Choosing a Region: Weather & Regions

Official forecasts, climate data, and regional links that go with Chapter 4. Checked October 2026.

In the book: Chapter 4

The chapter helps you plan the trip that decides where you'll live:

Eight rules for a scouting trip, including how to map your route so you don't zigzag across the country
What to check in each area, whether you're moving with kids or retiring
How the weather changes with altitude and the coast, and what the rainy season is really like
City, coast, countryside, or mountains and lakes: the trade-offs of each, from salt air to holiday crowds
Why we suggest starting near the capital and renting first, and what we learned looking at land and houses at the same time

Climate in El Salvador: temperature zones by altitude (in Spanish), MARN
Month-by-month weather: monthly climate summaries (in Spanish), MARN
Annual climate summary 2024 (PDF, in Spanish), MARN
The rainy season and the canícula (PDF, in Spanish), MARN: rainy season May to October; dry season November to April; the canícula, a drier break, usually in July or August

Average daily high and low for the year, by weather station, from MARN's Annual Climate Summary 2024.

West (Occidente)

Santa Ana: high about 89°F (31.7°C), low about 66°F (18.9°C)
Ahuachapán: high about 88°F (31.0°C), low about 66°F (18.9°C)
Acajutla, Sonsonate (coast): high about 92°F (33.1°C), low about 75°F (24.1°C)
La Hachadura, Ahuachapán (coast): high about 94°F (34.6°C), low about 75°F (23.7°C)

Center (Centro)

Ilopango airport (capital area): high about 88°F (31.1°C), low about 67°F (19.4°C)
Cojutepeque, Cuscatlán: high about 86°F (30.0°C), low about 67°F (19.3°C)
San Andrés, La Libertad: high about 91°F (32.5°C), low about 66°F (18.8°C)
Chiltiupán, La Libertad: high about 87°F (30.7°C), low about 70°F (21.1°C)

North (Norte)

La Palma, Chalatenango: high about 82°F (27.8°C), low about 62°F (16.8°C)
Nueva Concepción, Chalatenango: high about 94°F (34.4°C), low about 70°F (20.9°C)
Sensuntepeque, Cabañas: high about 89°F (31.8°C), low about 65°F (18.1°C)
Cerrón Grande dam, Cabañas: high about 96°F (35.3°C), low about 69°F (20.6°C)

East (Oriente)

San Miguel: high about 97°F (35.9°C), low about 71°F (21.8°C)
La Unión (coast): high about 94°F (34.5°C), low about 74°F (23.2°C)
San Francisco Gotera, Morazán: high about 94°F (34.7°C), low about 70°F (20.9°C)
Perquín, Morazán: high about 80°F (26.9°C), low about 63°F (17.3°C)
Santiago de María, Usulután: high about 83°F (28.3°C), low about 66°F (18.7°C)

Highest mountains (montañas más altas)

Planes de Montecristo, Santa Ana: high about 71°F (21.5°C), low about 55°F (12.5°C)
Las Pilas, Chalatenango: high about 72°F (22.2°C), low about 56°F (13.5°C)
Los Naranjos, Sonsonate: high about 76°F (24.3°C), low about 56°F (13.3°C)

Paid national holidays under the Labor Code (Código de Trabajo):

January 1: New Year's Day
April 2 to 4: Holy Week (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday)
May 1: Labor Day
August 6: the national day of the August festivities, or fiestas agostinas (August 3 and 5 are also holidays in the city of San Salvador)
September 15: Independence Day
November 2: Day of the Dead
December 25: Christmas Day

May 10 (Mother's Day) and June 17 (Father's Day) are also paid holidays, set by separate legislative decrees rather than the Labor Code.

Each town also has a holiday on the main day of its patron saint festival. Sources: Labor Code (Código de Trabajo), Art. 190, consolidated text, Supreme Court (PDF, in Spanish) and 2026 holiday calendar (in Spanish), Diario El Mundo, January 5, 2026.

El Salvador had 6,029,976 residents in the 2024 census, and 28.6% lived in rural areas. By department:

Another 107,055 residents had no department recorded. Sources: population by department, municipality, and district, by area (PDF, in Spanish) and the 2024 census site (in Spanish), Banco Central de Reserva.

From the Ministry of Tourism's official site, El Salvador Travel: