Staying Home Sucks, home
Puente peatonal Rio El Tunco - panoramio
El Tunco, the nearest town, 3 km away. Photo: Daniel chavez castro, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

San Blas

Surf spot · El Salvador

Is it worth the trip?

35Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Tue 3: 4 ft swell at 11 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 47 out of 100

Swell
4 ft11 shollow
Energy
462kJ
Wind
ENE 2 kn
Temp
29°C

Wed 4 · 37 out of 100

Swell
4 ft11 scrumbling
Energy
371kJ
Wind
NE 4 kn
Temp
28°C

Thu 5 · 38 out of 100

Swell
4 ft11 shollow
Energy
317kJ
Wind
ESE 2 kn
Temp
28°C

Fri 6 · 35 out of 100

Swell
3 ft11 shollow
Energy
278kJ
Wind
N 3 kn
Temp
28°C

Sat 7 · 23 out of 100

Swell
3 ft11 shollow
Energy
196kJ
Wind
NE 3 kn
Temp
29°C

Sun 8 · 15 out of 100

Swell
2 ft12 shollow
Energy
79kJ
Wind
WSW 4 kn
Temp
29°C

Mon 9 · 16 out of 100

Swell
2 ft11 shollow
Energy
112kJ
Wind
S 4 kn
Temp
29°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 247, fair
  2. Tue 347, fair
  3. Wed 437, too small
  4. Thu 538, too small
  5. Fri 635, too small
  6. Sat 723, too small
  7. Sun 815, too small
  8. Mon 916, too small
  9. Tue 1012, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Stakes swell from the S
  • Offshore: Nwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 30 °Cno wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at San Blas, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov47, fair4 ft12 shollow7 ft at break (est.)425kJwind from the north-east, 5 knots, offshore29°C
Tue 3Nov47, fair4 ft11 shollow7 ft at break (est.)462kJwind from the east-north-east, 2 knots29°C
Wed 4Nov37, too small4 ft11 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.)371kJwind from the north-east, 4 knots, offshore28°C
Thu 5Nov38, too small4 ft11 shollow6 ft at break (est.)317kJwind from the east-south-east, 2 knots28°C
Fri 6Nov35, too small3 ft11 shollow6 ft at break (est.)278kJwind from the north, 3 knots, offshore28°C
Sat 7Nov23, too small3 ft11 shollow5 ft at break (est.)196kJwind from the north-east, 3 knots, offshore29°C
Sun 8Nov15, too small2 ft12 shollow3 ft at break (est.)79kJwind from the west-south-west, 4 knots29°C
Mon 9Nov16, too small2 ft11 shollow4 ft at break (est.)112kJwind from the south, 4 knots29°C
Tue 10Nov12, too small2 ft11 shollow4 ft at break (est.)89kJwind from the north-north-east, 6 knots, offshore29°C

Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovLow 01:39 −0.8 mHigh 07:53 +0.8 mLow 14:14 −0.8 mHigh 20:33 +0.8 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 02:49 −0.7 mHigh 09:00 +0.7 mLow 15:19 −0.8 mHigh 21:41 +0.8 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 04:03 −0.7 mHigh 10:12 +0.7 mLow 16:26 −0.7 mHigh 22:49 +0.8 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for experts: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About San Blas

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces S (191°), so it takes swell from the S. The wind blows offshore from the N (11°). 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 250 m out (1 in 24). 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). The town to stay in is El Tunco, 2.5 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 9 surf spots.

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

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$717–US$1,330 each

about US$717–US$1,330 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
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 bagabout US$268–US$563
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$74–US$121
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$141–US$234
Food7 days eating outabout US$161–US$295
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$74–US$121
Totalabout US$717–US$1,330

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 3 towns

Closest

El Tunco

4 min by car · 76 places to stay

about US$54/nightcountry average

See 76 places to stay in El Tunco · Booking.com

About El Tunco its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$54 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 9h 25m

About 9h 25m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → SAL, direct, then 55 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.