El Salvador: El Zonte > El Poy

Nov 2025 |

After a great 3-day stay in El Zonte, I wasn't sure what to do next: ride east into and then quickly through Honduras to Nicaraugua (like many Pan America adventure riders seem to do), or enter Honduras for an extended stay. I went with the latter, made up my mind to head to Copan for my next stop, then on to La Ceiba and Roatan. I felt guilty that I hadn't given El Salvador more time to explore. I really enjoyed what I saw, will be back.

I left El Zonte and rode 90 minutes to San Salvador, mostly 4-lane highway. While I was trying to bypass San Salvador, I missed a turn and ended up in some serious traffic in the city during rush hour. What I saw of the city looked impressive, clean and modern.

About 1 hour north of San Salvador, this ride got really nice. While I forgot the name, I can say this is a designated scenic route, like Ruta de la Flores near Santa Ana, and honestly, I thought this road was a better ride. It's a nice climb to high altitude, a jungle road, little traffic.

El Poy is a small border crossing, I got through into Honduras fast and easy, then continued to Copan. Read about the border crossing here.

Ride: 165 km / 4 hrs