Chacachacare Travel Guide — Best Time, Things to Do & Where to Stay

Why Chacachacare

Chacachacare is a 360-hectare (900-acre) island situated in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, positioned at 10° 41' north latitude and 61° 45' west longitude. It stands as the westernmost island belonging to Trinidad and Tobago within the Bocas Islands, a group located in the Bocas del Dragón strait between Trinidad and Venezuela. Characterized by a distinctive shape that earned it the historical name "El Caracol" or the Snail, the island is accompanied by nearby geographical features including Cabresse Island, a tiny islet off its northern point, and the Bolo Rocks, a series of formations at its southwestern tip named after a former whaling worker.

Christopher Columbus anchored in Monkey Harbour on August 12, 1498, during his third voyage, naming the location "Port of Cats" after mistaking the vocalizations of howler monkeys for wildcats. Over the centuries, the island transitioned through several uses, including a period as a cotton plantation and later a whaling station. In 1813, the Venezuelan revolutionary Santiago Mariño utilized Chacachacare as a launching pad for an invasion of Venezuela alongside forty-five patriots, while his sister Concepción Mariño aided the independence movement from her local estate.

In the 1860s, the British colonial administration established a leper colony on the island. Operating under strict isolation rules, patients were separated by gender and forbidden from receiving visitors or leaving, with care provided by French Dominican nuns. During World War II in 1942, approximately one thousand U.S. Marines were stationed on Chacachacare, constructing barracks and introducing diesel generators that provided the island with its first electrical power. Following advances in medical care, the island was gradually phased out of use, becoming fully abandoned by 1984 after the departure of the nuns and the death of the final patient.

Today, Chacachacare remains largely uninhabited, apart from personnel who manage a lighthouse situated at its summit. Built in 1897, this inactive lighthouse stands 15 meters (49 feet) tall, featuring a white tower topped with a red lantern on the northern portion of the island. Although Donald Trump briefly considered building a hotel and casino on the island during a 1999 visit, the site retains a quiet character. It serves as a destination for recreational boaters, campers, and day-trippers from Trinidad—a popular regional activity often referred to as "going down the islands." Visitors can also encounter a Hindu temple established in 1945, which continues to host occasional religious events.