El Salvador is safe

Is El Salvador Safe? These are likely the four most common words people ask when looking into travelling to El Salvador. And there’s a lot to unpack here. The simple answer is a rhetorical question: is anywhere safe? The real answer, overall, is yes. For the vast majority of locals and foreign travellers, El Salvador is a safe place to visit.

Things can go wrong anywhere, including your hometown. As a visitor to El Salvador, the chances of anything serious happening to you are slim. So, aside from gang violence, what are the main concerns about visiting El Salvador?

The most serious danger you should be concerned about as a foreign visitor or even a local is petty theft. El Salvador is a rising nation, or a developing country in media parlance. Although it has come a long way since then, a large portion of the population remains impoverished. Many people are unemployed or have low-paying jobs. Poverty leads to desperation. That said, there are several easy ways to keep the risk of theft to a minimum.