New York Times article: El Salvador Adds Style to Great Waves Maybe it's time to head to El Salvador. There, just a five-hour nonstop flight from New York, you can catch rides all day on perfectly hollow 5- to 10-foot waves in 82-degree water, while sea turtles paddle past you, pelicans fly in formation above your head and so many fish leap from the water, you have to regularly brush them off your surfboard.

"What makes the surf so special in El Salvador is the topography," says Henry Morales, managing director at Wavehunters Surf Travel in California. "It's the only country in Central America where there are 15 right point breaks," which create an ideal kind of wave for long rides.