Typical Venezuela backpacker budget

Hey,

Wondering about the typical backpacker budget for Venezuela, using the black market exchange rate, staying in dorms/the cheapest rooms/hammocks, travelling slowly on the local buses, not too many tours, not drinking every night, eating at street stalls etc.

Would around 1300 usd be enough for a month?

Thanks

My figures for a 28 day trip around the country -in 2007- were 450 euro, not including the Angel Falls trip. I saw a good part of the country (Eastern Caribbean Coast, Angel Falls, Amazon area, Merida and the Andean Villages, Maracaibo, Coro and Paraguana, Morrocoy Park and Colonia Tovar) I am a solo female traveler and slept in dorms / hammocks, traveled by bus and picked up lifts with locals, and didn't feel I was missing out on anything by spending little money...I don't drink so that also plays a role, although if you do spend money in booze thats not a problem, beer is cheaper than water in venezuela!

Having said that, you have to consider the current inflation rate, and also the fact that if you dont speak spanish you WILL get ripped off -i am a native spanish speaker-

Enjoy the trip, Venezuela is my favourite country so far!

Edited by: fieldsofbarley

Edited by: fieldsofbarley

Wow that´s cheap. But it´s two years ago, well thanks for your input. I speak Spanish of course, wouldn´t dare go otherwise.

I think your budget sounds realistic enough....
i was there 5 months ago and you have a fighting chance, though inflation is rampant averaging more or less 25% a year in recent times.
Not sure about the beer being cheaper then water ! some of their beer does taste like water tho!!

Have a good one

yes, if you use the black market and your head and pocket wisely. Don`t change currency unless completable comfortable with the situation.
Pablo7691-Beer is still cheaper than water...!

I visited Venezuela last july, 25 days, and I spent about US$60 per person per day, travelling as a couple. But I usually stayed in double rooms with a/c and tv. If you stay in hostels or in hammocs you should spend a bit less (or much less). Also, I used to go out for dinner or lunch, usually once a day, at restaurants. If you eat on more basic places or do your own cooking, it will safe you a lot.

Please note that the amount above includes the Salto Angel tour and Los Llanos tour (If I remember well, I paid US$400 for Salto Angel and about US$250 for Los Llanos, per person), wich was a heavy hit on my budget...

I take it since most people bring US dollars in cash into the country they don´t stay more than a month? Would it be possible to get the same black market exchange rate when exchanging Colombian pesos into Venezuelan bolivars?

yeah you'll be more than ok on that budget... tours are steep and if you ask around (to people who DONT work in tourism) you can usually find a way to do all the cool stuff at a fraction of the price. angel falls is pricey no matter how you look at it... beers cheap but it tastes cheap, foods real cheap (menu executivo usually around 12-15 bsf, sopa, seco, y jugo) , transport is cheap (and hitching's pretty easy if YOU'RE cheap) , this country's real easy on the budget...
don't miss merida and surrounding area, awesome landscapes
buen camino

oh yeah, like fieldsofbarley said, if you dont speak spanish, you get taxed, so to speak...

I don´t really do tours at all, but I guess the whole Angel Falls is impossible to do on your own? Turns out my budget now could be more like 1800 usd, but hoping to spend less/make it last longer.
Starting to get nervous now as it seems it´s impossible to prebook a hotel and I will be carrying alot of cash! hehe

hurricanebertha, dont worry too much...things will happen on their own. The thing with Angel Falls is that you need to get on a plane to get there, either from Ciudad Bolivar to Canaima or from some other village -sorry dont remember the name now- to Canaima. I dont think you can buy the plane tickets on your own AND save money, so in the end it pays off to go with an agency.

About not booking the hotel in advance...well, I never did the whole time I was there -and I was carrying one months' cash in my bra!! But never had any problem. I guess you'll only need to book in advance if you're planning on going to Caracas. Otherwise you'll be fine. Just try not to arrive into a town after dark and look for a hotel, and you'll be ok.

Hi Hurricanebertha,

I'm sure you'll do fine on your US $ 1300 budget, exchanging it at a parallel dollar market rate that is. The downside is that you would have to carry all that cash into the country in order to exchange it at the parallel dollar market rate. However, there is a way around it, and that is to book a few tours before hand with an agency that has a foreign bank account and that way give you the parallel dollar market rate without you having to carry all that cash around.

In addition, please bear in mind that some places will charge you a 30% surcharge if travelling solo.

Hope you find this information of use.

Travel safe!

All the best,

Thomas
Caracas
berry_venezuela@hotmail.com

Not sure about the 30% surcharge for travelling solo. the tour agencies didn't really seem to care for groups or couples, or have seperate rates depending on the number in your group. It was simply a case of them getting as much money out of each person as possible.( They would include a purple hat charge if you couldn't travell without a purple hat. lol :)
On our Angel fall trip there was eight people, most had paid a price from 1400BsF to 1800BsF. For the diffrent reasons which the tour opperators could inflict on people they extracted diffrent amounts. Talking to some fellow travellors before i paid, I paid the same price as them. 1400BsF for an Angel falls trip from Ciudad Bolivar.
Regardless of the price or negoitation techniques, the whole Angel falls and Canima Lagoon where fantastic. Highly recomended and the tourists are looked after extremmly well.

(Caracass is not a good place to visit for value and security reasons)

I don´t usually prebook hotels I just want the first night, but couldn´t find anything. I don´t like having anything planned beforehand as I never know which way I will be going so the tours thing wouldn´t work. Is there no way to just take a bus to the Canaima park and then book a tour there? Or does one have to do the tour from Caracas and then come straight back to Caracas? What about if I wanna continue to Manaus?, that looks like the best thing after the waterfalls.

Will I get the same good black market rate when I exchange Colombian pesos? Looks like I have to start in Bogotá, so then how would I get dollars? Go to Ecuador first, withdraw alot, then fly to Venezuela?

Hi Hurricanebertha,
Firt of all there are no buses to Canaima, you would have to get the nightbus from Caracas to Ciudad Bolívar and then fly out from Ciudad Bolívar to Canaima National Park. You can book tours in Ciudad Bolívar if you do not want to arrange things in advance, but you run the risk of wasting a day or so if flights are booked up. If wanting to continue to Manaus, you can get the night bus from Ciudad Bolivar to Santa Elena de Uairen after ending your trip to the Angel Falls. From Santa Elena you can then get the bus to Manaus.

As for exchanging money, it would be wise to bring and exchange US $, nobody in Venezuela wants Colombian pesos. However, neither Colombia nor Ecuador have exchange controls so you can get US $ without problems in Bogotá (Colombia), Quito or Guayaquil (Ecuador).

As for the 30% surcharge, this applies mainly to hotels and posadas, especially in areas such as Los Roques. Angel Falls is not a problem.

Travel safe,

All the best

Thomas
Caracas
berry_venezuela@hotmail.com