Isla Margarita

Thanks to Abraham and Omar for showing us around!

beautiful island.
beautiful beaches and really nice people.

Lots of great and diverse beaches, and a really nice Spanish language immersion school called CELA. It’s a great place to learn Spanish, make friends from different parts of the world, and hang out on the beach with them. I recommend it.

When traveling to Margarita Island, get U.S. dollars before you go. Don’t bother with travelers checks or Euros or whatever, just $50s and $100s in USD.

US money is very popular on the black market. You can buy 4,000 bvs for 1 USD. BUT you can only get this rate on the street with crisp 50s or 100s. The offical rate is about 2,100 per 1 USD. Without shopping around you can easily get 3,000, even with singles or 20s.

I had to sleep in an airport here years ago because the Venezuelan airline overbooked the plane by 50 people. and we got pickpocketed. but it had beautiful beaches, a wonderful atmosphere, and the best barbequed chicken i have ever tasted. It definately had its touristy places, but it was still possible to find places off the beaten path.