Are Isla de Margarita and Caracas the same place?

[fraidycats]

When we first booked our cruise it said that the say in port would be spent in Isla de Margherita, now it says Caracas.Seems most people recommend a ships tour in this port but they are all bus trips which my kids would HATE. Does anyone know of any resorts or water tours that they may like better??

[Zeno]

NO - they are not the same place. Isla Margarita is an island off the coast of Venezuela. Caracas is a large city is on the mainland. Personally I would book a ship's tour in Caracas.

[joyride]

Caracus is a BIG city on the mainland of Venezula. When I was there several years ago, the ONLY thing you could do was a ship's excursion. It is an interesting place. We did a tour to the cloud forest, which was really beautiful. Caracus is very populated and sort of a scary place, I would not venture out on my own there. A bus trip may be all that you can do. I ate fruit and the lunch on our excursion and got extremely ill - I pretty much missed the transit thru the canal the next day because I was so sick. My hubby was OK, so I think it was the fruit I ate. Anyway, we did love the cloud forest - beautiful - monkeys, tucans, etc.

 

Isla Margarita is an island off of the coast of Venezula. Not really much there. We were on Princess and did a tour called "Rumba on La Chiva" It was really fun. It was a bus trip across the island to a beach. We spent some time on the beach, drank, did the rumba and then headed back. On the way back to the ship they cranked up the music, served rum punch and we basically partied and made a lot of noise. You have to be into that, some people didn't really enjoy it. My group had a great time!

[Nanatravel]

Caracas is the capitol city of Venezuala. You have rich and poor with nothing in between. It is a 50 mile ride around/through the mountain. It is a good example for your boys to learn how people must live and about another country. The buses are modern, air conditioned and an English speaking guide will stay with you. Again, a ship's tour only into Caracas is a must for your safety alone. There has been and could be civil unrest. I don't want to scare you, but we saw no less than 6 different types of Law Enforcement officers in groups in a very small area of this capital city. Now I can say I have been there and done that. Never again, but the experience is something I will never forget. Oh, my SIL and DS are in law enforcement and government, so I am not foreign to international issues.

 

Isle of Margarita is a Venezulan island with rickety cars, bumpy roads and who's people probably do not speak English. The only beach we saw (on a second trip that was not originally planned to this country) was very small, litered and rocky, but it was free and not far from the tender pier. Oh, this was the 1st. and only time I stayed on the ship at a port of call.

 

It's your choice.

Bon Voyage

[Zeno]

Actually there are many beautiful beaches on Isla Margarita. Playa El Agua is nice and the beach at Juan Griego is nice. There are a number of things to see on Isla Margarita: an old fortress where Venezuela's national heroine was kept prisoner (good views and oddly moving when you see the little cell she was confined in), scenic drives through mountainous areas (we loved the drive up to El Copey, the national park), historic towns dating from the colonial era.

[fraidycats]

Although we are still 5 months away. Are there any ships tours anyone can recommend that can hold teenage boys interest?