Isla de Margarita
 

WARNING
Just spent 2 weeks in LTI Costa Caribe Playa Caribe Isla de Margarita. By far the worst destination I have ever had the misfortune to visit... My style of holiday is diving, snorkling, deep sea fishing and discovering local culture. Non of the above were available as the sea is so rough you need a life jacket on because of the undertow the visibility sucks and apart from all that the place is run down full of broken glass and plastic bags. You are warned not to go out with out a guided tour as you could end up with your throat cut!!!! Take my adivce do not visit this Island. We spent 3 days on main land Venezuela and that was fantastic wonderful scenery and spectacular fishing. Keep to the mainland the islands are for foolish tourist who believe everything they read in brochures, I know I was one.

Thank you, thank you, thank you...my friend was trying to suggest Margarita for an upcoming trip but some of the things I've seen on tripadvisor were alarming. Obviously, you just experienced the ugly. We will go elsewhere for sure!

hi,

sorry to hear how bad your trip was...Margarita itself it not the greatest place to scuba dive in. People are always recommended to Los Roques or Los Frailes.

Please don't give up on the island ...try this site for info about Scuba Diving in Los Roques next time you're around Venezuela or looking for a place to go to.http://www.ecobuzos.com/english/index.htm

thanks for your consideration

what rubbish!! sheilasnoddy spent two weeks there and desribes the place that is popularly known as the pearl of the caribbean as a garbage dump. suggestion - try to discover local culture without staying in a multinational owned resort that tries to be a miami style place. get out and about, stay at the locally owned places (ok, so cnn and hbo might not be avilable....) cycle, dive (yes - even a dog in the street knows that los roques is the place to dive, only idiots go open water diving closer to the island, there are no features or wrecks to dive to. go explore the island, go to the summit and see the sun drop in to the sea. lie on the best beach in the world at playa agua (40c heineken, $3 lobster dinners.... served on the beach!!). dance real salsa and merengue, not that gringoised rubbish at your hotel. dont bring america to the island, bring a little of the island back to us. (btw - i spend 6-8 weeks in margarita every winter. i own homes in south africa, cancun and miami. margarita is the best place i've ever been.)

THANK YOU !!! tonyinnyc

well said !! cheers to you !

kind regards ~

I second TonyInNYC!

I used to go to Margarita every christmas when I was a kid until I turned 15.

I really loved it.

Hi there, We are just going to be in Isla Margarita for 1 day on a cruise ship - my children would like to go out to the lake where the seahores live can anyone tell me how far from cruise ship dock and the best way to get there? Thanks so much!

We also stopped at Isla de Margarita on a cruise, and it is one of our nicest memories. There was very little in the way of civilization where we stopped--it was very unspoilt. Ocean water was the clearest I have ever seen, chock-full of small fish, which the kids were fascinated by. A beautiful sandy beach, a palm-roofed bar where the bartender squeezed fresh limes for margaritas, the waitresses danced salsa with some local boys--hot and relaxed and not too tourist-y. Some people went fishing and raved about it. We had the impression that it was cut off from American culture and too much commercialism. We would like to go back.

Hi there, I believe the place to see the seahorses is "La Resinga" - i am not sure about the spelling - can anyone tell me how far and is it safe to go there? Thanks!

I loved Margarita Island! Stayed there a week in at the Costa Linda Hotel, beautiful! A short walk to the beach, gorgeous landscape, delicious cooked-to-order breakfast included in rates which were only about $18US a night. Discovered the whole island via jeep tour, had a great day snorkeling off the cost, nothing bad to report at all! The restaurants were great, the people were nice. One of my best trips ever!

And yes, the place is called "La Restinga" a beautiful boat ride through mangrove swamps...totally safe! And the guide driving the boat will show you fresh water starfish and seahorses!

hi if you could can you tell me did you grab a cab? how long to get there and how long was the boat ride? Thank you!

We were on an independent trip in Venezuela for 2 weeks (one week in the Andes and one week on Margarita) and we arranged the tour through our hotel, the Costa Linda. I don't know where your ship will dock (I'm looking for this for you) so I can't be of much help in that regard, but here is a website
http://www.islamargarita.com/lagunalarestinga.htm
you can check out that will tell you all about La Restinga. It's cheap and fun (take plenty of water with you, it's hot there!) Have a great time on your trip!

It looks like the cruise ships dock at El Guamache, which is on the south side of the island. Check out this website http://www.casatrudel.com/crusin-n-style.htm
and see if you can find what you are lokoing for. I have had the pleasure of visiting with Dan & Trudy O'Brien while I was there and they are SUPER folks. I'll e-mail them and tell them I've recommended them to you. They can take care of just about anything on Margarita. In fact, when we were there, my sister-in-law became ill and Dan drove us to a pharmacy and spoke Spanish to the guy to get her some medicine. Really, they are great folks and won't steer you wrong. I hope this helps!

Margarita Island has been cleaned up and there is a lot of work going on keeping it that way. I've relocated here from Florida and I can tell you first hand that the island is BEAUTIFUL! I work within the cruise line industry giving private couples tours of this wonderful place. Prior to relocating here I had cruised the Caribbean and this is by far the most "livable" island. Being less then 20 miles off the mainland makes getting things here is simple and not expensive. Gas is less then 10 CENTS a gallon. YES 10 cents! The seafood is fresh and the produce is natural with no pesticides or chemicals. The beef is Argentinean beef, it is to die for. I could go on and on but will curtail this post. If anyone has any specific questions fell free to email me. I will do my best to get you the advice or information you request.