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Waves on the black-sand beach of El Zonte

Surf City

El Zonte Beach, El Salvador

El Zonte is a small coastal community in Chiltiupán, La Libertad, at km 53 of the coastal road. It has a rocky right-hand point break with waves of up to 3.5 m, two black-sand beaches split by a river, and caves at its western end. Since 2019 it has been home to Bitcoin Beach, a local project for paying in bitcoin.

Updated November 2026 · Figures checked 9 November 2026

Photo: Rikardoes, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Of the coastal road (Litoral)
km 531
Of the coastal road (Litoral)
Height the point break can reach
3.5 m1
Height the point break can reach
Year the Bitcoin Beach project began
20194
Year the Bitcoin Beach project began

El Zonte Beach, El Salvador

At a glance

At a glance
El Zonte
District Chiltiupán, La Libertad Costa
Population of Chiltiupán 10,914 (2024 census)
Access Km 53 of the coastal road
Waves Right-hand point break, a left at the river mouth and a beach break
Beach Two black-sand beaches, a river and a small estuary; caves to the west

Source: El Salvador Travel (Ministry of Tourism): El Zonte; BCR and ONEC: VII Population Census 2024, population by department, municipality and district, urban and rural (Excel, in Spanish)1,3

Map

El Zonte and the nearby surf beaches 1 El Zonte 2 El Tunco 3 El Sunzal 4 Punta Roca
Surf beach Places are approximate, from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap. Boundaries: geoBoundaries SLV ADM1 (OpenStreetMap contributors, CC BY-SA 2.0)1,2
  1. 1 El Zonte Chiltiupán; km 53, point break and Bitcoin Beach
  2. 2 El Tunco Tamanique; km 43, the La Bocana wave
  3. 3 El Sunzal Tamanique; a long right point break
  4. 4 Punta Roca La Libertad Costa, next to the port

The waves

  • The point: the best-known wave is a rocky right-hand point break with a fast, long line that can reach 3.5 m. It ends at a small beach under a bluff and needs respect on big swells.
  • The river mouth: west of the point a fast, powerful left breaks over the rocky bottom of the river mouth.
  • The beach break: steep and fast, with short rides and some barrels on the sand.

Source: El Salvador Travel (Ministry of Tourism): El Zonte1

Bitcoin Beach

  • The project: Bitcoin Beach began in El Zonte in 2019, led by Mike Peterson and community leader Roman Martínez and funded by an anonymous donation of bitcoin, to build a local economy that pays in bitcoin.
  • The national law: the President cited Bitcoin Beach as an inspiration for the 2021 Bitcoin law, which made acceptance of bitcoin compulsory. A reform in early 2025 made acceptance voluntary.
  • Today: many shops, hotels and restaurants in El Zonte still accept bitcoin, but not all; the BBC advises visitors to ask before paying.

Source: BBC Travel: the Salvadoran beach town that became a Bitcoin testbed, 25 June 20254

Visiting

  • Getting there: from San Salvador take the highway to the port of La Libertad, then the Surf City bypass, and drive west on the coastal road to km 53.
  • Where to stay: hostels, guest houses, hotels and surf schools around the river; small hotels and homes to the west; larger modern hotels at the eastern end.

Source: El Salvador Travel (Ministry of Tourism): El Zonte1

Surf conditions change with the tide and the swell, and rocky bottoms and currents are dangerous. Ask local surf schools or lifeguards before you go in.

For investors

In 2025 the beaches of Surf City I, on the coast of La Libertad, received 2.1 million of the 4.1 million international visitors to El Salvador, according to the Minister of Tourism. Hotels, rentals and restaurants can apply for the incentives of the Tourism Law. The beach itself is public; ask your lawyer about the public strip, building permits and coastal hazards before you buy land on the coast.5

Sources

  1. El Salvador Travel (Ministry of Tourism): El Zonte
  2. El Salvador Travel (Ministry of Tourism): Surf City beaches
  3. BCR and ONEC: VII Population Census 2024, population by department, municipality and district, urban and rural (Excel, in Spanish)
  4. BBC Travel: the Salvadoran beach town that became a Bitcoin testbed, 25 June 2025
  5. Diario El Mundo: Surf City 1 received more than 2 million international visitors in 2025, 13 March 2026 (in Spanish)

Figures checked 9 November 2026. Prepared by InvestSalvador.com for general information. Figures come from the sources listed.

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