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Puerto Viejo de Talamanca vs San Salvador

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Puerto Viejo de Talamanca edges it, 61 to 58, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is stronger on quality of life, healthcare, air quality; San Salvador on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 5.5 of 61 points (scores 49/100)Safety: 6.4 of 61 points (scores 57/100)Healthcare: 9.1 of 61 points (scores 82/100)Internet: 5.5 of 61 points (scores 50/100)Visa ease: 10.2 of 61 points (scores 92/100)Getting there & around: 6.0 of 61 points (scores 54/100)Climate: 3.7 of 61 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 7.4 of 61 points (scores 67/100)Quality of life: 7.5 of 61 points (scores 68/100)61
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
out of 100

Caribbean surf town with jungle, sloths and reggae

Full Puerto Viejo de Talamanca profile →Where to stay in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca →
Safety: 7.8 of 58 points (scores 62/100)Healthcare: 8.5 of 58 points (scores 68/100)Internet: 7.2 of 58 points (scores 58/100)Visa ease: 11.3 of 58 points (scores 90/100)Getting there & around: 5.6 of 58 points (scores 45/100)Climate: 5.2 of 58 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 7.0 of 58 points (scores 56/100)Quality of life: 5.7 of 58 points (scores 46/100)58
San Salvador
out of 100

Central America's fast-changing capital near the surf coast

Full San Salvador profile →Where to stay in San Salvador →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricPuerto Viejo de TalamancaSan Salvador
Cost of living49no data
Safety5762 ✓
Healthcare82 ✓68
Internet5058 ✓
Visa ease92 ✓90
Getting there & around54 ✓45
Climate3342 ✓
Air quality67 ✓56
Quality of life68 ✓46

Cost

MetricPuerto Viejo de TalamancaSan Salvador
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,318no data
Central one-bedroom rent$633no data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricPuerto Viejo de TalamancaSan Salvador
Homicides per 100k17.123.3 ✓
Political stability (0–100)87 ✓67.6
UHC service coverage (0–100)84 ✓79
Life expectancy78.6 yrs ✓71.7 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricPuerto Viejo de TalamancaSan Salvador
Download12.7 Mbps21.7 Mbps ✓
Upload5.5 Mbps5.8 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricPuerto Viejo de TalamancaSan Salvador
Nomad visaRemote worker and service provider stay (digital nomad permit) ✓none listed
Minimum income for the visa$3,000/mono data
Entry, US passport180 days180 days
Entry, EU passport180 days180 days
Entry, UK passport180 days180 days

Getting there and around

MetricPuerto Viejo de TalamancaSan Salvador
Non-stop airport destinations53 ✓33
Walkability (1–5, editorial)4 ✓2
Transit (1–5, editorial)12 ✓

Climate and air

MetricPuerto Viejo de TalamancaSan Salvador
Comfortable months per year45 ✓
Annual mean PM2.520 µg/m³ ✓24.7 µg/m³

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca or San Salvador?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Puerto Viejo de Talamanca or San Salvador safer?
San Salvador scores higher on safety (62 vs 57), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca or San Salvador?
San Salvador: a measured median of 21.7 Mbps versus 12.7 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.