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.

Background

Coche is one of the three islands of Nueva Esparta State, along with Margarita and Cubagua. The island makes up the municipality of Villalba, whose seat, San Pedro de Coche, is its largest town; the others include La Uva, El Guamache, El Amparo, Guinima and El Bichar. It had 8,756 residents in 2010, who live mainly from tourism and keep up a fishing tradition. Christopher Columbus came upon the island in 1498. Settlers first tried to live here in the early 16th century but all left in 1574, and it has been inhabited again since the 19th century. The Polish writer Arkady Fiedler set his 1954 novel Robinson's Island on Coche.

Source: Wikipedia, "Coche Island"

Highlights

• 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.

What to expect

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 west, and Margarita is north.

Key facts