Laguna de La Restinga National Park Voyage Tips and guide

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Laguna de La Restinga National Park is a protected natural area on Isla Margarita, a Caribbean island off the northern coast of Venezuela. The park features a large salt-water lagoon that is home to numerous fish and aquatic bird species, including some endemic species found nowhere else. The lagoon is one of Venezuela's Ramsar sites.

The park was created as part of the Venezuela national parks system in 1974 with an area of 10,700 hectares (2,500 of which is the lagoon).

The park is the lagoon, surrounding mangrove swamps, and a thin sandbar separating the lagoon from the Atlantic ocean. Much of the landscape consists of dense mangrove and jungle with navigable channels between islands of solid land. There is also a 15 km beach with Sandy shores and an opening leading to the sea at one end of the park.

Buttonwood mangrove swamps are on the sandy barrier island while forests of red, black, and white mangrove are in the swamps connected to the mainland. There are also thorny shrubs, dry grasses, and the occasional cactus reflecting the desert-like conditions.

The park is best known for its birds and its fish. Aquatic birds such as herons, pelicans, cormorants, egrets, gulls, flamingos, and frigate birds are plentiful and the lagoon.

Land animals include a subspecies of the white-tail deer that is endemic to Margarita Island. There is also a subspecies of the cottontail rabbit that is endemic to the island, and a species of thread snake endemic to the island.

Fish in the lagoon include red snapper, gruntfish, sardines and black mullets. Oysters are also found clinging to mangrove roots and there are colorful starfish in pools of crystal clear water.

The climate is semi-arid tropical with hot daytime temperatures with highs usually over 30 °C, intense sunshine, and infrequent rainfall (300-400 mm per year, on average). Bring sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water to keep hydrated.

Isla Margarita has one airport near the city of Porlamar. Santiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport (PMV ^IATA) is a large airport that once supported many airlines with international service from Europe and the United States. Today, almost all flights are domestic, with most originating in nearby Caracas. Occasional charter flights may exist from Russia and Poland. Connecting flights through Caracas may be booked on Conviasa from various cities in the Americas.

US$1 park entry fee (plus costs to hire a boat).

Tour boats are available for hire at the park's dock. Boats are small, have covered canopies, and go to various parts of the mangrove swamps and lagoon while the captain spots wildlife and points out animals and points of interest to his passengers.

• 10.982851-64.1658791 Embarcadero la Restinga (Restinga docs), Ruta 5. Large public dock, clean and well run, with many boats ready to give tours. Cash is easiest to deal with although electronic payments are accepted (the problem is finding a signal...there is a sign at the office telling you which nearby tree might have a hotspot). Free parking in private lot. Restrooms available but unlikely to have toilet paper. US$50 (boat and beach) or US$40 (lagoon only) + tip. (updated Jul 2025)

• Wildlife
• Mangroves
• Beaches

• Playa la Restinga is the longest beach (15 km) on Isla Margarita. Beach vendors sell food and drinks, including locally harvested oysters. It may be possible to get a tour boat to drop you off at an agreed upon point on the beach and then return for you later in the day.
• Kayaking
• Hiking

There are no lodging nor camping facilities within the park, but a wide variety of lodging is available on Isla Margarita, from beach resorts to basic backpacker hostels.

• Porlamar
• Pampatar
• Juan Griego