Porlamar, 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.

Porlamar is Margarita Island's commercial capital, occupying the southeastern bay of Isla de Margarita. The Bahía de Porlamar is where the principal ferry terminal sits, connecting the island to the mainland ports of Cumaná and Puerto La Cruz. The city is Venezuela's duty-free shopping zone, which historically drove a dense concentration of retail, hotels, and restaurants along the seafront and the main shopping streets inland. The waterfront Malecón runs for 2 km along the bay, with the ferry dock at its eastern end and the marina facilities west of the commercial centre. The tidal pattern is microtidal Caribbean: spring range 20–40 cm, mixed semidiurnal with diurnal inequality. Open-Meteo Marine provides the forecast data — timing accuracy ±45 minutes, height accuracy ±0.2–0.3 m. The sheltered bay geometry reduces wave action significantly from the open coast, making Porlamar Bay one of the calmer stretches of water-accessible coastline on the island. For anglers, the Porlamar waterfront and the rocky points bracketing the bay offer accessible urban fishing. The outer rocks at the eastern and western ends of the Malecón hold snapper, small grouper, and jack crevalle. Fishing from the ferry dock approach (outside of operational hours) targets the same species over the deeper harbour substrate. Boat charters depart from the marina for offshore pelagic work — the north coast of Margarita drops quickly to deep water and holds wahoo, mahimahi, and sailfish. Kayakers can launch from the beach sections of the bay for a sheltered circuit of the bay perimeter, including a paddle south toward the narrow canal separating Margarita from the smaller Isla Coche. The bay is protected enough to paddle comfortably in the morning before trade winds build — typically before 10 am. The afternoon northeast trades create chop that makes the bay unpleasant for recreational paddling. Beach families use Playa El Morro and Playa Moreno, small urban beaches at the western end of the Malecón with calm water and some basic facilities. These are secondary options compared to the island's northern beaches like Playa El Agua, but they're useful for a quick dip within the city. Porlamar's main value for families is logistics — accommodation, restaurants, and ferry access — rather than beach quality. Photographers working the waterfront at dusk get the ferry terminal illuminated against the darkening bay, with the low eastern hills as a backdrop. The morning light on the calm bay before the wind picks up produces clean reflections. The commercial chaos of the duty-free shopping streets and the ferry arrivals provide strong urban documentary material.