costs and the guidebook

Hola! Bring US$/big bills and change your money on the parallel market. When you land in Caracas an official will greet you and ask you if you want to exchange money. They take their cut, of course but the exchange is fair to start with and you'll need bolivars to get around this country. Clearly, if you bring your debit and or credit card, you'll have an expensive trip all rigth. But at this moment, the parallel exchange is so good for foreign currency. Prices in the 2007 book are to be close to doubled by now. We suffer from a galloping inflation but it is still affordable, by north american standards. As for camping, I would think it twice, specially if you're alone in this trip. Some rare places are safe but it's not a country for camping...you can find posadas where you can have a hammock for 50 bolivars per nigth or so. For a room with a bed, double it easily. And you pay for what you get, always. Depending on the trip you wish to have, we migth be able to help you out planning it and enjoying, from a point of view of foreigners living in this country.
Happy trails,
Odette

the prices shown in even the latest venezuela LP books are hopelessly out of date.....
the prices they show in the book are now round about correct if you use the black market rate , if that makes sense

ie a fifteen dollar hotel room will cost about approx 75 to 90 bsf

The price of room depends where and when. During holidays/ we have many holidays in this country!/ the prices nearly doubles because EVERYBODY goes on a vacation, hence by the beaches. And where you rent too is quite important. We are talking of budget prices here, not Hiltons and such. We had a guest last week who witnessed a couple of German guys who got stolen in their bedroom 1,000 US$. It was in Playa Colorada Edo. Sucre . This is quite a common story. You may decide to go for the cheapest you can find and get stolen big time, with a smile! Sometimes, you must pay a bit more but you get what you pay for...always! This is true for all latino countries, not only for Venezuela. You can travel with all your cash with you. But you have to act responsibly, which means, you don't flaunt your money around, you play low profile and you don't attract attention to you...and you keep the local girls away from your bedroom!!!

Venezuela is not an easy country for budget travellers. You may get what you pay for; however, in my experience the standards are definitely lower than what you would find in North America for the same price. Unless you get a very good exchange rate, fine; but at the same time you have to worry about the cash in US$ you are carrying with you all the time.

I visited once but won't return because it is too much trouble. But some people like the challenge and you will meet few foreign tourists away from the main coastal spots. Angel's Falls was worth the effort but I cannot see myself spending time at the often polluted beaches when I can have something similar in Ecuador; the ATM machine spiting out US$ is just a 5 minute walk away and I pay with US$ everywhere.

Just my thoughts.

ye lob i generally agree with you..... its the only country ive visited and never intend to return.

I had the same problem with the prices in LP. And it's not quite clear what exchange rate they were talking about in the first place. Obviously the prices changed since than but there doesn't seem to be a simple ratio. In some places and for some things prices changed a lot more than others. Big cities for example are difficult: The midrange hotels in central Caracas that look affordable in the LP are now way more expensive. One evening in Valencia the only place to eat was a street vendor that sold hamburgers for VEB 16 - even with a black market rate that's still USD 4.
About the black market: The best rates are offered on the street (like around Plaza Bolivar in Caracas) with all the risks involved. I made good experiences with just asking everyone where I could change money. Often you hostel receptionist will change for you or recomend someone who does it. That still gives you about twice as much as the official rate - without taking big risks. Bring lots of USD in cash - as opposed to most of latin America Euro works good as well - in larger denominations. Sometimes you get more for on 100-Dollar bill than for 5 20s.