Margarita Island
Nuevo Esparte, Venezuela
May 4 - 12, 2007
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Isla De Margarita
Una bendición mezclada para las vacaciones
A mixed blessing of no taxes, nice beaches, cheap drinks, bland food, and where english is a foreign language.
Learn Spanish
If you get into any kind of predicament in Venezuela and don't speak spanish, you will most certainly wish you did.
Short of this, bring spanish dictionary and phrase books when traveling in Venezuela. You'll need them.
Isla Margarita lies between Aruba and Trinidad off the north coast of Venezuela. It's full of history yet seems removed from the current political turmoil. The beaches and ocean are clean and overall it's very affordable. Columbus discovered this island on his third journey. Simon Bolivar made the island his home base.
American's rarely venture here so this page was created to supplement a few of the travel tips found elsewhere. We flew AA from San Diego, USA to Los Angeles, to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Caracas, to Porlamar. This page also contains all our vacation photos and a short movie, plus, a link to an island map marking places we visited (use satellite view).
Jeep Tours Rock!
A full-day jeep tour of much of the island including a meal and all you can drink was well worth the $50 USD per person. Food was average. Sat in some traffic a little, but not horrible. Weather permitting, ask for a jeep with no roof. You can stand and get a better view. Bring sunscreen, towel, sandals, swim suit.
We booked through the resort tour office but hooked up several other jeeps. We drove straight to highest point on the island. and made a 'orientation' stop which lasted one minute in English and over 20 minutes in Spanish. We started in on the free beers during the wait.
About 30 minutes later, we drove down the mountain for a 1/2 hour visit at an amazing church in the original capital of the island. Good bargains on Madonnas and other souvenirs here.
We had a couple beers waiting for stragglers and made our way to the center of the island for a 40 minute boat ride in La Restinga, the island's national park. It was marginally interesting. Murky mangrove root waterways sprinkled with oysters. Fruitless trees result in no wildlife save for a pelican or two. Virtually unspoiled scenery. Don't buy souvenirs here as the prices are nearly double as found at the Conejeros Market.
We had a couple more beers in the parking lot and we all caravaned to a dry, dusty remote restaurant on the west end for lunch. A couple caged birds and a restaurant disguised as a rundown building served average but welcomed food. Abundant beer went well with an icy rum and coke. Ice melted within seconds so you had to drink 'em fast.
Early afternoon we traced the coast north to Punte Arenas (we think this was the name). There was an extra 5,000 bolivar fee ($2) to use the cabanas, but the water was warm and calm. The beer jeep was only five yards away.
After an hour and a half, we rounded the northwest corner and went off-roading for fifteen or so minutes. This was the highlight. If you rent a 4x4 , this is the place to go. Really fun. Video here.
Now heading east, we took a highway junction rest stop at "Coco Locos". Twenty minutes was enough time for a pee break, a cup of milky crushed coconut ( a rum kicker was a little extra), a few photos and another beer.
At this point some of the jeep touristas called it quits and took the junction to their hotels (the beer jeep included). But our intrepid group of six chose to forge on to Juan Griego for the sunset. For us, it was our second visit to this little fisherman town. Second best sunset too.
4 Stars! The Isla Margarita All-Day Jeep Tour is highly recommended. For all other Venezuela tours we heard Affordable Tours had the best prices.
Getting a Good Exchange Rate
MAY 4, 2007 - CARACAS - They only take Bolivars in Venezuela. One "official" money exchange in the baggage claim area at Caracas International Airport was 2150 bolivars per U.S. dollar. Not bad considering XE.com Exchange Rate claims 2144.50.
One euro fetches 3000 bolivars. Still it was only 30 cents USD for a 222 ml. bottle of icy cold Polar beer.
There is a highly active"parallel market" for currency exhange in Venezuela. Don't exchange in the baggage claim unless urgent. In fact, you'll be asked "change money?" by almost anyone. We were asked by three taxi drivers, the hotel bell boy, the doormen, three street vendors, a tour operator, and a shopping stall owner.
May 2007 - 2500 Bolivars per U.S. Dollar
Don't leave the airport terminal building if you exchange through the parallel market, especially at night. Arrive during the day and go to the domestic terminal. You can fetch better rates from discreet locations within the domestic terminal.
We changed $140 and fetched 360,000 bolivars (2500 bolivars for every U.S. dollar). Larger bills $20 or higher are more valuable. In retrospect, we should have exchanged all the cash we expected to spend here.. You'll want it on the island. And most importantly, don't bother with using American Express Travelers Checks. We looked and waited and looked some more, but only Laguna Mar Resort had an exhange service that took them. 2144.60 + a 3% commission. Not very good. For US Dollars, the banks are only slightly better at 2150 per U.S. dollar.
Some people reported their bank cards did not work at ATMs.
To exchange on the island, try the Mercado de Conejeros in Porlamar. We were offered 3000 bolivar per U.S. dollar at one of the shopping stalls. At any rate, be careful, it is illegal to exchange money except through an official source. Don't watch the movie "Turistas" if you're nervous about traveling here.
If you want a clean hotel room, drink a lot, okay buffet food, and like to gamble, expect to pay $1400 USD for a seven day all-inclusive package for two at Laguna Mar.
We like to venture out on our own so we declined the all-inclusive deal. The pool facilities, public areas, and grounds were clean and generally well-maintained. The service might be better if you're fluent in spanish or at least not an American. Nontheless, free transportaion around the nearly disney-sized resort was handy and you could find free morning coffee and tea at the secluded beach front Cazon Restaurant.
The South Tower is closer to the beach
Laguna Mar Resort is cosmopolitan. We did a couple buffets dinners. We heard the Tex-Mex restaurant was good, but you had to make reservations for it. Average lunch was $9 USD. The buffet was $15 with all you can drink Polar beer and wine-from-a-bag. They had nightly cultural dance shows and evening events that ended at 10:30 PM with the obligatory group "Chihuahua". See the movie for a small taste.
The smoke-free Casino was in a separate facility about a 100 yard walk from the north tower. Oddly, the shuttle bus doesn't go there. The games were the typical electronic slots and several card tables. No dice. Couldn't tell what the drink policy was or the operating hours. Looks like they had entertainment, but we didn't see a schedule. Might be a happening spot on some nights.
Amerians are rare on Margarita Island but we did meet four Virginian gals one of which had her purse snatched.
Make photo copies of your passports
She had to fly to Caracas, find a specific taxi service, drive two hours to the U.S. Embassy, go through two-hours of processing, take a taxi back to the airport, and take the next flight back to the ol' pearl of the caribbean. Fortunately, she had photocopies of her passport stashed in her room. A memorable travel tip!
A few British tourists by their english. The rest were mixed europeans and locals.
Aside, if you happen see or hear about four Canadians (Bruce, Chad, Rob, or Kevin) hosteling through South America, we wish them well and hope they make it home OK.
Porlamar or Playa de Agua
If you like the beach, a better place to stay is at or near Playa De Agua. If you like shopping, downtown Porlamar is better. Well-traveled europeans told us the Hilton in Porlamar had a lousy beach and the service wasn't up to par. The pricey Hesperion looked incredible, albeit isolated on the island's northeast corner.
If you like world-class wind-surfing every day, stay closer to airport. If you like nitelife, there's a Hard Rock Cafe in Pampatar not far from downtown Porlamar. As for us, if we visited again, we'd stay near Playa De Aqua.
What Tours to Take
We didn't have an unlimited budget so we only took one commercial tour, the full-day Jeep Tour of the island. It was worth the $100 for the two of us. The write-up is on the left.
We wanted to go snorkeling. In fact, we brought our gear but there wasn't anywhere on the island except La Freilas, a small group of rocky islands 1/2 hour boat ride off the coast of Playa de Agua. The hotel tour operator charged $60 per person. Too much for a boat ride, a sandwich, a few drinks, and an hour of snorkeling. The best deals seemed to be along the main street in Playa de Agua. A family returning from snorkeling at Las Freilas said it was $25 a person. That would be worth it.
There were two different horse tours available based out of the southwest side of the island. These were also $50 to $60 per person through the hotel. Couldn't tell the difference between the two. We mused about going to Angel Falls, but wasn't about to shell out another $1300.
We did learn from one of the Virginians that the tour company to book day trips and visits to Angel Falls is Affordable Tours. They had far better rates than the hotels and more offerings. In short, if you don't care about money, use the hotel tour operators. Otherwise shop around. The highest concentration of tour operators was on the main street at Playa de Agua. Photo below.
Getting to Margarita Island
MAY 4, 2007 - CARACAS - We used AAdvantage miles to get to Caracas. The total was $150 for two of us which included fees and internaional departure taxes. Normally it costs another $43 per person to leave the country. We booked a month in advance at $270 roundtrip for two on Laser Air to Porlamar. Prices vary wildly. Arriving 1:05 and departing 2:15PM. Unfortunately, our international flight arrived late and we missed our connection to the island.
Upon entering the domestic terminal a man named Wilfredo (of Canaima Tours) glued onto us. Luckily, he was bilingual and helped us out with the Laser Air ticket desk. We tipped him 40K bolivars and a few beers while we waited for the flight out. Laser Air was great. They even feed you on this 30 minute flight!
Schedule 2+ hours between arrival
and departure!Airport taxes from Caracas and into and out of Margarita Island totaled $57 USD per person!
Getting around Margarita Island
LAGUNA MAR RESORT, ISLA DE MARGARITA -There are just two ways to get around.: Bus and Taxi. Buses were cheap, about 40 cents, but not totally dependable. You can end up on a bus that makes lots of stops. The buses don't have AC, are pretty grimy, and the drivers don't speak a word of english.
Don't drive a car here unless you're used to the scene. There are very few traffic lights and no stop signs so getting through intersections is first come first serve and bravado. You would never consider renting a mo-ped or even riding a bike here.
no stop signs
There are taxis everywhere so it's a buyers market. There are no meters so arrange the fare before you get in. The drivers can say "thousand" and maybe "exchange", but after that, it's all Spanish. As for the fares, from the airport to Laguna Mar was 40,000 bolivar (about $20).. Returning to the airport was 45,000 (ripped us off). From Laguna Mar to Playa de Agua was 30,000 bolivar. From Playa de Agua to Juan Griego was 15,000. From Laguna Mar to downtown Porlamar was 15,000. In short, it's about $40 round trip from one side of the island to the other. On the bus (try and get the express), it's under two dollars per person.
$2 by Bus or $20 by Taxi
In general , the taxi fees were modest compared to the San Diego, California. But, given that petrol was a mere 60 bolivar per liter (~20 cents a gallon), being a taxi driver is high in the food chain.
Laguna Mar Resort & Casino
3 Star Resort
Don't cha love that "Chihuahua" song? Listen.
Laguna Mar Hits
Laguna Mar Misses
Where to Eat
Experiencing new and tasty dishes is one of best things foreign travel has to offer. We tried La Mama's in Juan Griego. The pasta was good, but the fish was tough as leather. Good rum and cokes though. They give you a full glass of rum over ice and a bottle of coke to wash it down with. Juan Griego is famous for its sunsets but not so much the food.
The hotel had great soups but otherwise the food was just okay. They kept it interesting at the main buffet (Topaz) by serving up Italian, Mediterranean, Fishermen's Night and other european themes. Strangely, no Venezuelan food. So, we asked one of the waitresses who was happy to practice her english where to find traditional dishes. She raved about Puente de Criollo in downtown Porlamar just a block to the left and one block down from the Basillica.
We did some shopping on Friday morning at the Mercado de Conejeros (good prices) and took a taxi to Puenta de Criollo for lunch. When you walk in this very busy restaurant you have to go directly to the back and wait in line for a number at the far left. Then, you move over to the far right and wait in line for your number to be called. It's kind of like a Seinfeld "soup nazi" routine. The guy that called the numbers was a supreme multitasker as he both took and called the take-out orders, barked numbers and other myriad orders to the waiters and simultaneously handled all the money. We had a pleasant chat in line with "Juan", a doctor or medical insurance guy we couldn't figure which. He claimed the restaurant served the best food on the island.
Once seated we ordered a couple Polars, a very drinkable beer for about 30 cents a bottle. I ordered what the waitress said was the national dish of Venezuela, Pabellón Criollo, consisting of shredded beef mixed with cheese and something fishy, served with black beans and white rice and deep fried plantains. Cheryl ordered the most expensive Criollo Plate Special (18,000 bolivar). It consisted of several thin slices of beef smothered in tomato sauce with black beans and rice. The also served two little dishes of sauces; one red (tomato), one green (basil we think). They were very mild with a vinegar base. Overall, we found Venezuela food very bland. No hot sauces, no spicey mustards, no peppers, in fact, no spices whatsoever. The food is boring. No wonder this country is in revolution.
Vacation Photos of Isla Margarita
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| Caracas Airport 1 | Caracas Airport 2 | Caracas Airport 3 | Outside Airport 1 | Outside Airport 2 |
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| Outside Airport 3 | Cheryl at Airport | Jeff at Airport | Laguna Mar Resort 1 | Laguna Mar Resort 2 |
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| Laguna Mar Resort 3 | Laguna Mar Resort 4 | Laguna Mar Resort 5 | Iguana Beach 1 | Whale Bone |
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| Playa de Aqua 1 (South) | Playa de Aqua 2 | Cheryl at Playa de Aqua 1 | Policia Siesta | Playa de Aqua (North) |
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| Cheryl at Playa de Aqua 2 | Playa de Aqua Wall 1 | Playa de Aqua Wall 2 | Jeff at Playa de Aqua | Playa de Aqua Chairs |
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| Playa de Aqua Palms 1 | Playa de Aqua Palms 2 | Cheryl at Playa de Aqua 3 | Playa de Aqua Boat | Playa de Aqua Restaurant |
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| Playa de Aqua Street | Juan Griego Pier | Cheryl at Juan Griego | Juan Griego Beach | Juan Griego Public Square |
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| Juan Griego Cannon | Juan Griego Boat | Juan Griego Boats | La Mama's Restaurant 1 |
Jeff at La Mama's |
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| Juan Griego Beachfront | Cheryl at La Mama's | Juan Griego Dusk 1 | Juan Griego Dusk 2 | Waiter at La Mama's |
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| Cheryl at La Mama's 2 | Jeff at La Mama's | Juan Griego Golden Hour 1 | Juan Griego Golden Hour 2 | Juan Griego Golden Hour 3 |
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| Juan Griego Sunset 1 | Juan Griego Sunset 2 | La Mama's Restaurant 2 | Juan Griego Sunset 3 | Juan Griego Sunset 4 |
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| Juan Griego Sunset 4 | Juan Griego Down 1 | Juan Griego Sundown 2 | Juan Griego Buildings | Laguna Mar Show 1 |
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| Laguna Mar Show 2 | Laguna Mar Show 3 | Madonna Bridge Protector | Laguna Mar Art | Laguna Mar Plants |
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| Laguna Mar Disco | Cheryl at Laguna Mar | Jeff at Laguna Mar | Laguna Mar Cactus 1 | Laguna Mar Cactus 2 |
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| Iguana Beach 1 | Iguana Beach 2 | Iguana Beach 3 | Cheryl at Slide Pool | Jeff on Water Slide |
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| Laguna Mar Main Pool | Laguna Mar Wave Pool | Laguna Mar Construction | La Asuncion Monument | La Asuncion Bell |
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| Our Lady of the Ascension Church (1511) | La Asuncion Town Center | Simon Bolivar Statue | Statue Plaque | La Asuncion Church Alter |
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| La Asuncion Church Interior | La Asuncion Alter 1 | La Asuncion Alter 2 | La Asuncion Alter 3 | La Asuncion Main Alter |
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| La Asuncion Alter 4 | Church Grave Market | La Asuncion Street 1 | Governor's Residence | La Asuncion Street 2 |
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| La Asuncion Street 3 | La Asuncion Street 4 | La Asuncion Street 5 | La Asuncion Municipal Buildings |
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| Governor of La Asuncion | Cheryl & Jeff at Perla's Cafe | Abandoned Building | Castillo Santa Rosa Cannon | Castillio Remnants |
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| Castillio Sword 1 | Castillio Sword 2 | Castillio Painting | Castillio Madre | Castillio Padre |
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| Castillio Crossbow | Castillio Doorlatch | Castillio Santa Rosa 1 | Castillio Santa Rosa 2 | Cheryl & Jeff |
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| Castillio Santa Rosa Cannons | Jeff & Cheryl | Castillio Santa Rosa Marker | Cheryl in Tower 1 | Tower View 1 |
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| Tower View 2 | Tower View 3 | Cheryl in Tower 2 | Castillio Santa Rosa (S.E.) | Castillio Santa Rosa (North) |
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| Castillio Building | Castillio Cannon Truck | Cheryl at Castillio Santa Rosa | Castillio Santa Rosa Doorway (1681) | Castillio Santa Rosa Signage |
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| Revolutionary Sign 1 | Revolutionary Sign 2 | Revolutionary Sign 3 | Revolutionary Sign 4 | Perla's Cafe |
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| Porlamar Shopping 1 | Porlamar Shopping 2 | Porlamar City Center Church | Porlamar City Center Trees | Porlamar Church (1536) |
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| Porlamar Church Basilica | Isla Margarita Sundown | Laguna Mar Floor Lobby | Laguna Mar Hotel Room | Laguna Mar Bidet |
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| Laguna Mar North Tower Pool (closed) | Iguana Beach Trees | Iguana Beach (North) | Beach Tree Shadow | Iguana Beach Signage |
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| Iguana Beach | Iguana Beach Shop | Cheryl Near Water Slide | Laguna Mar North Tower Lobby | Primitive Mill (Jeep Tour) |
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| Primitive Building Remnant | View of Porlamar | Primitive Construction | Primitive Small Hut | Primitive Large Hut |
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| Jeep Tour (First Stop) | El Paraiso Restaurant Signage | Indigenous Tropical Blossom | Isla Margarita Valley | Iglesia de Valle 1 |
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| Iglesia de Valle 2 | Iglesia de Valle 3 | Church Window 1 | Church Restoration in Progress | Iglesia de Valle Wing |
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| Church Window 2 | Church Window 3 | Church Window 4 | Valley Church Rear View | Church Window 5 |
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| Church Organist's View | Madonnas For Sale | More Madonnas For Sale | Government Signage | Iglesia de Valle |
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| Government Signage Detail | La Restinga Visitor's Center | La Restinga Boats 1 | La Restinga Pier | La Restinga Mangrove 1 |
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| La Restinga Tour | La Restinga Canal Fork | La Restinga Canal Sign | La Restinga Boat 2 | La Restinga Veiw |
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| La Restinga Boat 3 | La Restinga Boats 4 | Rest Stop Pet Palapa | Punte Arenas Beach 1 | Punte Arenas Beach 2 |
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| Punte Arenas Beach 3 | Punte Arenas Beach 4 | Punte Arenas Restaurant | Punte Arenas Out Buildings |
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| Jeep Tour Off Road 1 | Jeep Tour Off Road 2 | Cheryl on Jeep Tour | Jeff on Jeep Tour | Jeep Tour Off Road 3 |
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| Island Mountain Interior | Cheryl and Innes | Coco Loco Stop 1 | Coco Loco Stop 2 | Coco Loco Stop 3 |
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| Juan Griego (again) | Cheryl & La Mama's Waiter | Juan Griego Sunset | Cheryl at Golden Hour | Juan Griego Sundown |
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| Jeep Tour Guide | Jeep Touristas | Laguna Mar Pool Construction | Conejeros Ice Merchant | Conejeros Chicken Merchant |
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| Laguna Mar Resort | Laguna Mar Swim-up Bar | Cheryl at Laguna Mar Pool | Laguna Mar Poolview | Dancers Rehearsing 1 |
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| Dancers Rehearsing 2 | Laguna Mar Jacuzzi | Laguna Mar Lap Pool 2 | Laguna Mar Volley Ball | Laguna Mar Wave Pool |
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| Laguna Mar Coconuts 1 | Laguna Mar Coconuts 2 | Laguna Mar Bogenvilla 1 | Laguna Mar Bogenvilla 2 | Laguna Mar South Tower |
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| Laguna Mar Dirt Path | Laguna Mar South Tower Pool | Laguna Mar Shuttle Bus | "Cazon" at Iguana Beach | Iguana Beach Lounge |
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| Cheryl at Iguana Beach | Iguana Beach Platforms | Iguana Beach Waves | Iguana Beach Sunset 1 | Iguana Beach Life Guards |
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| Iguana Beach Sunset 2 | Sunset over Laguna Mar 1 | Sunset over Laguna Mar 2 | Sunset over Laguna Mar 3 | Sunset over Laguna Mar 4 |
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| Sunset over Laguna Mar 5 | Sunset over Laguna Mar 6 | Laguna Mar Disco | Laguna Mar Pier | Laguna Mar Pier Sunset |
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| Cheryl on Pier | Laguna Mar Water Sports Center | American Friends at Topaz Restaurant 1 | American Friends at Topaz Restaurant 2 | Leaving Laguna Mar |
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| Laguna Mar Construction | Pampatar Laguna Mar | Traffic Light | Stopped at Intersection | Isla Margarita Airport |
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| Caracas Airport Construction | Socialist Soldier at Caracas Airport | Caracas Airport International Terminal | Caracas Airport Arrivals |
All Text and Photos © 2007 Jeff C. Kelley. All Rights Reserved.
