The last country on our Spring vacation we visited was El Salvador. After such an adventure we thought it would be a good idea to chill on a beach for a few days. El Salvador isn't a real hot tourist spot, known more for its civil war than its surfing, we found it to be very relaxing. The area we stayed was called Atami, the beach had black sand, big waves and it was surrounded on two sides by cliffs.
The resort we stayed at was private but the beach was public. There were quite a few good restaurants owned by locals in the area and the price was right. You could get two great meals and a few drinks for less than $20.
Those weren't even the jumbo shrimps! One of the best things about our vacation was the food, we love to eat great while on vacation. Toronto is filled with fantastic restaurants with chefs from around the world but when factoring in the price you cannot compare it to Latin America.
There were some nice tidal pools to swim in-when it's high tide, the waves crash over the walls into the pools. Police patrolled the beach armed with machine guns to keep the peace. They were probably dying of the heat in those black clothes and Kevlar. Where we were it felt really safe and we had no issues walking around at night. El Salvador is a poor country so I was very glad to spend some of our tourist dollars there. We supported a lot of local businesses, some artists and didn't stay at an international resort.