Cocktail of sun and sand in southern Caribbean

VENEZUELAColumbus discovered Isla de Margarita off the north coast of Venezuela in 1498. Now the tourists and the developers have too - and there are properties for sale from just over €50,000, writes Rose Doyle

THERE IS an island in the Caribbean where the sun sets with an aching beauty at 5.30pm every day, where pelicans rule the roost on fishing boats, where there are mountains, cloud forest and 167km of white-sand tropical beaches, where 50litres of petrol and/or a doz fresh oysters cost 60c and where, as people who invest abroad are discovering, there is a shortage of holiday accommodation.

Margarita Island, or Isla de Margarita to be local about it, is in the southern Caribbean, 38km off the north coast of Venezuela in the state of Neuva Esparta, one of the 23 states which make up Venezuela.

Together with the smaller island of Coche (of which more anon) its proximity to the equator makes for an even-tempered climate with 320 days of sunshine a year and, because it's outside the hurricane belt, no big winds.

It's long been the island getaway of choice for Venezuelans who're now being followed, as the island develops, by growing numbers of Canadian, Dutch, German and Spanish holidaymakers and/or holiday home investors.

Followed too by The Right Move Abroad, overseas property specialists with headquarters in Cheshire, UK and an Irish office in Kinsealy. Conor Johnson, CEO of The Right Move Abroad Ireland, is a Ballinasloe man in thrall to Margarita Island who admitted on a recent, bright Caribbean morning that he could, "live here, easily, for 2-3 months of the year".

Margarita Island, he assured, is an emerging market. The Right Move Abroad has chosen several developments which they will be selling offering long-term sustainable rental packages, managed and allowing for 30 days personal use each year.

"We're offering a 10-year 8 per cent rental guarantee plus capital growth potential which is currently running at over 20% per annum. The entry level is low at €50,000, and the cost of living on the island is low too."

Margarita is a duty free island, has been since the 1960s, with shopping centres where brand names sell at duty free prices. Upwards of 2.7 million tourists visit yearly, a figure set to increase with the development of rental and holiday accommodation.

The Right Move Abroad has a policy of working directly with property developers and, on Margarita Island, works with Inmogestion Margarita C.A. Francisco Noguera, the infectiously enthusiastic Spanish-born director of Inmogestion, says of the island and its development that it is "like Spain 25 years ago" but with "an environmentally friendly approach".

Playa El Aqua, which has 3km of sand with white, rolling waves as well as restaurants and markets, is the most popular beach on Margarita and is where two of the RMA developments are located.

The 52 El Aqua suites are on four floors, six of them double and 46 single, and are due for completion at the end of the year.

Some 300m from the sea and already well under way, you can climb the outside steps to take in mountain views on one side, the Caribbean ocean on the other. As with all properties on offer, these will come fully furnished, including such as table and silverware, linen, TV, telephone and air conditioning. Prices start at €50,656 and go up to €144,527.

Even closer to the sea are the rather more grand Caribbean Suites, a development curving around a swimming pool and bar/restaurant where prices start at €78,000 and go up to €240,000 for special feature penthouse apartments. Mostly sold, there are still about 10 available.

Then there's El Yague, a beach to the south of the island fairly bursting with life and the excitement of wind and kite surfing where Oceano, a building with 148 double suites is getting underway.

With four floors and 300m from the beach, the complex will have a spa, workout area, terrace bar, two restaurants and two pools. Prices start at €108,360.

The Nakanda Beach Resort will be a gated community of Caribbean-style villas, each with its own splash pool, Jacuzzi and option to build a roof terrace.

Close to the airport, restaurants and a beach, RMA sees these as particularly easy to rent and "good for the investor looking for extra annual rental income". Nakanda, when completed in five years time, will have 1,200 units. Prices start at €76, 318.

Isla Coche has a special charm. Much smaller and less developed than Margarita, it has a surreal and wonderful sense of time standing still. The well-under-way beach front development will have 44 double, chalet-like suites and an on site hotel. Designed in horseshoe shape, all of the buildings will be low, in the style of Isla Coche. Prices start at €86,000.

The Margarita Island government is supportive of these and other private developments. Speaking in one of the island's exquisite colonial residences, a government spokesman assured that improving services and infrastructure were priorities, said there were 100 projects in the planning process, buildings to house 4,500 tourist beds already in development and no restrictions on foreign investment.

"On the contrary," he said, "we want to encourage foreign investment and, though not many people here speak English, they'll talk to you anyway!" Which is indeed true of the welcoming people of Margarita Island.

Michael Johns, managing director of The Right Move Abroad, says it's company policy to "focus on and represent the customer throughout the buying process.

All transactions are in euros, which makes for clarity as well as future legal and financial security. Deposits are held in escrow accounts with solicitors in London.

MARGARITA FACTFILE

• There are direct flights to Porlamar Airport on Margarita Island from Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

• Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1498 on his third voyage. He named it Margarita to honour the daughter of the King of Spain.

• It now has a population of 420,000 and more than 100 villages and hamlets.

• Fishing, tourism and construction are the main industries.

• La Asuncion, the capital, has a cathedral dating to 1570. Porlamar and Pampatar are the largest centres of population.

• Large shopping centres sell designer labels and brand name goods at duty free prices.

• Margarita has two National Parks, mangrove canals, snorkelling, scubadiving, wind and kite surfing, jeep safaris, horse riding and good food.

Conor Johnson, The Right Move Abroad, Unit 3, St Olaves, Kinsealy, Co Dublin 01 8666168

[  www.therightmoveabroad.ie ]