A Stronger Margarita: The Caribbean's Newest Budget Star

How's that again? An island actually named after a cocktail? Or maybe the real-life model for Jimmy Buffett's old "Margaritaville" ditty?

Decent guesses, but no cigarro. Clinging to South America's Caribbean coast, this 332-square-mile chunk of real estate has for more than a decade been a nifty little secret getaway for Venezuelans. Originally lured to shop in the duty-free zone set up in 1975, they started vacationing here instead of Miami when their country's oil-driven economy began its collapse. Thus la Isla de Margarita took off on a tourist boom that by the mid-1990s was also pulling in increasing numbers of foreigners. Why? Well, for starters, how does seven nights with air from the East Coast starting at $524 grab you? As usual, the Germans, Dutch, and other Europeans (the spoiled-rotten vacation champs of the world, after all) led the charge; at least ...