The towns in Venezuelan Isles

Porlamar, Puerto La Cruz, Santa Fe are some of the charming towns in the Venezuelan Isles. Porlamar, with a population of 85,000 lies 20 km from the airport and about 28 km from Punta de Piedra, where most of the ferries dock. The many attractions in Porlamar include a magnificent cathedral, and the Museo de Arte Francisco Narváez in Igualdad y Díaz. The main and most expensive shopping area is Avenida Santiago Mariño. Better bargains and a wider range of shops can be found on Gómez and Guevara.

The centre of the city is crowded with cars and shoppers, while to the eastern part has a concentration of big holiday hotels and condominiums, separated by vast areas of waste ground and construction sites. Costa Azul is the main settlement area served by a long strip of sand known as Playa Moreno. Porlamar has many casinos though most of the town shuts down before midnight.

Puerto La Cruz is a port town, located over 300 km east of Caracas. It is the main commercial centre in this part of the country, especially for oil. It is also a popular holiday centre with ample opportunities to enjoy a variety of water sports including yachting. Puerto La Cruz and Cumaná are both ferry terminals for Margarita.

Santa Fe lies east from Puerto La Cruz is a good place to enjoy a relaxing time. There is an attractive, neat and well-maintained beach here. The town market is a lively bustling place held

every Saturday.

Chichiriviche lies few kilometres beyond Santa Fe and towards Coro. This is quite a popular and expensive beach resort and gets crowded at holidays and weekends. Chichiriviche houses a population of nearly 7,000 people. Tucacas, with a population of more than 15,000, is a hot, busy, and expensive town. Several new buildings are coming up here and also bananas and other fruit are loaded here for Curaçao and Aruba.