Internal flights reservations

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riccardo40
riccardo40

I'm planning to spend 15 days in Venezuela between end of July and beginning of August, and as I won't have much time I'm trying to pre-arrange things as much as possible before leaving, so I'm contacting several travel agencies and getting quotations from them for tours and flights.

Typical prices I get are 270 USD for Caracas - Los Roques return, and about 100USD for Caracas - Ciudad Bolivar/Puerto Ordaz return, and for Caracas - Merida/Barinas return.
I had also a look on the web sites of local airlines (Aeropostal, Asercaairlines, Sbairlines, Conviasa, Chapiair, Tuy, Aviorairlines, Los Roques Airlines ..), and prices seem to vary a lot, sometimes going to 50 USD or less only for a Caracas - Ciudad Bolivar, or Merida, return (instead than 100 USD).

Are the above airlines reliable, and is it safe to just buy a ticket through their web site ?
Otherwise, what is the typical surcharge an agency should take for buying a flight ticket for me ?

Thanks for the advice !

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mundo_propio
mundo_propio

unfortunately most local airlines are not very reliable but I guess you will have to keep your fingers crossed. They are cheap though. But I would never buy a flight on Conviasa or such to make a same day international connection. Always plan in an extra day in Maiquetia in case your flight to CCS gets cancelled, which happens quite frequently. If you buy through their webpage you will pay official exchange rate. If you buy in CCS with cash you could change your greenbacks on the parallel market which would cost you half.

Edited by: mundo_propio

Edited by: mundo_propio

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penders
penders

just to reiterate what has been said above - I travelled for a few weeks in Venezuela in April. I took flights between Caracas and Ciudad Bolivar; Merida and Caracas and Caracas and Los Roques. Flights generally left at least three hours late, so I'd be careful if you're depending on any of them for an international connection. Also watch out if you're paying online as you're likely to be spending double what you'd be paying if you arranged your flights in Venezuela having exchanged money on the black market (which is very easy, especially if you take US dollars). For my Los Roques flight, I was the same as you and wanted to be organised in advance (especially as i was travelling around Semana Santa). The posada i was staying in (Rosaleda) organised these in advance - I transferred money to a dollars account and they sorted them all out at the more local price. It seems alot of money to be transferring to someone you don't know, but it all worked out well! Enjoy your trip.

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matanze
matanze

how was los roques, i'm going there in November and am looking to stay somewhere nice and stay busy for 3-4 days. Do you recommend staying at posada or yacht? Any deals/excursions that you recommend?

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