Venezuela

Getting there & away

Travel documents

Tickets

Venezuela is not a good place to buy international air tickets – avoid arriving on a one-way ticket as you may be disappointed: airfares to Europe and Australia are high, and there are virtually no discounted tickets available. It’s always better to have the whole route covered by a ticket bought at home.

Just about every travel agency in Caracas will sell you tickets for flights with most airlines and, consequently, will know which is the cheapest carrier on a particular route. When it comes to more complex intercontinental connections, however, not all agencies are experts, so shop around or use online sources.

It may be cheapest to fly to Miami and take one of the relatively cheap transatlantic flights to Europe (eg with United Airlines). Some Caracas travel agencies will sell combined tickets for the whole route.

The following websites are recommended for online bookings:

Cheap Tickets (www.cheaptickets.com)

Expedia (www.expedia.com)

Kayak (www.kayak.com)

Orbitz (www.orbitz.com)

STA (www.sta.com)

Travelocity (www.travelocity.com)

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Sea

Weekly passenger boats operate between Güiria in Venezuela and Port of Spain on Trinidad, but there are no longer ferries between Venezuela and Netherlands Antilles.

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Land

Venezuela has road connections with Brazil and Colombia only. There is no road link with Guyana; you must go via Brazil.

Brazil

Only one major road connects Brazil and Venezuela; it leads from Manaus through Boa Vista (Brazil) to Santa Elena de Uairén (Venezuela) and continues to Ciudad Guayana.

You can also enter Venezuela from Manaus via the Río Negro at San Simón de Cocuy. This is an adventurous river/road route seldom used by travelers.

Colombia

You can enter Venezuela from Colombia at four border crossings. In the northwest is a fairly popular coastal route between Maicao in Colombia and Maracaibo in Venezuela. Further south is the most popular border crossing, between Cúcuta and San Antonio del Táchira. There is a crossing from Arauca to El Amparo de Apure, but it is inconvenient and dangerous (because of Colombian guerrilla activity) and is rarely used.

Finally, there’s an uncommon but interesting outback route from Puerto Carreño in Colombia to Puerto Páez in Venezuela.

Remember to wind your watch forward one hour when crossing from Colombia to Venezuela.

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Entering the destination

Entering the country

Entering Venezuela by air, sea or land is pretty straightforward. Most visitors from Western countries don’t need a visa, just a tarjeta de ingreso (tourist card), officially known as DEX-2, which is free and will be provided upon entry to the country. Fill the card in and present it, along with your valid passport, to the immigration officials, who will then stamp the passport and card and give you a yellow carbon copy of the card.

Upon departure, you need to return the tourist card to the immigration officials, though not all are interested in collecting them. Make sure they put an exit stamp in your passport; without one you may have problems entering Venezuela next time. All travelers, at both airports and road crossings, are charged a US$17.50 impuesto de salida (departure tax). The international air departure tax is a hefty US$44.

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Air

Airports & airlines

Most international visitors arrive at Caracas’ Aeropuerto Internacional ‘Simón Bolívar’ (www.aeropuerto-maiquetia.com.ve in Spanish) in Maiquetía, 26km from Caracas. Venezuela has several other airports servicing international flights, but these change frequently and unexpectedly. Isla de Margarita’s airport is used by charter flights bringing international package tourists, but few independent travelers fly in here.

Following is a list of national and international airlines flying to/from Venezuela (the addresses and phone numbers listed are in Caracas). Aeropostal is the country’s largest airline with the widest international coverage serving Bogotá, Guayaquil, Havana, Lima, Miami, Madrid, Port of Spain, Quito and Santo Domingo.

Aerolíneas Argentinas (0212-951-3005; www.aerolineas.com.ar; Calle Guaicaipuro, Torre Hener 1-A, El Rosal; Chacaíto)

Aeropostal (0800-337-8466, 0212-266-1059; www.aeropostal.com; 1st fl, Torre ING Bank, Av Eugenio Mendoza, La Castellana; Altamira)

Air Canada (0212-993-4960; www.aircanada.ca; Maiquetía airport)

Air Europa (0212-951-1155; www.air-europa.com; 9th floor, Torre Europa, Av Francisco de Miranda)

Air France (0212-283-5855, 0800-100-3459; www.airfrance.com; 2nd fl, Torre Este, Parque Cristal, Av Francisco de Miranda, Los Palos Grandes)

Alitalia (0212-208-4120, 208-4111; www.alitalia.it; 5th fl, Edificio Atlantic, Av Andrés Bello, Los Palos Grandes; Altamira)

American Airlines (0212-209-8000; www.aa.com; 7th fl, Torre ING Bank, Av Eugenio Mendoza, La Castellana; Altamira)

Aserca (0800-648-8356; www.asercaair lines.com; ground fl, Edificio Taeca, Calle Guaicaipuro, El Rosal; Chacaíto)

Avianca (0212-200-5725; www.avianca.com; Av Venezuela, cnr Calle Mohedano, El Rosal; Chacaíto)

BWIA/Caribbean Airlines (0212-953-6666; www.bwee.com; 8th fl, Edificio EXA, No 803-4, Avs Libertador & Alameda, El Rosal; Chacaíto)

Continental Airlines (0800-359-2600, 0212-953-3107; www.continental.com) El Rosal (Centro Lido, Nivel Miranda, No M-22, Av Francisco de Miranda; Chacaíto) Las Mercedes (Tamanaco InterContinental Caracas, Av Principal de las Mercedes)

Conviasa (www.conviasa.aero) Maiquetía Airport (0212-355-2704); Parque Central (Map pp64–5; 0212-507-8866; 49th floor, Torre Oeste, Av Lecuna)

Copa Airlines (www.copaair.com) Maiquetía Airport (0800-8267200) El Rosal (0212-952-2510; 6th floor, Centro Lido, Torre E, Av Francisco de Miranda; Chacaíto)

Cubana (0212-286-9890; www.cubana.cu; 4th fl, Edificio Atlantic, Av Andrés Bello, Los Palos Grandes; Altamira)

Delta Airlines (www.delta.com) Maiquetía Airport (0800-100-3453); El Rosal (0212-958-1000; 8th floor, Centro Lido, Torre E, Av Francisco de Miranda; Chacaíto)

Dutch Antilles Express (0212-232-0453, www.flydae.com; 4th floor, Multicentro Paseo El Parral, Urbanización El Parral, Av Río Orinoco, cnr Calle 119)

Iberia (0212-284-0044; www.iberia.com; 9th floor, Parque Cristal, Av Francisco de Miranda, Los Palos Grandes; Parque del Este)

KLM (0212-285-3333; www.klm.com; Torre KLM, Av Rómulo Gallegos, Altamira; Parque del Este)

Lan (0212-267-9526; www.lan.com; 3rd floor, Centro San Ignacio, Torre Kepler, Av Blandín, La Castellana; Chacao)

Lufthansa (0212-210-2111; www.lufthansa.com; 1st fl, Torre Centro Coinasa, Av San Felipe 16, La Castellana; Altamira)

Santa Bárbara (0212-952-9658; www.santabarbaraairlines.com; Miranda level, Centro Lido, Av Francisco de Miranda)

TAP Air Portugal (0212-951-0511; www.flytap.com; Edificio Canaima, Av Francisco de Miranda, El Rosal; Chacaíto)

TACA/LACSA (800-100-8222; www.taca.com; 2nd floor, Torre C, Centro Comercial Ciudad Taman­aco, Av Ernesto Blohm, Chuao)

Varig (0212-202-2811; www.varig.com.br; 3rd floor, Centro Empresarial Los Ruices, Av Principal Los Ruices)

Australia & new zealand

The shortest route between Australia and South America goes over the South Pole. You can fly with either Lan to Santiago or Aerolíneas Argentinas to Buenos Aires. Both carriers fly from Sydney through Auckland and have connections to Caracas. Expect to pay between A$2200 and A$2800 for the Sydney–Caracas roundtrip flight, depending on the length of stay and the season. The Auckland–Caracas fare will be only marginally lower.

Another possible route goes via Los Angeles and Miami, and will cost much the same as those via Chile or Argentina, though you will probably need to change planes twice, in both LA and Miami. You can also fly to Venezuela through Europe – it’s the longest route, but not as absurd as it may sound. You can stop in London, Amsterdam or Paris, and the total fare may be comparable to or even lower than traveling via Los Angeles. Finally, you can buy a RTW (round-the-world) ticket that includes South America, or at least Miami, from where you can make a side trip to Venezuela.

The following are well-known agents for cheap fares:

Flight Centre Australia (133-133; www.flightcentre.com.au); New Zealand (0800-243-544; www.flightcentre.co.nz)

STA Travel Australia (1300-733-035; www.statravel.com.au); New Zealand (0508-782-872; www.statravel.co.nz)

Travel.com (www.travel.com.au)

Canada

Air Canada flies from Toronto to Caracas. Tickets range from CA$500 to CA$1400 depending on time of year. Travel CUTS (800-667-2887; www.travelcuts.com) is Canada’s national student travel agency.

Netherlands antilles

Dutch Caribbean Airlines (DCA) flies between Caracas and Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. It also has flights between Maracaibo and Aruba and Curaçao, and between Las Piedras (Punto Fijo) and Curaçao. Aeropostal serves Aruba and Curaçao from Caracas. Aserca and Avior fly between Caracas and Aruba. Aerocaribe Coro has flights between Coro and Curaçao and between Las Piedras and Aruba. Expect to pay roughly US$120 to US$140 one way, and US$100 to US$150 roundtrip for any of the routes. Discount fares are available on seven- and 14-day roundtrip flights.

Trinidad

Aeropostal and BWIA fly daily between Port of Spain and Caracas (one way US$150, 21-day roundtrip US$205). Aeropostal and Rutaca fly between Porlamar and Port of Spain (one way US$110, 21-day roundtrip US$155).

Brazil

Flying between Brazil and Venezuela is expensive. The Varig flight from São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro to Caracas will cost around US$840 one way and US$890 for a 60-day roundtrip. There are no direct flights between Manaus and Caracas, nor between Boa Vista and Santa Elena de Uairén.

Colombia

Avianca and Aeropostal fly between Bogotá and Caracas (one way from US$200, roundtrip from US$300). Most flights between the two countries require you to fly through Caracas or Bogotá, regardless of whether this takes you out of your way. If you have sufficient time and are already traveling near the border it’s much more affordable to cross the border by land and then take a domestic flight from the first major border city to your desired destination.

Guyana

There are no direct flights between Venezuela and Guyana. You need to fly via Port of Spain (Trinidad) with BWIA ($257 one way, $347 for a 30-day roundtrip).

Uk

Caracas is usually the cheapest South American destination from the UK, with prices for discounted flights from London to Caracas starting at around UK£250 one way and UK£400 roundtrip. Bargain hunters should have little trouble finding even lower prices. Discount air travel is big in London. Advertisements for many travel agencies appear in weekend newspapers, and in Time Out, Evening Standard and the free magazine TNT. Recommended ticket agencies:

Flight Centre (0870-890-8099; www.flightcentre.co.uk)

Journey Latin America (020-8747-3108; www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk)

STA Travel (0870-160-0599; www.statravel.co.uk)

Trailfinders (020-7937-1234; www.trailfinders.co.uk)

Travel Bag (0870-890-1456; www.travelbag.co.uk)

Usa

The major US gateway for Venezuela is Miami, from where several carriers, including American Airlines, Lan and Aeropostal, fly to Caracas. Roundtrip tickets normally costs US$400 to US$600, but Aeropostal may offer cut-down airfares. Other US cities serving direct flights to Caracas include Atlanta (Delta Airlines), Houston and New York (both Continental Airlines).

STA Travel (800-781 4040; www.sta-travel.com) is one of the most reputable discount travel agencies in the USA.

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