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Venezuela

Things to do in Gran Roque

Why you should go

Ninety seconds on Gran Roque

Sand streets, a short airstrip and a line of posadas make up the only inhabited island in the Los Roques archipelago, set on a hill of dark volcanic rock above a turquoise shelf. Boats to the cayes leave from the beach in front of it each morning. Small planes fly in from Caracas and Porlamar in about forty minutes. Park fees apply on arrival, and there are no roads or cars on the island. Trade winds blow hardest from December to April, which suits kitesurfers and rocks the crossings.

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Things to do

4
  1. Cayo de Agua

    Island · 5 hr

    At the western edge of the archipelago, two sandbars curve towards each other across shallow water to form a narrow causeway that shifts with the current. The caye takes its name from fresh water found by digging in the sand, and it is the longest run out from Gran Roque, about an hour by boat. Trips usually add a snorkel stop on the way.

  2. Crasquí

    Island · 4 hr

    Long and low, with a beach that runs for more than a kilometre, this caye keeps a few thatched shelters and a kitchen that grills the morning's catch for lunch. Boats from Gran Roque take around half an hour. Water off the beach is calm and shallow, and the wind picks up across the flats by midday.

  3. Los Roques Archipelago

    Island · 8 hr

    Some three hundred cayes and sandbanks lie on a coral platform north of the Venezuelan coast, protected as a national park since 1972 and reached only by air. Fishing families from Margarita settled Gran Roque, and lobster and bonefishing still shape the season. Boats drop visitors on an empty beach in the morning and collect them in the afternoon, with shade and water carried along.

  4. Madrisquí

    Island · 4 hr

    A short hop from Gran Roque, this caye holds a handful of private houses, a palm or two and a long shallow bar of sand where children can wade far out. It works as a half day for anyone who wants an easy crossing. Shade is limited to what the boat crews rig.

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