Hello there!

Welcome to Salvador Valley—a dream in the making by four Irish buddies: Rob, Edd, Joe, and Charlie. Last year, we actually followed through on plans from the group chat and were lucky enough to buy three acres of lush Salvadoran land just 2km from some of the best surf breaks in the world (not an exaggeration—El Salvador is one of fifteen destinations in the World Surf Championship). We noticed that there isn’t much to do for backpackers who don’t surf. Enter: Salvador Valley.

We aspire to create something more special than a hostel—though we’ll always have affordable accommodation options alongside premium stays. Currently, we’re preparing to open as a glamping site with basic communal areas while we continue to build the main facility. 

The Dream

This is what we have in mind: a spacious dojo overlooking the valley for daily yoga practice, martial arts training, breathwork, dancing, and other devilment yet-to-be-determined; a premium gym equipped with barbells, benches, and squat racks—we know what it’s like to travel without access to heavy weights! For optimal recuperation, we’ll have cold plunges and an indigenous steam room, known as a Temezcal, a ritual practised by the native Pipil people for social and medicinal purposes.

These are some of the facilities we hope to build in the next 12 months. We have future plans to add a bouldering wall, a skate ramp, and a swimming pool. Step by step.

The Pub

Now, you didn’t actually think four Irish lads would run a hostel in Central America without opening an Irish bar, did you? We’re passionate about staying fit and active, but we’re also big believers in ‘having the craic,’ as we say back home. At our highest point, we plan to build a tropical Irish bar serving everything from fine whiskeys to bespoke cocktails made with the freshest ingredients and specialty liqueurs. It’ll be the ultimate place to bond with fellow guests after a (hopefully) productive day of training, relaxing, or catching waves. For entertainment, there’ll be a pool table, darts board, and table tennis. With a collective twenty years of backpacking experience, we’ve also gathered a solid repertoire of card games, mind games, and drinking games to get the juices flowing! We’re keen to source the highest quality sound system to always have tunes playing to fit the vibe.

The Craic

One noteworthy policy we wish to implement is a no-mobile-phones rule in our communal areas. There will be one dedicated space where you can connect with the online world and loved ones back home. For the rest of the venue, mobile phone use will not be allowed. Our goal is to facilitate genuine connections with each other and the present moment. Digital cameras will be available to rent for those looking to capture special moments.

Whether we’re hosting karaoke, beer pong, or a trivia night, you can engage in conversation without the constant urge to check how many people viewed your latest Instagram story or reply to messages from your WhatsApp group. When the DJ drops an absolute banger into the mix, they’ll be able to see people grooving, smiling, and laughing with joy—without a dozen phones blocking the view.

The Grub

We couldn’t possibly have all this action without the right nutrition to keep us fueled and ready to go. Our kitchen will serve locally sourced food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We believe that breaking bread is one of the best ways to bond with others, so we’ll offer set meals at regular times. Each meal will include a vegan option and an omnivore option. We’ve got blueprints for building an adobe pizza oven, which we’d like to get fired up sooner rather than later. Then we’ll just need to find an Italian willing to share their grandmother’s secret tomato sauce recipe.

As mentioned, we’re situated on three acres of prime agricultural land. We’re currently designing where to plant our orchard of mango, papaya, avocado, and coconut trees, which should produce fruit for our shelves within a few years. In the meantime, we’ll build raised garden beds for our herbs and spices, as well as sowing local vegetables like squash, cassava, and chayote. And, of course, it would be remiss not to plant a few spuds for good measure. To complete our food production operation, we’ll have a greenhouse to protect our tomatoes and chilies from the various birds that patrol our skies.

The Community

If you’ve read our vision so far, you may have noticed that what we’re really building here, above all else, is a community. While our primary focus is on welcoming international visitors, we’re equally committed to providing genuine value to our local community. We feel incredibly fortunate to be realising our dreams in El Salvador and have been blown away by the kindness and generosity of our neighbours—whether it’s sharing their washing machines or cooking us breakfast. To grow sustainably as a business, we know we’ll need the support of our neighbourhood, and we’re committed to giving back in meaningful ways. Based on conversations with our neighbours, we’ll focus on offering services like adult literacy classes, Bitcoin education, English lessons for children, and creating meaningful employment. Our long-term goal is to become as self-sustaining as possible, and we look forward to welcoming as many people as possible into this shared journey.

For those familiar with hostel culture, you know that the atmosphere is largely shaped by the volunteers who help run the place in exchange for a free extended stay. Salvador Valley will be no different. We’ll have exciting opportunities for “all-rounders” who are up for a good time, as well as specialised travellers interested in offering workshops, martial arts classes, or, in the early phases, lending construction skills. Get in touch if you’re keen to join us on this adventure—we’re nearly ready to start officially welcoming our first cohort of legends!

The Story

In the digital era, a large part of building a community is also online. We have been, and will continue, documenting our journey on social media—not only for you to follow our progress from home but also for us to look back on how far we’ve come. Our content will primarily focus on the construction aspect of the build, with some insight into the lifestyle we’re creating. However, when we open for business, we will not interfere with our guests’ experience by using cameras and microphones. With plenty of construction work planned as we expand our facilities over the years, there will be no shortage of material for entertaining videos.

This isn’t paradoxical to our standpoint on mobile phone usage. Most online content isn’t inherently bad; it’s our relationship with it that causes problems—over-consumption and constant engagement throughout the day. We know this because we struggle with addiction too. The best way to break a bad habit is to shape your environment to support the behaviour you want to achieve. In our case, by creating a social environment conducive to genuine human connection, a good starting point is removing the biggest distraction for most people—our phones!

Cheers

Thanks for reading our essay outlining the vision. If you think this is a project you’d like to support, head over to our homepage where you can make a contribution to help us fund the infrastructure we need to make it all possible. Whenever you make the decision to travel Central America—the land of lakes, volcanoes, and epic surf—you’ll be welcomed with open arms at Salvador Valley, with a credit voucher to spend with us however you desire!