One of the beaches in Choroni called Cepe

About a month ago I visited a lovely little beach town in Venezuela called Choroni.  This is one of those towns that make you feel like you are in another place because it is so different from other cities I’ve visited in Venezuela.

5 Reasons to Visit Choroni:

1. Go to Choroni to meet other travelers.  In many parts of Venezuela I can go months without meeting other travelers (other than my fellow expat teachers).  It is fun being able to meet people from other countries and share travel stories!
2. Waves:  I saw a couple people with surf boards and body boards.  If you like to body surf or just play in the waves like I do, this is a fun spot to do it.
3. SCUBA: My friends went diving for a day at a very affordable price. They were not super enthusiastic about how well it was organized, but they said that the dive master knew what he was doing.
4. Handmade stuff: I really love finding handmade local art (artesanía) and the boardwalk (malecón) in Choroni is the perfect place to find it.  My friends and I all bought some handmade art, made by a local woman. I even bought some locally made chocolate there.
5. Local Music/Dance: One night my friends and I walked down to the malecón at about 9PM (this is one of the few places that I have seen many people out walking at this hour in Venezuela) and saw a circle of guys playing los tambores (a type of drum) and there were people dancing along with it. I didn’t take any videos of the drums and dancing, but I wish I did because it had fantastic energy! Here is a short video that someone made about los tambores de Choroni a couple of years ago:

If you are looking for a great place to stay, be sure to check out Hostal Casa Grande.  It is only a couple of blocks from the beach (about as close as you can get in that town) and is right next door to some good restaurants. I got a second floor room behind the pool. The room was spacious and had fantastic AC and seemingly endless supplies of hot water.  It was only $15 per night and included breakfast.

The breakfast, lounge, and pool area of our posada at Hostal Casa Grande