Clearing In · El Salvador
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El Salvador customs and clearance for yachts, step by step
No forms in advance. We cleared in at Bahía del Sol on 5 March 2026 and left on 2 April 2026. Official rules last checked 5 October 2026. El Salvador was the easiest of them all.
By Steve and Meghan, SV Some Tuesday. Where are we now?
Heads up
This is best efforts, not a guarantee. Rules change, officials change, and two boats clearing into the same harbor the same week can have pretty different experiences. We do our best by combining three things: research (reading the official sites so you don’t have to), automation (a tool that fills in the forms for you), and personal experience (what actually happened to us, with dates). It’s all in one guide and one forms tool. It won’t make clearing in effortless, but it should make it a whole lot easier. If something’s different when you get there, tell us and we’ll fix it for the next boat.
Fees at a glance
Except for the pilot, we don’t remember exactly what we paid. The official column is the published fee, not our receipt.
| What | Published | What we remember |
|---|---|---|
| Coast Guard temporary permit | US$30 for days 1–30, another US$30 for 31–60, another US$30 for 61–90 | Not recalled. Our permit was for 30 days. We stayed 28 (5 March to 2 April 2026). |
| Zarpe, recreational boat 1–50 GT | US$40 | Not recalled |
| Tourist card | Abolished 30 April 2025. It had been US$12. | Not recalled |
| Stay extension, form F-44 | US$25, up to 90 days, one time | We didn’t need one |
| MAG pet import authorisation | US$9.04 | Nothing. Nobody asked |
| Bar pilot | US$25 each way, or US$50 each way. The two figures sit side by side. | About US$50 in March 2026. Confirm the current rate with Bill. |
1. Arrange the pilot before you leave the last port
- What
- You cross a sand bar at the estuary entrance by following a pilot boat, in daylight, near high slack tide. A few days before you leave the last port, Contact Bill through the Bahía del Sol rally site. Send the arrival date, people aboard, length, and draft. He arranges the pilot, and he rides on the pilot boat. He can also help with a hotel slip or a mooring. The meeting point changes from time to time, and Bill may direct you differently.
- On the radio
- About an hour out, call Hotel Bahía del Sol on VHF 16 and ask for the pilot. The hotel email is recepcion.hotel@bahiadelsolelsalvador.com. El Salvador stays on Central Standard Time, UTC−6.
- Our experience
- Bill was on the pilot boat. I followed it over the sand bar. Plan on a wait: I sailed circles for about five hours, for the tide and for him to meet me. We paid about US$50. The meeting point I was using, and the two published pilot prices, are on the El Salvador page. Don’t skip the country because of the bar. The process is easy if you’re in touch with Bill.
2. Check in on the hotel dock. No forms in advance
- What
- Bring passports, copies, boat registration and copies, a crew list, the original zarpe from the last country, and US dollars in cash. El Salvador uses the US dollar. Immigration and the Coast Guard are at Hotel Bahía del Sol. There is nothing to travel to.
- Our experience
- The customs agent was on the dock when I arrived on 5 March 2026. I handed over my passport and was told to meet him in the office, on the hotel and marina property, in 20 minutes. No forms in advance. Nobody cared about the dogs, and taking them ashore was fine.
3. The Coast Guard temporary permit
- What
- A foreign yacht in El Salvador’s waters needs a Permiso Temporal from the Coast Guard. US$30 for each block of 30 days, up to 90 days. When you ask for the zarpe, they want the receipt for every day you have been in the country. The fee schedule is the Coast Guard’s pliego de cargos. The service list is on serviciodeguardacostas.mil.sv.
- Our experience
- The permit was issued the same day, valid for 30 days. I don’t remember what we paid. Use the published US$30, not a number from our receipt. We don’t have one we can quote.
4. Immigration and the CA-4 stay
- What
- A valid passport. Check whether your nationality needs a visa on the Migración FAQ and the Foreign Ministry visa page. The US$12 tourist card was abolished on 30 April 2025. Most visitors get up to 90 days under the CA-4 agreement with Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Days granted in the first of those countries are what you have left.
- Extension
- One extension of up to 90 days, form F-44, US$25, applied at least five working days before the time runs out. The 2022 PDF is still the file online: F-44. Confirm it is current. The visas desk is migracion.visas@seguridad.gob.sv.
- Our experience
- We don’t remember the stamp or any immigration fee. We were there 28 days and didn’t ask for an extension.
5. Pets
- Official
- MAG issues an import authorisation for dogs, cats, and some rabbits. You need the application spreadsheet, the vaccination card, and an official health certificate from the country of origin. US$9.04, valid 30 days, single use. It can be done at a port. MAG pet imports. The spreadsheet is Solicitud para la importación de mascotas. Taking a pet out again is a separate export certificate.
- Our experience
- In March 2026 nobody asked for any of it. No paperwork, and taking the dogs ashore was fine. Carry the vaccination card and the health certificate anyway. The official rule still stands. There is no separate MAG page for a pet that stays aboard a yacht.
6. Leaving: the zarpe, and back over the bar
- What
- A zarpe from the Coast Guard, the temporary permit paid for every day of the stay, and an immigration exit. Recreational boats of 1–50 GT: US$40. Book the pilot again for a daylight high tide on the way out.
- Our experience
- Our zarpe is dated 2 April 2026 at 14:40, two people, destination French Polynesia. Keep it. French Polynesia’s pet process asked for proof of the date we left, and our El Salvador papers did that job. We don’t remember the exit fees. Use the published figures.
Heard from Cruisers
Most of this circulates by word of mouth among cruisers. We pulled it together, organized it, and share it free. It is not official guidance, so don’t rely on it as such.
The bar and the pilot price Heard from Cruisers
Average depth on the bar is around 12 ft, and the channel moves. The meeting point changes, and the position we were using is on the El Salvador page. Outboard-powered boats should not attempt it. In March 2024 a boat drawing about 6 ft 9 in went hard aground while following the pilot, lost its keel and rudder, and was a total loss. The pilot fee is US$25 each way, and it is also US$50 each way. We paid about US$50. Confirm the current rate with Bill.
How long you can stay Heard from Cruisers
The permit runs to 90 days. Another figure is that the boat can stay as long as you wish, with fees in 30-day blocks. The US$12 tourist card is gone, and a visitor page still lists it. CA-4 days are shared across the four countries. Another account is that the sharing applies only to land travel, and a boat gets a new stay. No Q flag at Bahía del Sol.
What the forms tool can fill
Check-in at Bahía del Sol does not use a form you fill in advance. The Coast Guard permit and the zarpe are issued at the dock. The tool does not invent blanks for them. It builds answer sheets for the two official files that do exist:
- Migración F-44, only if you need the stay extension. It is a flat PDF. You copy the answers onto it. The copy online is the 2022 version.
- The MAG pet import spreadsheet, if you are applying for the authorisation. In March 2026 nobody asked us for it.
Questions
Do I need forms before clearing in at Bahía del Sol?
No. We arrived on 5 March 2026 with passports, boat papers, and the zarpe from Mexico. The customs agent was on the hotel dock. Check-in does not use a form you file in advance.
How do I cross the bar at Bahía del Sol?
Follow a pilot boat over the sand bar at the estuary entrance, in daylight, near high slack tide. Contact Bill through the Bahía del Sol rally site before you leave your last port. About an hour out, call Hotel Bahía del Sol on VHF 16. The meeting point changes, and Bill may direct you differently.
What does El Salvador yacht check-in cost?
We remember the pilot at about US$50 in March 2026. The published Coast Guard permit is US$30 per 30 days, up to 90 days, and the zarpe for a 1–50 GT recreational boat is US$40. We don’t remember the other amounts we paid.
Want these filled in for you?
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The honest fine print
Some Tuesday, LLC shares information and a do-it-yourself forms tool, free. We never file, submit, sign or send paperwork for anyone. We’re not a customs agent, yacht agent or lawyer, and nothing here is legal advice.
Everything here is best efforts. We combine research from the official sources, automation that fills in the forms for you, and our own experience. Rules change, officials change, and every boat’s experience in each country will be a little different, including from ours. Before you rely on anything here, check it against the official links and with the officials themselves. You’re responsible for checking, signing and submitting your own forms.
Cleared in recently? Tell us what happened
Fees, office hours, or anything we got wrong. A short note is enough.