Hello everyone,
I am a venezuelan diver and I´m pleased to see all the interest in diving here. I strongly suggest Mochima National Park in Pto La cruz. It has great diving wiht lots of little caves and good corals. This time of the year is the warmest in the water and only in certain areas there are strong currents. You can contacto Aquatic Adventures at:
http://www.aquaticadven.com/ I have never been to Los Roques but this is probably one of the best spots since it´s on the same barrier reef ring of Bonaire. If you´re going there I recommend Sesto Continente Dive Shop. You can reach them through their website at
http://www.scdr.com They are the most experienced in Los Roques Diving. This weekend I will be diving in Morrocy and I´ll report next monday the conditions, but yes, during the 90's there was a major ecological strike to the reefs and it´s not as healthy as it used to be, but still is a great dive spot. Another grat place for wreck diving is Puerto Cabello, abput 2:30 hours by car from Caracas. There are a lot of nice wrecks, including one giant german cargo ship sunk about 2 years ago, laying 100 to 120 feet deep. If you plan to go there I recommend a Dive Shop called La Tienda de buceo:
latiendadebuceo@hotmail.com and if you plan to stay for more than one day I recommend staying at an "Eco Lodge" in La Ciénaga, which is owned by the man who sinks all these ships, therefore he´s the best to guide you through these wrecks. You can contact him on this website:
http://www.geocities.com/cienaganet/
There are lots of other nice places, I recommend you visit
http://www.scubanews.com.ve this is a Scuba club I´m a member of and they plan trips every weekend to different places. Check the calendar and you can join us to any of the trips or we will guide you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions about diving in Venezuela and I will happily guide you.
Happy Diving and Greetings from Venezuela,
PS: The political climate is certainly stressing, but there is no real danger right now. Only if a major event happens you should be careful, but right now everything is fine.