Coche Island

Coche lies south of Margarita, a flat dry island about eleven kilometres long with a few thousand inhabitants, salt pans that have been worked for centuries, and a north coast of long white beaches with shallow turquoise water. The same trade wind that blows at El Yaque crosses here, so it has become a second kiting and windsurfing base, quieter than Margarita and with a handful of hotels along the shore at San Pedro.

What you actually see

• The north beaches - long white sand with shallow turquoise water.
• The salt pans - salt worked on the island over centuries.
• The wind - steady trades crossing the island, used for kiting and windsurfing.
• The quiet - a far less developed alternative to Margarita.

When to go

December to June for the wind. December to April is driest. The island is very dry and hot year round with little shade.

Honest expectations

The island is dry and barren with almost no vegetation or shade. Facilities are limited to a few hotels and the villages. Ferry schedules are irregular.

Nearby

Cubagua is north, and Margarita is beyond it.