El Salvador’s government counted 82 homicides in 2025, a rate of 1.3 per 100,000; Guatemala’s police records give 3,138 and 17.2. The US rates El Salvador Level 1 and Guatemala Level 3. What pulls the comparison back towards even is law enforcement, not crime: Canada keeps El Salvador at its high-caution level because of the risk of arbitrary enforcement under the state of exception in force since March 2022. Visiting both? They share one CA-4 stay of up to 90 days. The advisories and El Salvador’s Security Cabinet figures (as Diario El Mundo reported them) were read on 4 November 2026; Diálogos’ compilation of Guatemala’s PNC records was read on 1 September 2026.

TL;DR: El Salvador: 1.3 homicides per 100,000 in 2025 on government figures, US Level 1, the US dollar and bitcoin, Pacific beaches such as El Tunco. Guatemala: 17.2 per 100,000, US Level 3, volcanoes and highland towns around Antigua and Lake Atitlán. One CA-4 allowance of up to 90 days covers both. The risk Canada stresses in El Salvador is arbitrary arrest under the state of exception, alongside crime.

At a glance

El SalvadorGuatemala
2025 homicides82, or 1.3 per 100,000 (Security Cabinet, as reported by Diario El Mundo)3,138, or 17.2 per 100,000 (Diálogos, from PNC records)
Against 202428% fewer homicides (114 in 2024)Rate 8.2% higher
US advisoryLevel 1, Exercise Normal Precautions (issued 25 June 2026)Level 3, Reconsider Travel (issued 12 March 2026)
CanadaHigh degree of caution nationwide, no regional zones (updated 2 November 2026)High degree of caution, plus regional zones to avoid for non-essential travel (updated 13 October 2026)
UK FCDONo areas advised against (updated 27 October 2026)Against all but essential travel near the Mexican border and in three Huehuetenango towns (updated 13 August 2026)
Visa-free stay, Canadian and British touristsUp to 180 days, though other CA-4 countries may count only 90 (Canada)Up to 90 days
CA-4One shared stay of up to 90 days with Guatemala, Honduras and NicaraguaThe same shared stay
MoneyUS dollar and bitcoin, both official (FCDO)Quetzal: Q7.63621 to the US dollar (Banguat, 3 November 2026)

Flying out of Guatemala, the FCDO says you pay a US$30 departure tax, normally included in the ticket: about C$42 or £23 at Banguat’s 3 November 2026 cross rates. Today’s quetzal rate is on our exchange rates page.

The homicide gap, and what it measures

  • El Salvador. At the Security Cabinet’s briefing on 5 January 2026, as Diario El Mundo reported it, Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro gave 82 homicides for 2025, a daily average of 0.2 and a rate of 1.3 per 100,000, against 114 in 2024, a fall of 28%. The same article says the Policía Nacional Civil is the only body that publishes homicide cases daily, and that the paper’s own review of those daily reports came to 67 for the year. The figures on this page are the government’s.
  • Guatemala. The Observatorio de la Violencia at Diálogos, which works from PNC records, put the national rate at 17.2 per 100,000 in the year to December 2025, on 3,138 homicides, 8.2% above the rate twelve months before. By June 2026 the twelve-month rate had eased to 16.2; our Guatemala safety page follows it month by month and by department.

What the state of exception means for a visitor

El Salvador declared the state of exception in March 2022 in response to a rise in gang murders, and all three governments say it is still in force.

  • United States: it lets the authorities arrest anyone they think is involved in gang activity and suspends several constitutional rights, including the right to a speedy trial and access to counsel. Tens of thousands of people are in prison under it awaiting trial, and several US citizens detained under it have yet to face trial.
  • Canada: security forces have wider powers to search, seize and detain, foreign citizens included, and foreigners have been detained, sometimes in a reportedly arbitrary manner. People held under it lack due process such as a fair or timely trial, prison conditions can be harsh and consular help can be slow. At police traffic checkpoints, tattoos may be read as a sign of gang affiliation.
  • United Kingdom: police make far more arrests, sometimes without much evidence, can hold people much longer before trial, and the government may not let the British Embassy give consular help to someone arrested. The FCDO adds that security operations and gang violence do not usually affect tourists and visitors.

How each government rates the pair

  • United States. El Salvador is Level 1. The advisory says gang activity has dropped dramatically since 2022, taking violent crime and murders down with it. US government staff may travel throughout the country by day but not between cities or departments at night, because of road conditions, hilly terrain, landslides in the rainy season and a lack of streetlights; the exceptions are trips between San Salvador and the international airport or La Libertad department. They may not use public buses. Guatemala is Level 3 for crime and terrorism, with Do Not Travel for San Marcos and Huehuetenango departments, Zone 18 of Guatemala City and the city of Villa Nueva.
  • Canada. One level for both, exercise a high degree of caution, but for different reasons: arbitrary enforcement of local laws and crime in El Salvador; crime, roadblocks and demonstrations in Guatemala. Only Guatemala has zones on top: Zones 1, 3, 5 to 7, 18 and 21 of Guatemala City, five municipalities in Guatemala and Escuintla departments, and a list of border crossings.
  • United Kingdom. For El Salvador, the FCDO says security has improved considerably but violent and petty crime remain a risk, with isolated attacks on tourists including robberies, carjackings and violent assaults; within San Salvador it names Santa Elena, San Benito and Maquilishuat as areas with better security. For Guatemala it notes one of the highest violent crime rates in Latin America and advises against all but essential travel within 5 km of the Mexican border and to three towns in Huehuetenango.

One CA-4 stay for both countries

RuleWhat the official source says
Canadians, GuatemalaNo tourist visa for stays of up to 90 days; Guatemala authorises a maximum of 180 days in total with an extension (Canada)
Canadians, El SalvadorNo tourist visa for up to 180 days; El Salvador may grant up to 180 days, but other CA-4 countries may recognise only the first 90 (Canada)
BritonsUp to 90 days in Guatemala and up to 180 days in El Salvador without a visa; the CA-4 90 days cover Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, and Britons need a visa for Honduras (FCDO)
How the 90 days runThey start when you enter any CA-4 country and do not restart at internal borders (FCDO); the immigration officer at your first entry point sets the length (Canada)
Internal bordersNo entry and exit formalities between CA-4 countries, but you must still check in at the immigration counter and get a stamp each time you cross (Canada)
ExtendingUp to 30 days more, for a fee, if you apply before the 90 days run out (FCDO); Canada says to apply at the designated immigration office of another CA-4 country before the limit
Coming back after leaving CA-4Canada’s Guatemala page: try again once 72 hours have passed; its El Salvador page: without delay. Re-entry can be refused either way
Health rule (2026)El Salvador quarantines for 21 days travellers who were in, or transited, Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Central African Republic, the DR Congo, Rwanda or Uganda in the previous 21 days (FCDO)

How Guatemala’s immigration office applies the 90 days, and what a border run achieves, is on our CA-4 border run guide.

Two different trips

Deciding

If this matters mostLean towardsWhy
The US advisory levelEl SalvadorLevel 1 against Guatemala’s Level 3
Homicide statisticsEl Salvador1.3 against 17.2 per 100,000, each on its own government’s 2025 count
Paying in dollarsEl SalvadorThe US dollar is an official currency, alongside bitcoin (FCDO)
The risk of detention without due processGuatemalaCanada and the US both report foreigners detained under El Salvador’s state of exception; Guatemala’s advisories name crime areas to avoid
Volcanoes, Maya towns and highland lakesGuatemalaAntigua and Lake Atitlán
Seeing bothEither orderOne CA-4 allowance of up to 90 days; Britons need a visa before adding Honduras

Other match-ups: Guatemala or Belize and Guatemala vs Costa Rica vs Mexico.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

Is El Salvador safer than Guatemala?

On each government’s 2025 homicide figures, by a wide margin: El Salvador’s Security Minister gave 82 homicides and a rate of 1.3 per 100,000 for 2025 (reported by Diario El Mundo, 5 January 2026), while Guatemala’s PNC records, compiled by Diálogos, give 3,138 homicides and 17.2 per 100,000. The US rates El Salvador Level 1 and Guatemala Level 3. Canada puts both at exercise a high degree of caution, and in El Salvador’s case the reasons it gives are crime and the risk that local laws are enforced arbitrarily, under the state of exception.

How do the US, Canadian and British advisories rate El Salvador?

The US State Department has El Salvador at Level 1, Exercise Normal Precautions, in an advisory issued 25 June 2026. Canada’s advice, updated 2 November 2026, is to exercise a high degree of caution because of crime and the risk that local laws are enforced arbitrarily. The UK FCDO, updated 27 October 2026, names no areas to avoid and says security has improved considerably, though violent and petty crime are still a risk (all read 4 November 2026).

Does time in Guatemala count against my days in El Salvador?

Yes, under the CA-4 agreement. Canada says its tourists can move between El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua for up to 90 days in total, with the length set by the immigration officer where you first enter the CA-4 area. The UK FCDO says the 90 days start when you enter any of the countries and do not restart when you cross a border. El Salvador itself may grant up to 180 days, but Canada warns the other CA-4 countries may only recognise the first 90.

How long after leaving the CA-4 region can I come back?

Canada’s two pages differ. Its Guatemala page says you can try to return and restart after 72 hours outside the region; its El Salvador page says you can try to return without delay. Both say the immigration officer can refuse re-entry.

Does El Salvador's state of exception affect tourists?

The UK FCDO says visitors are not usually affected by security operations or gang violence. The US State Department says the state of exception, in place since March 2022, lets the authorities arrest anyone they suspect of gang involvement and suspends several constitutional rights, and that several US citizens have been detained under it. Canada says foreign citizens have been detained, sometimes in a reportedly arbitrary way, and that police at checkpoints may treat tattoos as a sign of gang affiliation.