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Puerto La Cruz is a port city on the Caribbean coast of Anzoátegui state in eastern Venezuela. Together with Barcelona, Lechería and Guanta it forms Gran Barcelona, the largest metropolitan area in the east of the country, and it is the main gateway to the beaches and islands of Mochima National Park.
The town grew from the mission of Pozuelos, founded in 1780, and from a settlement of fishing families from Margarita Island who arrived on the bay in 1862. It took its name from the Holy Cross, its patron, and boomed with oil in the 20th century, when pipelines from the eastern oil fields reached the coast and a large refinery was built here.
Visitors stroll the seafront Paseo Colón, then take boats from the pier to islands such as El Faro, La Borracha and the Chimanas. Further east, the coast road runs along Mochima National Park past red-sand beaches, fishing villages and the turquoise shallows of the Arapo Islands.
Paseo Colón is the seafront promenade of Puerto La Cruz, opened in 1967 and also known as the Paseo de la Cruz y el Mar. Lined with palms, craft stalls and restaurants, it is the city's favorite place for an evening stroll, and its pier is the main starting point for boats to the Mochima islands.
Playa Conoma is a sheltered beach near Guanta, a short drive east of Puerto La Cruz on the edge of Mochima National Park. Its calm water, golden sand and views toward the offshore islands make it one of the favorite beaches of the area, and it is especially lovely in the late afternoon at sunset.
Isla de Plata is a small palm-covered island off Guanta, a short boat ride from the Baritina pier east of Puerto La Cruz. Its clear turquoise water is great for swimming, and old stories say that the pirate Henry Morgan sheltered here and that Francis Drake hid a treasure on the island.
Isla El Faro, officially Isla Chimana Segunda, is one of the Chimanas islands off Puerto La Cruz and home to the popular Playa El Faro. An old lighthouse stands on the hill above its sheltered turquoise bay, and waves have carved the echoing Cueva del León into its rocky outer cliffs.
Isla La Borracha is the largest of the Borrachas islands northwest of Puerto La Cruz, an 805-hectare island whose dry, cactus-covered hills rise straight from the sea. About 80 families live in a small community here, and boats take visitors to coves such as Playa El Guaro with clear blue water.
The Islas Chimanas are a group of seven islands north of Puerto La Cruz, part of Mochima National Park since 1973 and reachable by boat from Paseo Colón or Guanta. Their sheltered southern shores hide white-sand bays and mangroves, such as El Saco on Chimana Grande, while cliffs face the open sea.
The Islas Caracas are a pair of islands, Caracas del Este and Caracas del Oeste, off the coast of Sucre state north of the Santa Fe peninsula, in Mochima National Park. Dry hills with cactus, coral reefs and rocky shores surround small fishing settlements, and they are reached by boat.
The Islas Arapo are a small group of islands in Mochima National Park off the coast of Sucre state, with two main islands, Arapo and Arapito, divided by a shallow channel. Between them lies the sandbar of Playa Piscina, famous for its calm, crystal-clear water, and coral reefs ring their shores.
Mochima is a fishing village at the head of the long, sheltered Mochima Bay in Sucre state, which shares its name with the national park around it. Colorful boats wait at its small pier to take visitors out across the bay to the beaches and islands of the park, and it makes a quiet base.
Santa Fe is a fishing and tourist village on the coast of Sucre state, about 45 minutes from Cumaná on the road from Puerto La Cruz. Founded around 1515, it is one of the oldest towns on this coast, and its beaches, coral reefs and the dolphins seen almost daily offshore draw many visitors.
Playa Colorada is a beach in Mochima National Park in Sucre state, roughly halfway along the coast road between Puerto La Cruz and Cumaná. It takes its name from its sand, which ranges from reddish to golden, and its clear water and coconut palms make it one of the busiest beaches in the park.
Playa Arapito is a beach beside the small village of Arapito on the coast road east of Puerto La Cruz, looking out across the water to the Arapo Islands in Mochima National Park. Its calm bay, hills covered in dry forest and fine sunsets make it a good stop on a drive along the coast.
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