Margarita island and Venezuela, travel, information

Airlines with flights to Caracas

Iberia

Lufthansa

Tap

Alitalia

Air France

Air Europa

Delta

Avianca

Continental

Air Canada

LAN

COPA

Gol

TACA

Domestic Airlines with flights to Porlamar

Laser

Aeropostal

Conviasa

Aserca

Avior

Rutaca

Venezolana

Certainly, Caracas is not one of the most turistic capitals of the wolrd; however, it is the capital a country with tons of turistics beauties.  It is worth to give a look to this big and green city.  If you have the opportunity to go to Caracas, you should visit the botanical garden (Jardín Botánico) which is located in the premises of the UCV (Universidad Central de venezuela).  The botanical school is located there. This garden was founded by Dr Tobias Lasser in 1994 and it was open to the public in 1958. You will find 70 hectares (172,970 acres) of land, 10 of them are flat lands and the other 60 hills. More than 4000 palms from to 215 species can be found there.  The park is open everyday from 8:30 until 16:00.

For more information, visit the webpage http://www.fibv.org.ve

e- mail gerenciajardinbotanico@gmail.com

phone: 0058 212 6053996

Travelling by bus is a very good option if you have enough time and you love the contact with people and seing landscapes. In Venezuela there are several bus companies that provides comfortable units and good fares. Airconditioning is very strong in all buses, so take a blankett and a jacket with you on your trip. Some of the most know bus companies are:

Aeroexpresos ejecutivos  offer routes form Caracas and back to Barquisimeto, Ciudad Bolivar, el Tigre, Maracaibo, Maracay, Maturin, Puerto La Cruz, Puerto Ordaz, San Felix and Valencia.

Rodovias: from Caracas and back to almost everywhere in the country. They have comfortable buses.

On the homepages (follow the links please) you can obtain information about schedules and routes.

http://insel-margarita-venezuela.de

Caribbean Language Vacation: The CELA Spanish School Publishes Online Travel Guide for Margarita Island  Combining a Spanish language course with a dream vacation in the Caribbean - this is possible on picturesque Margarita Island. In groups of a maximum of seven participants, students can take part in the qualified language teaching of the CELA Spanish School and deepen their newly acquired knowledge that same day in conversation with the locals. The popular vacation island is not only worth visiting for the language course; here, you can experience a dream vacation in the Caribbean while learning Spanish at the same time. A mere stone’s throw from the northern coast of Venezuela, the “Pearl of the Caribbean” can be accessed comfortably from Europe and the mainland. The most diverse landscapes come together on the small South American island and make the time there an unforgettable experience. Now, the small and personal CELA Spanish School has published an online travel guide in English, as well. There is a great deal of information related to the dream island on the website http://www.insel-margarita-venezuela.de/margarita-island/  “We’ve often had requests related to leisure activities on the island - the new site answers nearly all these questions and also points out other sources of information with helpful links,” explains the Director, Dr. Sabine Loeffler. With the website, newly designed in August 2010, the Cela Spanish School created special additional offers for its students so that they could better explore the various leisure activities on the island. Three days a week, the language school offers the students free excursions to the most beautiful sand and shell beaches, along with other attractions, such as the national park La Restinga. Pictures of the school and the excursions are available at http://celaspanishschool.myphotoalbum.com.There is also a great deal of other helpful information on the website, so that the participants can also explore the island alone. Whoever feels like a cooking course in their free time: “empanadas” or the typical dish of the island, “pastel de chucho,” fish and “plátano” (lasagna) are on the menu here, while nature lovers can explore the lagoons by boat. Those who love to shop will also be more than happy, since the Caribbean island is not only a scenic paradise, but also a free-trade area.  The CELA Spanish School was grounded in Playa El Angel by Dr. Sabine Loeffler in 1997. With its team of qualified language instructors, the school places great emphasis on the individual care of its students. As a result, it is possible to book either group or private classes. Most of the courses offered are recognized as educational leave in Germany. The general language courses, which are offered by the CELA Spanish School year-round, are intended for beginners as well as native speakers. Each course has a program that is divided into 50 lessons for a duration of 2 weeks http://cela-ve.com/spanishcourses/.In order to ensure that every student studies at a level that corresponds to his or her abilities, the school offers an online test, which can be taken in advance at http://cela-ve.com/moodle. The results are sent to the school and the student by email. “We recommend that each of our students take this test,” says Dr. Sabine Loeffler, Director. “This allows us to build groups that are homogenous in terms of knowledge and ability.”Apart from the general courses, the school also offers specialized Spanish courses for medicine, finance and law. The school is an official testing location for the DIE – Diploma Internacional de Espanol, which is issued by the Universidad Pontificia in Salamanca. The teaching takes place in Spanish unless the students are taking the beginner’s course. Here, important information is explained in other languages to ensure understanding. Further information is available at http://cela-ve.com/spanishcourses/ or http://www.spanishcoursesvenezuela.co.uk/ 
Contact:Cela
Calle Corocoro Qta. Cela Urbanizacion Playa El Angel
Pampatar
Tel.: 0058 295 262 81 98
Mobile: 0058 412 353 31 24
info@cela-ve.com 

The staff of Cela Spanish School on Margarita Island, has published a travel guide on the web, with all current information about the most beautiful sights on the island.

Margarita Island Travel Guide
Beaches on Margarita Island
Excursions and leisure activities
Gastronomy

Even Margarita Island experienced travelers fill find new information here.

The guide is also available in German and Italian

Isla Margarita Reisefuehrer

Guida Isola Margarita

Buenas tardes desde Barcelona - España,Soy empleado de American Express Viajes y juntamente con mi mujer que trabaja para Lufthansa en el aeropuerto de Barcelona estamos organizando un viaje a Isla Margarita.

If you think that you have taken enough sun, and would like to do something different, we recommend you a hiking tour to La Sierra, Margarita Islands highest mountains.

There are two ways to go there: from La Asunción, or from San Juan. After San Juan there is Fuentidueño and Las pozas de San Juan. This place is very popular between the locals for taking a bath close to the small rivers that are there. It is also the place where the Excursion to the mountains starts. There are many guides in Fuentidueño that offer the trekking tour. We at Cela Spanish School, make this excursions since years with Sr. Antonio.

He lives very close to the Pozas and knows every single path, and shows animals and insects. You will taste tropical fruits and learn about where they grow. In the rainy season: from november until march you can take a bath in one of the little waterfalls that are on the way.

After the excursion that usualy takes 3 hours, Sr. Antonio will invite you to his house and offer you an arepa (venezuelan typical corn bread) with chicken and dulce de lechoza, a sweet made from green papayas.

Every taxi driver on the island can take you to Fuentidueño and Las Pozas de San Juan. You can contact Sr. Antonio through Cela Spanish School, we will be pleased to put you in touch.

Are you sick of the usual fast food chains? Then come and try the delicious Venezuelan fast food!

Arepas (round, flat buns made of corn dough) are available in different types: filled with chicken, different sorts of cheese, egg, etc. You will find them all over the island in so called “Areperas”.

Empanadas (stuffed, deep-fried dough) are usually filled with cheese, chicken, shark meat, beans, etc. They are a common snack especially at the beach. You will sure find restaurants at the beach as well but you should definitely look for one of the Empanada stands to try one of them.

The Spanish School CELA offers cooking courses on a regular basis where you can learn how to prepare Venezuelan specialties.

Perro caliente (hot dog): You will find a hot dog stand at every corner as it is a common snack for the local people.

Hamburguesas (hamburger) probably belong to the best and most delicious type of fast food in Venezuela. They cannot be compared to the hamburgers made by the well-known fast food chains. In Venezuela you can buy hamburgers at every street corner and you can order them with whatever you like such as fried egg, sausage, bacon, meat, onions and a big selection of sauces.

Localization: Venezuela is located in the north of the south american continent. The geographical coordinates are 00º38′53”;12º12′00” latitude north and 59º47′50”; 73º22′38” latitude west.

Borders: The country possesses borders with the Caribbean Sea to the north, Guyana and the Atlantic ocean to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west.
Oficial Language: Spanish

Currency: Bolívar (4,30 USD)

Religion: catholic

Population: according to the last census (2001) Venezuela has 23.232.553 inhabitants

Venezuela has 24 states and the capital city is Caracas with 2.079.596 inhabitants (2001)

Clima: The weather in Venezuela is very varied. The country is located in the intertropical zone and the wind comes from the northwest and southeast. The rainy season is from May until October and the dry season from November until April. The average temperature is 1º-9º C in the Andes and 38ºC in the rest of the country.

Surface: Venezuela has 912.050 Km2 and more than 314 islands.

You can find further information about Venezuela under the following links:

Venezuelan Statistic Institute

Foundation Empresas Polar

Government of Venezuela

On Margarita Island there are several different and beatiful beaches. Also if you have booked an all inclusive holiday in Playa El Agua for example, an excursion to one of the other beaches is a good idea to see more of the beautiful island. Taking a taxi on the island is not very expensive.

Some of the most interesting and famous beaches are:

Playa El Agua: the most known beach on the island. The water is warm and the sea is choppy. There are many shops, restaurants, exchange offices and car rentals. The area is very touristic.

Playa Parguito: it is right beside Playa El Agua, just a bit further north. The beach has some restaurants und the waves are big. It is an excellent beach for surfing.

Playa Manzanillo: it is a very calm and tranquile town situated in the north of the island.  The water is cold and calm. In the late afternoon you can see the fishermen coming in with the fish they caught that day.

Playa Puerto Cruz: Puerto Cruz is the beach near to the Dunes Hotel. The beach is long, the water is warm and choppy. There are only 2 little restaurants there, because most of the visitors are guests in the all inclusive hotel.

Playa Zaragoza: it is very nice beach located a few 100 meters from Playa Puerto Cruz. The sea is quiet and calm. There are a few restaurants in nice houses built in colonial style.

Playa Caribe: one of the most popular among the Margarita visitors. It is close to Juan Griego, in the north of the island. There you can see an amazing sunset. The water is warm and the sea choppy.

Playa El Yaque: close to the airport and famous for the good conditions to practise wind and kite surfing.

Playa La Caracola: this beach is in Costa Azul, between Porlamar and Pampatar. The beach is not great to go for a swim, but in the mornings and afternoons no traffic is allow on the beach which makes it a nice place for jogging, biking, etc.

Playa La Restinga: This long beach with warm water can be reached by boat in the Restinga Lagune. From there you will have a fantastic view of the north of the island and Macanao.

Playa Punta Arenas: Punta Arenas is the furthest beach on the island. It is at the end of the Macanao Peninsula. The beach is very long and big, but there are no amazing differences compared to the other beaches of the island.

The visit of the above mentioned beaches is part of our excursion program in Cela Spanish School on Margarita Island.