Beaches - alternative to Los Roques - October

Hey there,
We are going to Los Roques in Sept and I have a question for you. Did you dive there? Do you remember which dive op you used?
Did you see cool things under the sea?
Thanks so much!
Which Posada did you stay with?
Susie

I guess your best bet would be morrocoy national park. Its in falcon state. In the coast between maracaibo and caracas. To get there from Merida I think you have to go to valencia first and its about an hour from there.
There is nothing on mainland, you have to travel in a boat to small islands (cayos). There is great infrastructure to do this, so its quite cheap.
For beaches, Cayo Sombrero and Varadero are my favorites. For diving, you have to go through a scuba operator to cayos norte, medio and sur.
The operators are:
http://www.squalosub.com/
http://www.frogmandive.com/

You wont find any other place that's suitable for both diving and beaches in Venezuela (probably mochima but its very far)
Hope it helps

Thank you Wilcho
We've realised that our plans were too ambitious and we are now going to stay on the east side of Venezuela rather than cross over to Merida and up to the north west and it looks as though Mochima is the answer. If you have any other tips please share!

ScubaSusie - I don't dive myself but two friends went to Los Roques afterwards (on our recommendation - it really is a great place) and I know they had the most fantastic time there and that the diving was superb. I'll try and find out which company they used.
We stayed at Posada Dona Carmen which was basic but nice and clean, staff were really friendly and the food was good (breakfast and supper included). We were lucky and got one of the two bedrooms with doors going out on to the beach.
Every morning people go to the big jetty and set off to different islands on a motorboat (no point in staying on Gran Roque as it's not much of a beach) and you agree with the driver to collect you at a certain time. I can't remember which islands we went to but they were all paradise!

Thanks AnaSauvalle,
I would be very interested in your friends view of the diving (and what critters they saw) while diving Los Roques as well as what dive op they used!
Thanks again,
Happy bubbles
Susie

Hello Anasauvalle,

Mochima is definitely a great dive spot. Alas all the coral in Morrocoy has died off; therefore diving in Morrocoy is not as great as it once used to be. On the other hand there are still some pristine dive spots of the coast of Mochima in the Sucre state. For some reason, in my opinion, the water is definitely colder here than in Morrocoy or Los Roques. There are some off the beaten track dive spots, which are not you're traditional dive spots thriving with local and foreign tourists. For example, there is Chichiriviche de la Costa (different from Chichiriviche close to the Morrocoy National Park) located approx. couple of hours west of the airport. You have to be expereinced as you must dive deep to see the big fish and the famous sunken christ. Alternatively, there are a few dive spots in the Henri Pittier National Park, again for experienced divers as the currents are strong. There is also one location, far off the beaten track, which is the Farallon Centinela, a rock that jutts out of the water a couple off kilometers of the coast of Higuerote in the Miranda state, about 2 hours from Caracas. This is home to some very big fish such as whale sharks and manta rays. This option is also for experienced divers.

ScubaSusie - I depends where in Los Roques you dive - but you can definitely see some big fish such as: "Mero Guasa" (Big Grouper), a variety of sharks, rays, turtles and other sea critters that will make you're Los Roques diving experience unique. Please bear in mind that some places in the Los Roques Archipelago are closed off to the public for conservation purposes.

Travel safe!

All the best,

Thomas
Caracas
berry_venezuela@hotmail.com