Pelicano Surf Camp

i had this romantic idea of staying in a rustic wooden property on a beach and going to sleep to the sound of the waves. After a long search of the perfect fit, I finally found Pelícano and it lived up to every expectation and more! Plus the owners were simply incredible! Ulysses took me surfing, guided me for a day exploring Izalco & hiking the Santa Ana Volcano, he showed me where to find the best and most authentic Pupusas (and joined me), guided me on a motorbike tour of San Salvador & El Puerto del Diablo (we each rode out own motorbike) and lastly suggested & joined me for a morning Scuba Diving in an active volcano - something I’d not seen in any guidebook or online article/blog! Ulisses and Roxy’s house is incredible, rustic, beautiful and charming, so much so that my plan to stay 3 nights quickly turned into 10! A special shout out too to Coco, one of their beautiful dogs, who quickly became a firm friend and invariably joined me on my walks along the beach, sitting beside me in any bar I stopped in for a quick beer ❤️ Roxy is a true star, always friendly, always smiling and very patient with my broken Spanish. She also makes amazing food, don’t miss the breakfast fruit bowls!!! I arrived as a guest but left feeing like part of the family! I’ll be back as soon as I possible can! Much love Rob

Nothing

I booked this place after taking a look at the food pictures, and I have to say food was even better than expected and not overpriced like El Tunco, maybe the best food in the area. Sleeping so close to the sea was an unique experience and I slept well on the comfy beds, the beach in front of the property is not crowded, the location is easy accessible but far away from noise, local buses run all day long and uber is unexpensive at night, some supermarkets nearby, close to Punta Roca and not far away from El Tunco/Sunzal, water was always running, decent shower, weather was terribly hot outside but inside the property it was always fresh, no water leaks inside even though there was a tropical storm going on, huge surfboard selection and handmade palm tree hats available, even the t-shirts they sell look so cool, surf trips and motorbikes available. I dislike dogs so these 5 made me feel a bit uncomfortable but I have to recognize they are calm, educated and never disturbed me or any other guest.

Some items on the menu not available, coffee maybe a bit overpriced but good quality, no breakfast after 10:30 am, toilette was clogged and lets say out of service a couple of times, the locker smelled worst than a skunk and I decided not to use it, dirty boardshorts lying on the shower, the waves that break in front of the property didn't seem to be the best for surfing but maybe they work on a different time of the year or the current storm kept them flat, some cats hanging around but at least they keep the rats away. Not sure why one of the dining tables is horribly close to a hammock, eating there while the hammock was occupied by a random dude felt uncomfortable, while the other available table I could have perfectly used was full of surfboards the locals let there... however the rest of the time there was space and it was always clean. None of these silly things killed the mood and being here was a positive experience.

The staff here are amazing, the food was exceptional it is one of my favorite places I have ever stayed, it feels very safe and our surf lesson with the owner was awesome!

I wish there was a way to get colder at night but really was not a big deal

Very cheap

I didn’t feel very comfortable there, felt sticky all the time since it is literally located on the beach. A dog pooped just 3 centimeters away from my bag, which made me run away from this hostel 😬