Playa El Yaque, Margarita Island tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 18:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are America/Caracas local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Last spring tide on Tue 19 May (range 0.6m). Next spring tide on Mon 25 May (range 0.2m). Next neap on Fri 22 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Playa El Yaque occupies the south-central coast of Isla de Margarita, facing the Canal de Coche strait. It is one of the most recognised kitesurfing and windsurfing venues in South America, with the consistent ENE trade winds that define Caribbean Venezuela driving steady 15–25 knot winds across the shallow tidal flat for 8–9 months of the year. The beach is flat and open, the water warm and turquoise, and the approach from the airport in Porlamar takes 15 minutes — no boat transfer, no jungle road, just a short drive to the kite beach. The tidal pattern is microtidal Caribbean: spring range 20–40 cm, mixed semidiurnal, with irregular diurnal inequality. Open-Meteo Marine provides the forecast data — timing accuracy ±45 minutes, height accuracy ±0.2–0.3 m. The shallow tidal flat that extends 200–400 m from the beach at lower water states is one of the key assets for beginner kiters and windsurfers: a wipeout means shallow water to stand in rather than a swim. For kiters and windsurfers, the optimal season is December through August when the trades are most consistent. The wind window at El Yaque is well established: steady thermal reinforcement after 11 am builds the wind progressively to afternoon peaks. September and October see lighter and less consistent wind as the trade pattern weakens seasonally. A school infrastructure of rental shops, instructors, and repair facilities has built up along the beach road — this is not a remote spot requiring self-sufficiency. For anglers, the shallow flat adjacent to the kite beach is less productive than the rocky points and deeper water either side of the bay. The eastern headland, where the flat ends and the rocky substrate begins, holds snapper, jack, and occasionally tarpon. Fishing from shore is possible at dawn and dusk before the kite beach activates. Boat fishing from Porlamar accesses the deeper Caribbean waters north of the island. Beach families find El Yaque a straightforward beach day: calm, warm, shallow water inside the flat, facilities including restaurants and accommodation along the beach road. The kite activity on the water adds visual interest without danger if families stay in the clearly demarcated swimming zones. The downside is that the beach can feel crowded on weekends and during school holidays. Photographers get clean action frames of kiters against the flat horizon and the mainland mountains of Sucre state visible to the south across the canal. The light from the east in the morning is sharp and contrast-heavy on the water surface. At dusk the sky above the Coche island to the west can be spectacular.