Chichiriviche

Chichiriviche is a city in Falcón in Northwest Venezuela.

Understand
Chichiriviche is the main gateway to Morrocoy National Park (the other is Tucacas). From "Chichi" there are boats to half a dozen neighboring cays. Chichi is very popular among the inhabitants of the surrounding cities, so on weekends the town gets very busy and also littered.

Get in
From Valencia there are buses leaving to Chichi from about 07:00 to roughly 16:00. From Puerto Cabello buses take about 2 hours. Most of them will drop you off at the last intersection, where usually shared taxis to Chichi are waiting (10 minutes).

Get around
The town is small, and everything can be reached by walking. The beaches in Chichi itself are not recommended, as they tend to be very dirty. So your best bet is to visit one of the neighboring islands. 3 options for this:
 * official boat: there's a counter at the corniche
 * unofficial boat: you will find hawkers everywhere which offer the same trips for less
 * hotel: some hotels organize boat trips, which are much cheaper

Main islands: Cayo Muerto, Cayo Sal: nearest and most visited islands; food and drinks are available, benches and umbrellas ate rented for the day. Can get quite crowded and littered especially on weekends

Caya Peraza, Cayo Pelon, Cayo Veradura are maybe better options to avoid the crowds

Cayo Sombrero is said to be the best island for coral diving and snorkeling; together with Cayo Pescadores the most distant islands, the beaches farther south should be accessed by Tucacas.

See
Besides chilling on the beaches many birds can be found in the Golfete de Cuare. Especially the flamingos are worth a visit, mostly between August and January.

Buy
On the main street there are many beach shops and several supermarkets.

Eat
From the two restaurants at the Corniche Restaurant "Txulipa" is much better than "La Guicha". Both serve sea food and other meat dishes.

Some hotels and most posadas don't include breakfast. On the main street there are some panaderias, which only open at around 08:00.

Sleep
On weekends it's better to have a reservation, during weekdays availability shouldn't pose a problem.

Caribana Hotel: o.k.-rooms with AC and TV (no breakfast)

Go next
Buses to Valencia leave regularly from the main street ~ 5 blocks away from the corniche (2-2.5 hours).