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £625–£1,175 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to SAL, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag£235–£490
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Hire car6 days, shared£55–£90
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£125–£210
Food7 days eating out£120–£230
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£55–£90
Total£625–£1,175

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

Places to eat near El Zonte

Within 2 km of the town centre, listed by how complete the listing is (website, opening hours, cuisine) and whether two sources name it. Not a judgement of the food: we have no reviews. Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps Foundation. Credits

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