Most Caribbean sailors who visit Venezuela stop at Los Roques. It is the famous one, the one with the infrastructure and the posadas. But Venezuela has three other offshore islands that receive almost no charter traffic and offer something different: genuine remoteness, reefs that have not been snorkeled to death, and the kind of silence that is hard to find anywhere in the Caribbean anymore. La Blanquilla, La Orchila, and La Tortuga sit between 40 and 130 nautical miles east of Los Roques, forming an arc across the southern Caribbean. None has a permanent civilian population beyond Venezuelan Navy garrisons. None has a bar, a restaurant, a water tap, or an ATM. You go completely self-sufficient or you do not go at all.
La Blanquilla (11°51'N, 64°36'W) sits 70 nautical miles southeast of Los Roques. The name means the white one, a flat limestone island 20 kilometers long, ringed by white sand beaches and coral reef with virtually no vegetation on the interior plateau. The Venezuelan Navy maintains a small installation on the island’s west side. Sailors are required to check in with the navy post on arrival, a brief and usually friendly formality. Anchoring is free and unrestricted.
The northwest anchorage behind Punta Blanca offers good shelter from the prevailing trades in 3-5 meters over sand. The beaches here are among the most undisturbed in the Caribbean. No footprints, no plastic, no signs. The snorkeling on the northern reef, accessible by dinghy, covers healthy coral gardens in 2-8 meters with impressive fish density. Loggerhead and hawksbill turtles nest on the south beaches between April and August. Manta rays are regularly seen in the channels on the island’s eastern end.
Bring all fuel, water, and food from the mainland. There is nothing on Blanquilla. That is not a complaint. It is the entire point.
La Orchila (11°48'N, 66°10'W) is the most restricted of Venezuela’s offshore islands. The Venezuelan Air Force maintains a significant military installation here, and civilian access has historically required prior authorization from the Venezuelan Navy’s command in Caracas. In practice, the authorization process is unpredictable. Some sailors report receiving clearance without difficulty. Others are turned away at the island. Current travelers should check with Venezuelan authorities and recent cruising reports before including La Orchila in any planned itinerary. The Noonsite cruising database is the best source of current information.
When accessible, the island offers excellent diving on the fringing reef, miles of empty beaches, and the kind of solitude that is almost impossible to find in the Caribbean. The coral is among the healthiest in the Venezuelan island chain precisely because restricted access has limited human impact for decades. The lesson embedded in La Orchila’s reef quality is a pointed one: keep people away from a reef long enough, and it recovers. The reef does not know or care why it has been left alone.
La Tortuga (10°56'N, 65°18'W) is the largest of the Venezuelan offshore islands and the most accessible from the mainland, sitting about 60 nautical miles north of Puerto La Cruz. It is also the farthest east of the trio, a 130-nautical-mile passage from Los Roques with the trades on your beam. A flat limestone island, 36 kilometers long and 14 wide, almost entirely surrounded by beaches and reef. The interior is arid scrub. No permanent inhabitants. No facilities, though Venezuelan fishing boats work the surrounding waters regularly.
The anchorage on the northwest side behind Punta Arenas is the standard stop: sandy bottom, good holding in 3-4 meters, some shelter from northerly swell. The reef on Tortuga’s eastern end, exposed to the open Caribbean, is the most dramatic diving: walls, large coral formations, and schools of fish that have seen almost no diver pressure. The turtle nesting density on Tortuga’s beaches is exceptional. Green turtles, loggerheads, and the occasional leatherback all nest here. INPARQUES rangers visit irregularly to monitor the nesting sites. Be respectful of the beaches at night during nesting season, April through September. Lights disorient the hatchlings.
Turquoise lagoon anchorages, healthy reef, nesting sea turtles, and empty Caribbean beaches across Blanquilla, Orchila, and Tortuga
Passages to the Venezuelan offshore islands involve real offshore sailing, not the sheltered daysailing of the BVI or Grenadines. From the eastern Caribbean, the most common approach is via Trinidad and Tobago, or directly from Grenada. From Grenada to Los Roques covers approximately 400 nautical miles, a 3-4 day passage. Most sailors break it with a stop at Trinidad before crossing to the Venezuelan coast and heading west along the Las Aves bank toward Los Roques.
The Venezuelan immigration and customs process has become more straightforward for yachts in recent years, though conditions change. Check the Noonsite Venezuela country page, the Seven Seas Cruising Association website, and recent posts on the Cruisers Forum Caribbean board before departure. The SSCA publishes annual bulletins from members who have sailed Venezuela recently. Entry into Venezuela for yachts is officially through authorized ports of entry. For the offshore islands, the Navy check-in at Blanquilla substitutes for formal customs clearance if you have already entered Venezuela at a mainland port.
On safety: the Venezuelan mainland coast has had security issues for years that affect sailors. The offshore islands, being militarily controlled and remote, have a very different profile. The passage between the islands and the mainland requires caution. Anchor well offshore, keep watches at night, do not advertise electronics or valuables, and stay informed through current cruising reports. Many experienced cruisers complete these islands successfully each year. The key is current information, not avoidance based on outdated reports.
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