Isla Margarita

[DEP274]

thanks for the information .

[eyern]

I just wanted to post so this thread would be near the top and easier to find for those searching on Island Margarita, as there is very little info otherwise. It appears as if the majority of postings occur during the fall and winter months, which is apparently thier cruise season, so it will probably start getting more active.

[Kelly K]

I'd love to hear more about the beach massage at the healing center...... anyone have information?

We did this on the Mex Riviera in April and it was fantastic!

[flamomo]

Hi

We'll be visiting IM on 2/26/07 on the Sea Princess.

Will you still have your booth near the dock, and will you still have your CC Welcome sign? We really want to stop by to say hello, and see what we can find to bring home with us.

After reading all the positive comments from other cruisers, we can't wait to get there. Too bad it will only be from 7 AM till 4 PM. But I guess that will be plenty of time to shop and spend some time on the beach.

Thank you so much for all the information you have provided.

[Gator Bait]

Thanks to whoever brought this thread up todate. I enjoyed reading this thread very much. Everyone was very informative. Thanks to you we got the info we needed to book what we think will be our best excursion ever. We are booked with Marcella & Steve for our upcoming Nov 24th cruise on the Ryndam. Thank you all.

[Kristina's mom]

Hi,

I'm not sure yet where my booth will be located this year but I'll put my sign out so it can be seen. I don't like to promote myself here on this forum so I don't usually say where I am exactly but just look for my sign or ask where the american named Louisa Margarita is. You mentioned that you were having a short day here on Margarita Island but you should have plenty of time to take a tour and also do some shopping. The tour guides know how to get you out and on your way very quickly and they usually will bring you back in time to do some shopping. Hope you enjoy your cruise and be sure to stop by and say "Hi!". :D

[augie]

Kristina's Mom:

 

We will be there on the Sun Princess on Tuesday, October 17.

 

We have a tour with Marcella planned so that we can see more of the island, but we intend to return in time to shop for souvenirs, and we will look for you so that we can say "hi".

 

Thanks for all of your help to everyone on this thread!

 

Steve

[DEP274]

We will be there the sametime as Augie. Looking forward to meeting you. What is the street name the market is located on.

[LoneStar72]

We will be there the sametime as Augie. Looking forward to meeting you. What is the street name the market is located on.

Go back and look at my posts at the bottom of page 4 and the top of page 5 of this thread.

 

John

[Kristina's mom]

You are both coming on our FIRST day this season!! That's wonderful!!

Steve and Marcella are both very close friends of mine and you made an excellent choice in them. When you get off of the ship you'll see the shopping area. It's basically one long string of booths and at the very end is a bar and the beach. You just head down the row and you won't miss anything. Back toward the end it kind of turns into two rows but you just loop around and come back the other way and it's no problem. Enjoy your stay, Louise

[ericsharon]

You are both coming on our FIRST day this season!! That's wonderful!!

Steve and Marcella are both very close friends of mine and you made an excellent choice in them. When you get off of the ship you'll see the shopping area. It's basically one long string of booths and at the very end is a bar and the beach. You just head down the row and you won't miss anything. Back toward the end it kind of turns into two rows but you just loop around and come back the other way and it's no problem. Enjoy your stay' date=' Louise[/quote']

 

Hi, I'm wondering if you can tell me if you anything about Marcos Ochoa as a tour guide. We are coming on the Sun Princess Nov 4th and have booked with him but I haven't been able to find out if anyone has used him before. Would appreciate any input. Steve and Marcella were already booked. Thanks, Sharon:) :confused:

[Kristina's mom]

I'm sorry but I've never heard of him. Did you book him through the ship or ??? If you booked him through the ship then I'm sure he's good and honest. Do you mind if I ask where your tour is going to? I'll try to find out more info for you but I'm just not familiar with the name. Is he taking you in his own vehicle or it a tour bus? Maybe someone else has heard of him and can be of more help.

[ericsharon]

I'm sorry but I've never heard of him. Did you book him through the ship or ??? If you booked him through the ship then I'm sure he's good and honest. Do you mind if I ask where your tour is going to? I'll try to find out more info for you but I'm just not familiar with the name. Is he taking you in his own vehicle or it a tour bus? Maybe someone else has heard of him and can be of more help.

 

Hi,

Thanks for replying to my post. I found Marcos on the internet at margaritaisland.com.ve. It's a nice web site and his replys seem professional. He says that he has a 2006 air conditioned van and this is a tour of the island. I'm beginning to get ne:confused: rvous, since I can't find anyone who has used him. There are six of us and theye are depending on me. I hope I haven't made a mistake. Would appreciate hearing from anyone else who can help.

 

Thanks, Sharon

[Kristina's mom]

I was wondering if anyone coming in on the Sun Princess on the 17th of Oct. would be so kind as to tell me what time you're scheduled to arrive? This is really crazy but we haven't received our schedule yet for this port season so no one knows what time the ship is arriving. Thanks, Louise

[Spanky My]

we took a tour with Steve and Marcella two years ago and they were great. They will take you where ever you want to go or will choose an itenarary for you. We have them booked again for our cruise in february. They have a comfortable ford explorer and they are nice folks. If you do not have a good time with them ,it is clearly your fault... Have fun ...spankymy

[SNAFL]

I am SO glad I found this link on cruisecritic.com. We recently finished a cruise on Navigator of the Seas and last night I booked us for a week on Isla Margarita using our timeshare. Was a bit nervous at first but have found lots of great info thanks to all of you as well as other web sites. I'll be sure to go through all of the recent posts. Just wanted to say "hello" for now and any and all recommendations/cautions/etc. are greatly appreciated.

[ericsharon]

Hi again, It is getting closer to our visit to Margarita Isle and no one has let me know if they know anything about Marcos Ochoa as a tour guide. Once again, if anyone has used or heard of him I would appreciate hearing. If not, I think I will cancel. Louise' I was wondering if you could ask your friends. Thanks again, Sharon:confused:

[Kristina's mom]

Hi Sharon, I've asked around and no one knows who this guy is BUT if you do a google search on his name it came up with some very nice posts about him and how much they liked him, etc. My guess would be that he's a good tour guide but you have to go with your own instincts on this one. Sorry I couldn't be of more help to you. If you didn't book him from the ship then you might not have any recourse IF something did go wrong though.

Louise

[augie]

I just wanted to follow up, since our visit to Isla Margarita has come and gone (I can't believe it was a whole week ago today!).

 

We got off of the ship and followed the directions provided by Marcella and Steve, and found them waiting for us, just outside of the security gate.

 

They were excellent hosts and guides. They very obviously enjoy showing off "their" island.

 

We only had four hours, but they utilized that time very well, asked us what we were and were not interested in seeing, as well as showing us the things they considered "must see".

 

It really felt, after a short amount of time, that we were just riding around with old friends.

 

We only got to meet and say hi briefly to Louise, but the setup they have by the ship is a great one for souvenir shopping and I'd recommend stopping by her booth (it was #31 the day we were there) to check out her wares.

[ericsharon]

Hi Sharon' date=' I've asked around and no one knows who this guy is BUT if you do a google search on his name it came up with some very nice posts about him and how much they liked him, etc. My guess would be that he's a good tour guide but you have to go with your own instincts on this one. Sorry I couldn't be of more help to you. If you didn't book him from the ship then you might not have any recourse IF something did go wrong though.

Louise[/quote']

 

Hi Louise, Again thanks for trying to help. I finally found some excellent reviews on trip advisor about Marcos. We have not booked this thru the ship and that was why I was a bit concerned. We do prefer going in a small group rather than a cattle call the ship sponsers. We will stop by and visit you. I hear the Island is beautiful. Again Thanks, Sharon:)

[Kristina's mom]

Hello, I got some info on Marcos to share with you. Steve and Marcella said they know who he is and that he's very good....so please enjoy your tour and don't worry.:)

Louise

[ericsharon]

Hello' date=' I got some info on Marcos to share with you. Steve and Marcella said they know who he is and that he's very good....so please enjoy your tour and don't worry.:)

Louise[/quote']

 

Hi Louise,

Thanks for the info on Marcos. I also found some nice reviews on trip advisor about him We will be touring with him and will stop by and say hello to you. Hope the rain stops before we get there. Marcos phoned

to tell us where to meet him and he sounds very nice. He told me it was raining alot.

Thanks again, Sharon:)

[eyern]

Well, working off of info posted here on this thread from last year proved highly inaccurate. There was noone singing karaoke nor women going wild at the second bar just before the beach, the massages were about twice the price listed (but still way lower than the ship-about $30 for 35 min), and the beach was really smelly. Well, I think that would actually depend on which way the wind was blowing, but the wind was so hard at the first beach that umbrellas were blowing over but was odor free, the second beach was quite odiferous way too smelly for us but many were tolerating it) with a moderate breeze, and the third beach had no wind (hot) and the view wasn't as good. Now mind you, these beaches were all within200 yards of each other. I do know that those who took the tours into town for shopping said most of the island was not pretty with many dirty areas and they were disappointed, but we had an okay beach day there at the pier. Unfortunately I was unable to find Klousie although I asked many vendors where her booth was.

[ericsharon]

Hi Louise,

It was a pleasure to meet you. I really appreciated your help. We were however, very dissapointed int the Island. The port makes it very difficult to hire a tour guide. We had to walk about 600 meters in the heat to meet Marcos and he did not deliver on his promise of a 2006 air conditioned vehicle. It was an old van with hardly any air. We were ready to pass out by the time we got to him. The boring and long ride into town

and back took about two hours and aside from seing a church and old fort

we were glad to get back to the ship. Marcos was a nice fellow , we were safe with him but I would not recommend him , unless you don't care

if you sweat to death {:rolleyes: } C'est la vie!!!!

Sharon

[Kristina's mom]

This is to those of you that didn't have such a good time visiting Isla de Margarita and to anyone else that might be wondering "why" you didn't have a very good time. The port has certain rules and guidelines that everyone must obey to be allowed inside. This is for the safety of the workers at the port and for the safety of the tourists. There are some excellent tour guides that aren't allowed inside the port for various reasons but the port can't stop anyone from leaving the port or for anyone to pick them up outside the port. Sooooo, when you choose to go on your own and hire someone to give you a personal tour you're taking a chance that you might have problems. As I've stated before Steve and Marcella are EXCELLENT tour guides BUT they have to meet you outside the port which means walking a little ways. They're honest with you and tell you this before hand. I highly recommend Steve and Marcella but I never heard of this Marcos guy so I had no idea what you'd end up with. Steve and Marcella do have a newer vehicle and the last I heard the air conditioning worked great!:) To some people a new van could be one that is actually new or it could be one that's 10 years old. This is a different culture here and new isn't always "new". The ride from the port into Porlamar usually takes around 45 mins to one hour and depending on where all you were wanting to go it could take several hours or just an hour or two. The scenery between the port and Porlamar isn't the prettiest part of the island. We have some beautiful beaches and coastal areas and we have a beautiful waterfall in the central part of the island. Some people are interested in seeing the scenery and traveling through the smaller villages while others prefer to take the "swimming with the dolphins" tour and others just prefer to go shopping. We have a beautiful mall that is very modern with all the name brands and a very nice eatery where you can order all your favorites or try some of the local cuisine. IF you prefer to just stay at the port we have a beautiful beach that's free so there's no need to have to hire a taxi to take you to a beach. It was mentioned someone felt our beach was smelly and I'm not saying it's never smelly but I've worked at the port for 5 years and I have not once smelled a bad smell from the beach or the water. When you go outside the port you will go through an area that has standing water and it IS quite smelly at times but you'll pass through this area quite quickly so it shouldn't be any problem. I don't doubt that these people DID smell a bad odor but it's not a common occurance so please don't think that if you choose to stay at the port and enjoy the local beach that you're going to have to suffer with the smell.:)The shopping at the port is some of the best that you'll find on any island port. We are constantly being told that we have the best shopping here. I admit our little island is NOT the prettiest island that you'll probably visit. It has a lot of poverty and you'll see some very poor villages but the island has some of the nicest people that you'll ever meet and we depend on tourism for our future so we're going to try very hard to make you feel welcome and to have you leave feeling good about us and the island. We dont' want people leaving feeling negative about us in any way so I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart if your stay wasn't enjoyable. I just hope that you'll give us another chance to make it up to you and come visit us again some time. Maybe a different tour with different tour guides or perhaps just a differnt day might of made all the difference. Again, I'm sorry and hope you'll visit us again sometime.