Diving in Isla Margarita

Margarita and its neighbouring islands are an amazing place to dive, not only because of its great diversity of fish, coral and plants, but also because of it's quality, since 48% of Margarita is protected.

Margarita Island has many dive sites, some incredibly beautiful and some not so. Some best places to dive are El Farallon, a huge rock buried in the water with a depth of 14m. Here you can find a wealth of marine plants. You can go also to La Ballena and el Murrical. At 12 km of the Margarita Islands you can find the Archipelago Los Frailes, made up of 9 islands of which 6 are idela for diving, both for the experienced divers and beginners. Some sites there are The Pecha, Payape, Punta, Cominoto, Hell. Many of them have small platforms, and walls cracked. In this area you can probably see some 2m Barracuda, Octopus, sea turtles, and Congers.

Margarita along with Coche Island and Cubagua Island are part of Nueva Esparta state. Cubagua Island is situated between Margarita and the continent, it's a relativly a small island but here is the only place in all Margarita where you can find a shipwreck dive, and also you'll see dolphins on their natural environment. Coche Island is like an extension of Margarita island, with one of the best beaches in the state.

In these islands you can find malaria, cholera, rabies and typhoid, therefore, vaccination is recommended against all of them for precaution.

Travel to Isla Margarita

Margarita island belongs to Venezuela and is located in the Caribbean Sea to the North-East of Caracas. Here you will find a great nature variety, from high mountains to fishermen towns, passing through beatiful beaches. Margarita Island is known as the "sunny Margarita", because you can enjoy 320 sunny days per year.

The Island can be reached by air or by sea. The best way to access the island is via an international flight from many major European cities or from several US and Canadian cities to the airport of Santa Margarita. If you are departing from Venezuela to get to the Island, you can take one of a couple dozen flights a day. But it can also be acessed via ferry, which is still considered to be the main link to the mainland of Venezuela. The two primary ferry departure points from the mainland to the Island are La Guaira (30 minutes from Caracas, on the coast), and Puerto La Cruz and Cumaná (a few hours east of Caracas, on the northern coast), and they will reach Punta de Piedras, the primary ferry station on the southern end of Margarita.

Margarita is a low cost alternative island, when compared with other islands in the Caribbean. Here you'll find a wide range of accommodation, from 5 star hotels to backpackers hostel rooms.

Besides diving, Margarita is a popular place to do birds watching and studying of them. Also an exciting place to go is Punta Ballena, a hill on the east of Margarita where you can enjoy a beautiful view of much of the Caribbean. In adition another very popular acivities, like visiting the castles of Pampatar and La Asuncion, you'll find the best sunsets of the island in the Fort of Juangriego.