Margarita Island Venezuela SAFE PLACE? BEACHES?

Hi,
We will be in Margarita Island, Venezuela in Feb. on our Galaxy cruise. We are on the island from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Is this island safe to do things on your own? Any suggestions on things to do? We were hoping to take a cab to a nice, clear, CALM WATER beach, is this a good idea? Thanks for all your thoughts.

Would love to hear some more information on this island.. It seems to be a will guarded secret of what is avaliable to do on this island.

We just went to the little beach right off the boat. The water is very calm and there was a bar with some great fresh daquaris and a few jet skis. It gets crowded, but there are chairs to rent. I heard it is a far ride to get to other parts of the island.

I must admit it has been several years since we were on Margarita Island, we stayed there for several days. It is true the sights are quite a ways from the pier, but I think it's as safe as most of the islands. If it were me I would try a tour off the ship for your first visit. Some people have come back with negative views, we loved the island although it is poor. Most islands are. Enjoy it, look for the bright spots.

Nita

I have done all three things..... the beach close to the ship, an excursion offered by the ship, and the last time my friend and I hopped in a taxi by ourselves and went into town and had the best time of all. We are both women in our late 40's, speak only a little Spanish, and everone in our group, especially the men, tried to discourage us from doing this but I'm so glad we didn't let them. The only negative thing is that it is a long drive..... about 45 minutes..... but we both found it to be very interesting. We even saw a Wal-Mart Supercenter under construction in the middle of almost nowhere. Our taxi driver did not speak any English but there was a man who was sort of acting as a doorman for all of the taxis who did speak English, so you should have a time determined when you want to be picked up in town to come back to the ship before you get into the taxi. The "doorman" will tell the driver and then when you get into town he will let you out at a place on the downtown square and that is where you are supposed to come back to at the appointed time to be picked up for the ride back to the ship. Everything worked like clockwork. Our taxi was there on time and so were we, and we had a fantastic time and even wished we had had longer to stay. We shopped and shopped, bought lots of shoes, went to an Internet cafe, and had lunch at a delightful cafe with outdoor seating. Everyone was polite and friendly and we experienced absolutely no problems at all. In fact, we can't wait to go back and will do exactly the same thing again.
PBP

PBP, so glad you had such a wonderful experience. I wanted to be as positive as you, but since it was so many years ago (probably about 10 ) sinces we were there I just wasn't sure and have read some less than positive things lately. Of course we all know many passengers have trouble with lots of ports that others of us find fasinating.

Nita