Beaches of Margarita Island

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The huge birdcage at the entrance - 8 feet high and large enough to hold about six standing people and looks like a medieval torture chamber. One sassy parrot greets visitors in several languages, his less gregarious cage-mates just do the parrot thing.

That’s the first thing you notice at Jak’s, a rustic restaurant down by the marina at Playa Concorde. It’s in an adobe colored building just at the water’s edge, about 20’x35’ with a shed-type patio alongside, 100 yards from the marina and near the dinghy dock the cruisers use to get to and from their boats anchored out in the bay. Faded, ragged flags representing boats from around the world hang from the ceiling, (some signed by the boat crew and left as a memento of their trip to Margarita Island) along with the usual local beer pennants, of course. Jak’s has clearly seen better days and lots of them, but even in it’s faded glory, it’s a very interesting place to people watch and the food (burgers, sandwiches and plate lunches) is good and reasonable - $ 8 to $10 US. But the people make it worth the trip.

As I sit at the worn wooden table in a beat-up plastic chair, I marvel at the diverse cultural diversity of diners. At one table you’ll see sunburned sailors from Germany enjoying the local brew, at another an older businessman charming his very much younger and beautiful ‘secretary’ in very good Spanish, and a pretty little hooker from Martinique is fascinating an older man in lyrical French while another pretty black girl toys with an Englishman. And this is just the lunch crowd! At happy hour you might see cruisers from all over the world, rich kids, pirates, con men, politicians, (not being intentionally redundant here), tourists, and local Margaritenos - a fascinating and ever changing cast of characters makes Jak’s just one of the interesting places to hang out while on Margarita Island. It is the place to go for the latest gossip and sometimes political information. In the distance you can see the high rise condos of the city of Porlamar that line the waterfront at the end of Avenida Santiago Marino.

Where in the world are we?

Margarita Island is located just off the northern coast of Venezuela. It’s a 45 minute flight from Caracas, and is Nueva Esparta State. There are actually three islands - Margarita, Coche, and Cubagua, with Margarita being the largest and most populous of the three. For a relatively small island - 67 km. east to west, approx. 43 miles and 33 km. north to south covering 934 kilometers - Margarita has a lot of geographical and cultural diversity.

The two land masses that compose Margarita Island are connected by a bridge. The western-most island is called Macanao. It is populated mainly by fisherman.
Porlamar (pop. 100,000+) is located on the southeast side of the island and is about a 25 minute taxi ride from the airport.

Pampatar is east of Porlamar and has shopping, clubs, restaurants, and some of the choicest real estate on the island.

There are over 90 named towns and villages, from picturesque fishing villages to beautiful Colonial neighborhoods. La Restiga National Park located between Margarita and Macanao offers tours of the lagoon, and there are 5 historic colonial-era forts dotted around the island.

Going south, near the airport, there’s Playa El Yaqui where you’ll find mostly small 2 and 3 story hotels built hodgepodge along the beach and some of the best windsurfing in the world! Windsurf boards are stacked high at various locations and lessons are offered. The beach is lined with thatched roof bars, snack bars, and restaurants, nothing very fancy, but a great place to people watch. The crowd, mostly in the 20-40 age range, comes from all over the world to “run with the wind” and at times it looks like Newport Harbor on a Saturday morning! It’s interesting to watch the various skill levels of the wind and kite surfers. From the obvious athletes who skim over the waves making it look so easy, to the poor guy who can’t even get up on his board, it’s quite a show! And if you get bored with that, there’s always the eye candy on the beach - many European ladies enjoy sunbathing topless - El Yaqui is almost a world unto itself and a great place to spend the day. If you like you can visit close by Musipan Margarita’s answer to Disneyland. It overlooks the ocean down a gravel road and is interesting, to say the least..Much like “Knotts Berry Farm” was in Orange County, California many years ago.

The most popular tourist beach is Playa El Agua located on the northeast side of the island. It’s a 3km. stretch of beach with many bars, restaurants, shops, tour guide kiosks, and beach chairs and umbrellas for rent. The restaurants offer standard tourist fare at tourist prices, and the shops sell the standard tourist junk. No surprises here, but the ‘obscenery’ is worth the trip, (well-stuffed bikinis and thongs are the rule here) and the beach is good for swimming and sunning. Across the street from the beach there are lots of hotels and guest houses. Most are reasonably priced, clean and fairly well-maintained.

At night the flavor of Playa El Agua changes. Most restaurants close about 10 p.m. and the denizens of the dark come out to play. After the tropical sun sets you can find just about anything you are looking for at Playa El Agua. Hookers, hustlers, con-men and dealers ply their trade and mingle with tourists and locals in the two open-air discos that are located side by side on the beach. One disco/bar is open until 2 a.m. and when it closes the crowd just moves next door and parties ‘til morning. As long as you stay in the lighted, main area it is safe, but don’t go strolling down the beach or far from the crowds at night.

Other Beaches

Playa Parguito and Playa Guachuco are less inhabited, more family oriented, and quite beautiful. They are south of Playa El Agua and do have some waves.

Juan Greigo lies on a beautiful bay and is the “in” place to watch spectacular Caribbean sunsets. The beaches are clean and there are several very good beachside restaurants.

It’s difficult to describe all the beaches because there are 41 major named beaches about 150 smaller coves and less popular beaches. Some are only about 30 yards long, others run for several miles.

In the larger cities on the island it’s a different world after 11 p.m. Some discos and clubs don’t even open until midnight! From Wednesday to early Sunday morning it’s music, drugs, sex and booze. After all, Margarita was a haven for pirates and debauchery is still the order of the evening. After midnight, Bacchus reins!

Other things to do - Isla Coche has sugar white sands and beautiful Caribbean aquamarine water. It’s located about 20 minutes by launch from Playa El Yagui or you can take one of the big party boats from Marina Concordia (near Jak’s Restaurant). It’s a great day trip for snorkeling, diving and sun worshipping. Any sport on or in water is available here. Margarita Island is safe and affordable for vacation or retirement.

Contributed by Scott Boswell
http://www.discovermargaritaisland.com/