The most famous beach island is Margarita, off the north coast. Margarita has palm-fringed beaches on one side and salt flats covered in pink flamingos on the other. Families from across Venezuela visit for holidays. You can swim, snorkel and ride boats out to even smaller islands.
Even further out is a small archipelago called Los Roques - more than 350 tiny islands and reefs sprinkled across bright blue shallow water. Some islands are no bigger than a school playground. Sea turtles come there to lay their eggs each year.
Mangroves grow along many parts of the coast. These are trees with roots like long fingers that grip the salty mud at the edge of the sea. Lots of baby fish, crabs and shrimps grow up safely tucked between those roots before swimming out into open water.
Because the coast faces north into the Caribbean, the weather stays warm all year round. November is right at the start of the dry season - perfect beach weather - while in many northern countries it is starting to get cold.