Travel to Margarita

madmax7 · Joined: 07 Mar 1997 Posts: 561 Location: So Calif

Last year I caught the red eye from LAX to Caracas, got there in AM and got on island hopper. No Problem.

Returning the logistics were that the island hopper is unpredictable and the airlines leave Caracas to US by noon, so had an overnight stay. I hear that if you go thru Canada or the east as a stop over you can get straight to island. Any info available on this?

The island itself is "no worries" its Caracas that can be a little concerning...
And if you end up "wasting" a day in Caracas I rather waste it at a U.S. terminal..

Max.

Epenrose · Joined: 05 Nov 1997 Posts: 402

Max/

Who red eyes in off the West Coast?

The MIA flights that get in at 10 pm are a total waste of time as you have to spend a night by the airport, lovely, or in the city.

Good info.

Thx

johnl · Joined: 05 Jun 1994 Posts: 1330 Location: Hood River OR

What do you mean the flights that get in at 10pm are a waste?

Arrive at Caracas around 10pm, take care of all the baggage problems. Get picked up by Vela transport and taken to a local hotel (complete with security and enclosed fence). Got to bed. Get up, eat breakfast, get Vela ride to airport and fly into Margarita just before noon. Check in and go sailing.

What is the waste about that? Beats sitting on a red-eye flight and not sleeping and arriving all tired Smile

Now if your plans are to go partying every night, then yes, you would have wasted a night. But after flying all day (and evening) to get there, I'm not real motivated to do anything. A nights sleep is about all I want the first night...

Barnett · Joined: 11 Jul 2000 Posts: 116

I have owned a condo in el Yaque since 1994, at which time there was a scheduled, $300 RT nonstop flight from JFK to Porlamar, a five minute taxi ride from el Yaque...the flight took 4 1/2 hrs and got you on the water the same day.

Those halcyon days are over. Bush hates Chavez, Chavez hates Bush, most of us windsurfers here hate both of them, and thus politics conspired to toss a turd in our proverbial punchbowl.

Flights to Porlamar from the US all go through Caracas (with the exception of a few convoluted ones I have heard of through places like Trinidad but never explored), and there are very few nonstops....you wind up also having to go through Miami, or San Juan, or Houston, or some such place (there are one or two nonstops weekly to CCS from NYC). Whereas I can make it from the Northeast in a day to Porlamar, it is a long day and I try to avoid getting stuck in CCS at all costs. So I often overnight it in Miami (since I come from the northeast...you can take a relaxed flight there in the afternoon, there are plenty of decent cheap motels near MIA with free shuttle service to the airport, and flights leave there that get you into CCS as early as 11 the following AM.

There are nonstop charters via Air Transat from Montreal and Toronto to Porlamar that can be very cheap. They only run in the winter months, and they leave on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and you generally have to stay one week or two. This is a very good option for people leaving from the northeast, if the midweek travel works into their holiday plans.

Taxis from Porlamar to el Yaque are about $7 US at black market rates at time of this post.

Ironically, it is easier, and cheaper, for many Europeans to get to Porlamar than it is for Americans these days.