The Tiny Islands Of Los Roques Off The Coast Of Venezuela

To an increasing number of people who seek isolation, privacy, and exclusivity, the place to go are the tiny Venezuelan islands of Los Roques.

The Venezuelan islands of Los Roques are the most southern islands in the Caribbean, and they are not the easiest place to get to, which is why they are becoming the exclusive hideaway of the rich and famous.

To get there you need to fly from Caracas, in a small plane, probably a ten seater propeller plane, and so you get the chance to clearly see what is so attractive about Los Roques.

The sea is so shallow, it looks like turquoise glass from the plane, with several islands sticking out of this perfect sea, some absolutely tiny.

The aircraft lands on Gran Roque, on a very dusty airstrip, no real formalities or help here, you pick up your bags yourself, and literally within a couple of minutes you can be in your accommodation.

The first thing that will strike you is the wind, it blows all the time, and the second thing is the complete lack of motor vehicles, I think there might be a couple of trucks to deliver water and take away rubbish, and a few beach buggy type of vehicle.

Water is very precious here, the drinking water is desalinated.

There really is nothing to do here if you don't fish, sail or dive, and added to that is kite surfing. This looks incredibly exciting, and it is a great place if you want to do that sort of thing. You could of course just pose; it's that sort of place.

It's impossible to say what is the best beach, because every island is surrounded by a beautiful beach, and often you will be the only person on the beach on the island you are visiting. Life here is simple, and it's easy to get yourself a boat hire to take you pretty anywhere you want to go.

What is so lovely about Los Roques is the lack of development, lack of resort hotels, and lack of visitors.

The whole of Los Roques is a National Marine Park, and the only tourism is in the north east corner.

No building is allowed to be higher than two floors, so no resorts, just Pousadas, which are converted family homes, and some are very small, luxurious, with a fantastic level of personal service.

In terms of the feel of the place. It isn't really Caribbean, more southern European, a mixture of Portuguese and French, and in fact most of the Pousadas being run by southern Europeans. The main square on Gran Roque is French; you almost feel there should be a game of boule going on!!

This is a place to be seen now before, as it inevitably will, mass tourism hits the tiny Islands of Los Roques.