What Is Surf City? El Salvador: with Alejo Campos

For the third episode of The Goodlife Podcast, hosted by Román “Chimbera” Martínez and Lexi Cross, we sat down with Alejo Campos, Director of Surf City El Salvador, to finally answer the question everyone keeps asking: what — and where — is Surf City?

Alejo walks us through the national strategy behind 320 kilometers of coastline split into Surf City 1 through 5, how the WSL Championship Tour came to Punta Roca, the new bets on surf & golf, surf & sail, and surf & cook, and how the government moves at a speed few countries can match.

What Is Surf City, Really?

Surf City isn’t a single place — it’s El Salvador’s national tourism strategy, covering roughly 320 kilometers of coastline from La Unión to Barra de Santiago and divided into five phases. Surf City 1 is El Zonte and El Sunzal; Surf City 2 covers Las Flores and the Gulf of Fonseca; Surf City 3, 4, and 5 extend into Barra de Santiago, Costa del Sol, and the area around the new international airport.

Alejo also shares how the project landed the WSL Championship Tour at Punta Roca, what’s driving new bets like surf & golf, surf & sail, and surf & cook, and why El Salvador received more visitors than Costa Rica last year.

During the podcast, Alejo talks about the multi-billion dollar global surf industry, bringing surf brand manufacturing to El Salvador, the new two-week residency process through the immigration office at Punta Roca, why training local talent is Surf City’s biggest challenge, and what a 20-year vision for the country could look like.

Interested in Surf City?

If you’d like to learn more about living, investing, or opening a business in Surf City El Salvador, contact us, and we’ll be happy to share more information.