Anyone been to Isla Marguerita??

[CrazyKanuck]

Hi there - my husband and I are going on the Princess cruise 28th of March - Isla Marguerita is one of the ports of call - has anyone been there and can suggest something fun to do there??

[pcboston]

Hi,

 

If you go on these boards where the ports are listed and click on the subject "Caribbean-other", you will find some information there about Isla Margarita. I was there last year on Golden Princess, great ship. It's only a 5 hr. stop, really too short, I wish they would add on a few hrs there. We took a ship tour because we were afraid to miss the ship but there are a lot of great vendors lined up on the docks that don't bug you like on some other islands. Happy sails......

[Krazy Kruizers]

Also within walking distance of the ship there is a bar and 2 beaches - you have to rent the lounge chairs. The water is clear and beautiful and warm.

[LoneStar72]

If you go on these boards where the ports are listed and click on the subject "Caribbean-other", you will find some information there about Isla Margarita.

Here's the link to the main thread on Isla Margarita -- it's getting pretty lengthy, but there's some really good info on the latest pages.

 

John

[Coolmama_1]

Hi,

 

If you go on these boards where the ports are listed and click on the subject "Caribbean-other", you will find some information there about Isla Margarita. I was there last year on Golden Princess, great ship. It's only a 5 hr. stop, really too short, I wish they would add on a few hrs there. We took a ship tour because we were afraid to miss the ship but there are a lot of great vendors lined up on the docks that don't bug you like on some other islands. Happy sails......

 

I'm with you on this one. We did the same thing. Next time, we will skip the excursion and just enjoy the beach area and vendors. It was one of our favorite stops.

[cruisetoscrap]

I feel the need to post info on Isla Margarita first since as we were planning our Southern Caribbean cruise I couldn’t find much information on this port.

There is a nice series of beaches very close to where the cruise ship docks. You walk though a line of shopping stalls they have decent prices for souvenir like items like lots of pearl jewelry and beaded necklaces. We almost bought a terracotta statue of a woman that was made by the sister of the seller. They were very well made and painted beautifully and ran about $30 US dollars we saw the same artists work in a gallery in San Juan for $65. You don’t walk though many stalls so don’t let that stop you from wandering off the ship.

After the shopping stalls you reach the first beach which has basic 2 chairs and an umbrella setup for $10 and they give you and ad for a massage on the beach. The sand is a bit cluttered. The second beach is smaller with dirty sand and the water seamed murky. The third beach was just right the sand was very clean and the water stayed very shallow knee deep for about 100 yards. This third beach ended up to be where we parked ourselves under a thatched roof bar. The food and drink prices were a bit high and they also have a $10 beach set up and massages but you don’t have to spend any money to enjoy this beach stop. Also: other then the one card they gave you for massages there were no vendors or interruptions.

Overall this is a short stop but a great way to have some very accessible and free beach time on your trip. We were on the Golden Princess in April 2006 and the short stop on this small Venezuelan island is a running joke on the ship.

On a side note my sister-in-law did a dolphin encounter through the ship and had a great time. She said the place was run down but the animals where in clean areas and they also had a petting zoo.

[Roses2]

We visited at Isla Margarita last week on the Golden Princess and really loved the stop. It certainly should be longer in order to accomodate a tour and the local shopping.

 

We just did the area immediately adjacent to the pier and had a great time.

 

The local merchants are delightful to deal with, have the lowest prices we found in the Caribbean, and are friendly and helpful.

 

Down the gangplank and in two minutes you can spend money---what is greater than that.

[Taiger]

If you really want to have a great day try an island tour with Steve and Marcella here is her web site:

http://www.margaritaislandvacation.info/Crusin_N_Style.htm

You will have a BLAST.

For an idea of the cruise port check this out:

http://www.margaritaislandvacation.info/slideshow/album2/slideshow.html

 

No matter what you do, HAVE FUN. We love the island so much we are going back for a 2 week vacation!

 

Hi there - my husband and I are going on the Princess cruise 28th of March - Isla Marguerita is one of the ports of call - has anyone been there and can suggest something fun to do there??

[qm2lover]

Hi

 

Just wanted to add that we had a wonderful day with Steve and Marcella and cannot praise them enough.

 

There is so much more to this island than the vendors and the nearby beach.

 

Just let Steve and Marcella know how long you have available for a tour and the type of things you are interested in and they will tailor make a tour for you which you can vary at any time.

[Taiger]

You're correct qm Steve and Marcella are GREAT!! I would HIGHLY

recommend them to all.

 

 

Hi

 

Just wanted to add that we had a wonderful day with Steve and Marcella and cannot praise them enough.

 

There is so much more to this island than the vendors and the nearby beach.

 

Just let Steve and Marcella know how long you have available for a tour and the type of things you are interested in and they will tailor make a tour for you which you can vary at any time.

[excalwop]

You're correct qm Steve and Marcella are GREAT!! I would HIGHLY

recommend them to all.

 

Took thier tour in Dec.They were outstanding. Had some trouble getting to thier pick up point . Others kept trying to get us to take thier Tours.And then when we said no to them they told us where they were(Steve and Marcella). Another thing I like about them is when they give you a time to a point, They hit it on the nose never missed by more than 3 min. + or -.

If you take them Hit the Restinga lagoon Natl. park first We were the first group there and had a grand time. Also get some of the pearls.

Will book them again

Paul

[Arubalisa]

Does anyone know of a similar tour operator who would be able to accommodate a family of 10?

[happytobehere]

We took the kayaking adventure through the cruise line and loved it.

_________________

happytobehere

[Julie of the North]

We were in Margarita Island last month. After reading MANY posts about this port we decided to go with the majority and spend the day near the ship. We had a fun, relaxing day. There are about 140 vendors in booths selling mostly locally crafted items. The prices here were by far the very best of any of the islands (8 in all) that we visited. After about 45 minutes of being off the ship, my husband had to go back to our room and unload our very large beach bag full of island bargains. I got beautiful sundresses for 7-10 dollars, many pieces of jewelry, leather wrapped flasks for $5 a Marano glass bird for $12 and t-shirts, 3 for $5, 100% Aloe for $5 (about 10 ounces). It helped that we were about the last ship of the season and the vendors were eager to lighted their inventory. The pearls here are very pretty and a great value.

 

In the midst of this shopping area you can hear island music and sit seaside at several tables with benches that face the ocean along with a view of the beach at a distance. There are 3 bars, one near the shopping area and 2 on the beach. Don't just stay at the beach you can see from the ship, go around the "bend" and discover even more beach with yet another beach bar. There were fewer people here and you can walk far out into the water with it staying only calf deep. My husband took a very nice picture of me laying on my tummy in this shallow water with the cruise ship in the backround (I so love my new digital camera!).

 

Just a word of warning....the local beer in the green bottle called Solero is 6.0 alcohol. There is another beer called Polar Ice that is of normal alcohol content.

 

At no time did any of the vendors get "pushy" for us to make purchases. Most just smiled and said, "good morning". These people were probably the neediest of all the islands we visited but were not at all pushy and were very grateful and welcoming to us. One woman we bought some jewelry from took our money in her hand, made the sign of the cross with it, then kissed it before she put it away.

 

There is an American woman in one of the booths that also posts on cruise critics. Be sure to look for her. She happily answers your questions both on this board and in the port. We took her a bag of things we had packed for the cruise that we later knew we were not going to use. I knew she would not have to look far to find people who could make use of these items. Keep that in mind should you wish to do the same. Your items will be much apprecitated.

 

Enjoy this island...I look forward to returning! :)

 

Julie