Driving instructions
Isla de Oro is located near the town of Rio Chico ("Little River") on the Caribbean coast a bit east of Puerto Encantado and Higuerote.
The trip is 79 miles (127 km) from Caracas. Barring exceptional traffic, it usually takes an hour and most of the trip is done on a new freeway.
If you are coming from the Caracas airport, add an extra hour to get from the airport to Caracas and then to go through Caracas.
There are paved roads all the way to Isla de Oro's entrance grate. If you encounter a dirt road, turn back because it will mean that you are on the wrong track.
FROM THE AIRPORT TO CARACAS
As you leave the Maiquetia airport, head up to Caracas. This is a freeway ("autopista"), clearly marked by signs, heading into Caracas. As you enter Caracas, you pass through tunnels. When the freeway turns, stay on the left. Stay on the same freeway at all times, and at intersections always keep left.
You will enter Caracas to the Northwest and will be exiting Caracas on the far East of the city. In other words, you will need to go through all of Caracas because the airport is located to the north-west and Isla de Oro is located east of Caracas.
The freeway cuts through Caracas, and by always keeping left and not leaving the freeway you can traverse the city without needing to negotiate the smaller roads. The exception to the left turn comes at the Eastern edge of Caracas. Here, near the "Makro" hypermarket (to your right) is a fork in the freeway, with the left turn going up towards the Avila mountain. Avoid this. Keep right, which is the normal flow of the freeway. Look for signs saying "Barcelona", "Guarenas", "Guatire".
Depending on the time of day and on traffic, the trip from the airport to Caracas (and then through the city to the OTHER side of Caracas) can take anywhere between half an hour and an hour and a half. Average estimate is an hour.
FROM CARACAS TO ISLA DE ORO
Leave Caracas on the eastbound freeway out of town past the "Makro" and "Exito" hypermarkets. Pass Guarenas, then Guatire until the freeway ends. Drive east until Caucagua. A new freeway has just been built
on this stretch, and is opened all the way to the coastal town of Higuerote. This is the next town over (West, on the beach) from Rio Chico.
Stay on the freeway until just before Higuerote when you see a turnoff to Rio Chico. You will go through the small town of Tacarigua, on small streets through the town itself. Try to follow everyone else, or if in doubt, just ask for Rio Chico. There is one turn only in the town itself, so just stay on the road and you will soon be at the other side of Tacarigua. You then enter a small tropical forest known locally as the "Tunel Vegetal" followed by the town of Mamporal.
You are now nearing San Jose de Rio Chico.
The town is the chocolate capital of the country, showcasing this with a huge monument of a 17 ft tall cocoa bean right at the entrance to town. But if you see that, you have already driven too far ... because the turn-off to the Beach Club is a mile BEFORE this.
The turnoff has no signpost for Isla de Oro, but can be identified by a sign advertising "Hotel La Vista", another nearby resort. It is the only crossroads for miles.
Turn left here, then go straight four miles (approx 7 km), until you reach the Caribbean Ocean.
The road is a dead-end road, made just for us. It ends at the gated entrance to Isla de Oro, right on the beach.
If you carry a GPS, the coordinates for Isla de Oro are:
Longitude 66.0 W, Latitude 10.4° N.
