Los Roques gets the postcards, but it requires a flight. Margarita Island's two classic day trips — the mangrove lagoon of La Restinga and the desert island of Coche — need nothing more than a taxi and a boat, and together they show you two completely different Caribbeans in under 48 hours. Here is how each works for a US traveler, and which one to pick if you only have a day.
La Restinga: a national park you tour by boat
La Restinga is the giant lagoon-and-mangrove system that connects Margarita's developed eastern half to the wild Macanao Peninsula in the west. It has been a national park since February 6, 1974, covers about 188 square kilometers, and is listed as a Ramsar wetland and an Important Bird Area — the basics are well documented on the park's Wikipedia entry and in Venezuelan travel sources.
The visit itself is simple. You arrive at the embarkation pier (about half an hour by road from Porlamar, and only ten minutes from the Punta de Piedras ferry terminal), pay the national park entry fee, and board a motorboat. The boatmen run you through the mangrove channels — the lagoon is cut by roughly 18 kilometers of navigable channels through red and black mangrove, and the water is nowhere deeper than a couple of meters. Bird life is the draw: herons, cormorants, and with luck flamingos or scarlet ibis. Oysters grow directly on the mangrove roots, which the boatmen love pointing out.
The ride ends at the barrier beach — a strip of shell-sand that runs some 22 kilometers along the open sea. There are a couple of simple beach restaurants, chairs and shade umbrellas to rent, and locals gathering guacucos (small clams) where the waves break. Tell your boat captain what time to come back for you, order fried fish, and settle in.
Time needed: A half day covers it comfortably. Mornings tend to be best for birds and calm water.
Good to know: This is an easy outing with kids or less mobile travelers — the lagoon is sheltered, and the infrastructure, while basic, is functional.
Coche: Margarita's desert little sister
Isla de Coche sits just south of Margarita — about 11 kilometers long by 6 wide, arid, mostly flat, and ringed by pale beaches. The island lives from fishing and its salt flats, with tourism growing around a handful of beachfront hotels. The capital, San Pedro de Coche, is a sleepy fishing town.
What you come for is the coast. Playa La Punta is the headline — steady breeze and flat, mild water have made it a kitesurfing and windsurfing spot that is particularly popular with European riders. If you are already planning wind time on Margarita, Coche pairs naturally with it — see our El Yaque wind trip planner — and many El Yaque riders hop over for a flat-water day. Non-riders head for El Coco Beach near the salt-tinted hills, or Playa El Amor with its clear water and low cliffs.
Getting there, three ways (as of October 2026):
- Catamaran day tour from Porlamar. The standard tourist option — hotel pickup, a roughly seven-hour day, with lunch, drinks and beach chairs included. Tours are sold through international booking platforms like Civitatis, where prices start around 90 US dollars per person plus a small port tax.
- Small boat from El Yaque. The quick local option — boat drivers on El Yaque beach run visitors across and back, and can help arrange food or transport on the island.
- The car ferry from Punta de Piedras. The slow, cheap option, and the only one that lets you bring a vehicle to explore the salt flats and villages yourself.
Time needed: A full day. The crossings are short, but you will not want to rush the beach.
Which one should you pick?
If you have one spare day and want maximum contrast with Margarita's resort beaches, take Coche — it feels like a different country. If you have half a day, are traveling with kids, or care about birds and mangroves, La Restinga is the easy win. Doing both is realistic on any trip of five days or more.
Prices, boat schedules and tour availability on Margarita change with the season, so treat the figures here as a snapshot from October 2026 and confirm locally or at booking time. For how these trips fit into the island's broader coastline, start with our coast-by-coast beaches guide.