Margarita Isle/Guamache

R

rather-be-sailing

Guest
Margarita Isle/Guamache - any reason to get off of the ship here?
The Princess Golden, on the S. Carib. cruise had a change in literary. Instead of La Guaira, we are now stopping for a few hours in Guamache, on the Isle of Margarita. Is this where the pushy vendors are on the beach? Let me know your experiences. Thank you!
 
B

belgique

Guest
Isla Margarita is an interesting island -- the main town is a long bus ride away but for once in a lifetime, what the heck?

If you choose not to go to Guamache, there are some little shops in the terminal where I found some wonderful coffee - cheaper than Jamaica and just as good. The vendors are not bothersome at all - quite friendly and polite. There is a very small beach near the port but not sure how the swimming is - the beach is a short walk and you can come back to the ship for lunch.

All in all, unless you were planning an excursion to Caracas, the switch to Margarita is probably better than LaGuaira, which is a bit depressing. My advice is make the best of it - after all - it's part of a cruise!!!
 
C

Cruise cutie

Guest
=sad...:(..I want to go to Caracas..to go back to Murano the world famous glass factory.......AHHHHHHHHHHH..sigh..oh well guess we check out Isla Maguarita...thanks guys...:(..Joanne
 
S

sailboat

Guest
I've only been to Margarita Island once and recall a very long bus ride as the port is miles away from everything. We feel that if we have never been to a port, we should go and have a look. That said, I will probably stay aboard next time we visit this island. It's not that I don't enjoy a long bus ride--it's just that having done it once, we are not inclined to do it again.

MI is not as depressing as La Guaria (which one cruse ship comic said was Spanish for "stay on the boat!). We might try a beach excursion -- provided it does not involve that long bus ride.
 
R

Raven

Guest
Unless things have changed in the past couple years, the port you arrive in is El Guamache. It's a very small town a short distance from the terminal itself. The main city, where some tours go, is Porlamar - a very busy metropolitan-type city. It's at least a 45 -60 minute ride from the port to Porlamar. The east portion of Isle Margarita is quite built up and busy while the west end is very rural, rocky and desert-like. We found the vendors at the terminal to be very polite and friendly. The pushy vendors were to be found at some but not all of the beaches from what we heard.

We opted for a tour and beachtime on the west end of the island and had a great time, plus we got away from the "maddening herd" ;)

A good map of the island can be found at:

http://www.casatrudel.com/margarita-island-map.htm
 
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