Love Isla de Margarita!!!!!! - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

LuLu · 11-06-2005, 08:47 PM

Just love Isla de Margarita!

The locals are so very nice to cruise ship passengers and really want us there! (Sure, probably is a money thing ... but they are VERY nice!) Great for cruisers to actually "feel" liked in a cruise port!!!!

We've had port stops in Margarita since this port was very,very young!

Certainly, we haven't done EVERYTHING ... but will be happy to tell you about the excursions that we HAVE taken there and what we actually HAVE done!

Coche Island Catamaran Sail (3 times), The Party Bus ("Rumba on the Chiva"), and the cruise dock beach (so improved over the years) & bar area!

Please don't hesitate to ask if you have questions on any of the above! So LOVE this island!

LuLu

hanna · 11-06-2005, 11:01 PM

Lulu, ignorance showing here. Where is it? Never heard of it.

floflegs · 11-07-2005, 04:41 AM

We will be visiting in Dec 2006 so any tips will be welcome. e.g. places to visit, trips etc

dolphingirl · 11-07-2005, 10:18 AM

We are also going to be visiting Isle Margarita in December.We will be doing the 4WD adventure.Would love to hear more about this island.

LuLu · 11-09-2005, 03:46 PM

hanna .... Isla de Margarita is an island off the coast of Venezuela (owned by Venezuela). If you've ever had a port stop in Caracas, don't worry! Unlike Caracas, Isla de Margarita is great -- nothing like the mainland!

flolegs .... The Coche Island Catamaran excursion was our favorite. Guess you could tell since we've taken it three times.

dolphingirl .... While we have never taken the 4DW, Isla Margarita seems as if it would be the perfect place for that some of thing! For sure, give us a report when you return.

If there are any other questions, I'll be happy to respond if I know the answer.

LuLu

Caribbean Girl · 11-13-2005, 10:57 AM

My brother and SIL were in Margarita Island several years ago, during a change in the government in Venezuela. It was very scary...there were armed guards all over the streets and the general atmosphere was tense. They said the place was beautiful, but it was not the best time to be there. This, incidentally, happened while they were there... no indication of it coming, when they made their travel plans.

Generally, if one is aware of the current news, Venezuela's government presently is not pro America. Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's president, is vocally anti American and openly has ties to Cuba's government. Personally, I would not be anxious to travel there at the moment, to support the tourism industry of a country which is completely anti American.

LuLu · 11-13-2005, 05:01 PM

Caribbean Girl .... Thank you! The great this about this board is that there are lots of different opinions!

There are NEVER too many different opinions!

Just because we have always had a wonderful time in Isla Margarita (last visit 10 months ago in late January '05) and felt very welcomed by the locals, doesn't mean everyone feels the same!

LuLu

Caribbean Girl · 11-13-2005, 10:33 PM

I am very glad your visits have been pleasant...I like to know the history of a place, if possible, when I travel there. I have personal connections to Venezuela, so this one is particularly meaningful for me. Yes...we all have our own opinions and can coexist and respect one another.

JimVrhovac · 11-17-2005, 11:55 PM

We will be there in December on the Veendam.

Have you got any feedback on the "Swim with DOlphins" excursion.

Have done in other islands but wonder what this one will be like..

Jim & Ruth

Kallen · 12-12-2005, 10:59 PM

Whatever you choose to do on Isla Margarita, do not do the $20 Princess shopping trip!

We boarded the bus for the 45-minute drive to Porlamar after standing in line in the hot sun and oppressive humidity for over an hour. While the guide spoke quite passable English, the sound system on the bus was so bad that we really couldn’t hear much. I did learn how to get back to the port (“Por favour, El Guamache, rapido!”) in case we missed the bus, but the first stop was at a pearl and souvenir shop on Santiago Marino Street in a derelict area off the main shopping boulevard. One nice spot in the neighbourhood was where someone had gone to some trouble to paint a nice mural on a cement wall, but the top of it was encrusted with broken bottles to deter anyone from climbing it!
Quite frankly, we were dying to get back on the bus rather than miss it! Little girls were hawking grubby terry dishtowels for $3 US and three men harassed everyone to buy sunglasses for outrageous prices. The pearls in the store were no bargain and our guide went in bare-necked and emerged with a lovely necklace on, in spite of the fact that she didn’t seem to pay for anything. Obviously, she and the storeowner had a deal of some kind.

We spent almost 2 hours there walking around in the heat until we could re-board the bus to head to the Sambil shopping mall in the rich part of town. The economic disparity between the two areas was shocking. The shopping mall was a typical North American mall with a lot of the same stores as you’d find back home, but the prices were higher. Only those who purchased coffee and cigars found deals. I found a small terracotta jug and a bowl at a reasonable price at one store on the main street (they were very polite, kind and wrapped everything so securely that it made it back to Canada unscathed) and a terracotta lizard at one of the stalls around the port when we returned, but that was all we purchased that day.

Eight of the others hired a van for a trip to the mangroves then returned to the port and headed for the beach. It was an okay trip for them but none of them speaks Spanish and the traxi driver didn't speak English. If I ever went back, I’d stay in the port area or do a different trip or maybe go to the great beach near the ship.