Update August 2019: After a phone call with some Venezuelan friends, it is with great sadness that I have to advise that we do not recommend anybody travel to Venezuela at the moment. These are the same friends who originally encouraged me to visit – but now they say it is simply too dangerous. When I visited the situation was already volatile and dangerous – I saw burning barricades in the street, army everywhere and robberies were frequent. Sadly, it is now even worse. Until the situation stabilises, it is not safe or advised to travel to Venezuela.
Before I arrived in Venezuela, I was assailed from all sides by gaggles of people with the latest ‘intelligence’ on the situation in what I now consider to be one of the greatest countries in the world. Most of them had never had the experience of backpacking in Venezuela. All of them thought I was insane for considering it…
Fear breeds stupidity. Those who cannot bear to peek behind the curtain become obsessed with keeping the curtain well in place; if they can’t look, nobody should. Most of the people who warned me against going to Venezuela seemed terrified that I might learn or experience something they wouldn’t…Rather than visiting Venezuela themselves or even attempting to understand the complexities of Venezuelan culture, they would rather cave to the fear, the paranoia, the rumours.
By the time I crossed into Venezuela I had met so many of these people and heard so many bad things that I very nearly caved myself, I almost didn’t go.
All because every person that I met told me the same seven lies…
1. You will get robbed
Venezuela, the murder capital of the world, the kidnap capital of South America. A safe-haven for pirates and thieves, corrupt police and loose women. Or so I was led to believe. I was told time and time again that if I went to Venezuela, I would definitely get robbed. There was simply no way around it.
I have been robbed three times on my travels, but Venezuela was not one of those times. It is more than possible to go to Venezuela without being robbed.…
Sure, the chances of being robbed in Venezuela may be higher than in the rest of the continent but that doesn’t mean you need to empty your rucksack into a bag labelled ‘swag’ and hand it over to the first person you encounter.
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2. It’s hard to eat
Venezuela has food shortages, this is a fact. Yet the rumours surrounding this fact have snowballed to the point where a common phrase uttered in Colombian hostels is “But you can’t go to Venezuela, there’s nothing to eat”.
There is always something to eat, there is always something open. Sure, a couple of times I did end up eating chicken and rice three times a day because there was nothing else around but that’s the case in many of the countries I’ve visited. Venezuela is not a country in a state of famine, you don’t need to pack 100 packs of emergency biscuits.
3. Condoms costs $755
It’s extremely easy to put together outrageous news stories on Venezuela due to the countries dual-economy. Those with dollars live like kings, those without dollars live a much harder existence.
The black market exchange rate is roughly 30 times better than the official rate which means that, when people pay with dollars, you can slew those figures however you want to get a better news story, an angle picked used by news outlets around the world.
A 32 pack of condoms bought with dollars or bolivars exchanged for dollars would actually only cost around $25, which is pretty cheap.
4. Hailing a taxi is a death sentence
Numerous times upon receiving Venezuela travel advice, I was told ‘Never hail a cab in Venezuela, they will rob you or drive you somewhere to be robbed’ — how wrong this was. I must have caught several dozen cabs in Venezuela and nothing bad ever happened. I figured I was a much bigger target walking around on the street and, at $1 a pop, why not just get a taxi?
5. It’s impossible to get around
Ok, this one does have a grain of truth to it. The country is big and getting around by bus is a nightmare; they are crowded, slow and often sold-out. At one point I had to wait nearly three days to catch a bus, which kind of sucked. On the plus side, domestic flights in Venezuela are available from around $6. So, as long as you’re near an airport, you can get around very easily.
6. There are no hostels
Again, there is a nugget of truth here. There are hardly any backpacker hostels in Venezuela, but there are plenty of family-run guesthouses, called Posadas, as well as lots of amazing hotels which only cost a few dollars. I stayed in an amazing 4 star hotel which was just 8 dollars a night, I had a rain-shower, times were good. There may not be any backpacker oriented hostels but that doesn’t mean you will be sleeping rough.
7. Every Venezuelan has a gun, you’re fucked.
I only ever saw guns on police officers or on soldiers. I was never once robbed, shot at or ripped off. Venezuela has a bad reputation but half of it is total and utter rubbish; if you want to discover the country, go for it. To those of you who were too scared to visit, you’re missing out.
No doubt this article will hit some nerves so I want to clear some things up right here, right now. I am not actually calling anyone, least of all Venezuelans, liars. I am pointing out that there is so much misinformation surrounding Venezuela that I myself, a seasoned backpacker with seven years travel under my belt, nearly didn’t go. People seemed keen to put me off going but was this for the right reasons? I was consistently told that I would definitely be robbed and probably be killed. Neither of these things happen – was I lucky? Maybe. Are the problems in Venezuela exaggerated? Yes. The main problem is that there is very little in the way of balanced Venezuela travel guide or information about Venezuelan culture out there, and this is why I am trying to set the record straight.
Venezuela is an amazing country and I have told everyone I meet that I recommend going – sure, it is dangerous and yes, I know my experiences in Venezuela are not the same as those of people who actually live there, but people should not avoid it just because it has problems. Everything has problems. With a greater risk comes a greater reward and I found travelling in Venezuela, and making Venezuelan friends, to be one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had on the road. I love Venezuela and I hope to return soon. If you find this article offensive, maybe you need to take a long hard look at yourself – should you really be discouraging tourists from visiting your country, or perpetuating rumours of a place you are yet to visit? If you want the situation to improve then this is a crucial step.
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God bless You Will. “Envía tu luz y tú verdad; estás me guiarán” Salmo 43:3
Loved the article thanks for speaking so highly of my home 🙂 Venezuela is beautiful, the people are great, the views and the food amazing. But it is definitely better to do your research before going due to the current situation, Venezuela is sadly not the same as early 2000. Instead of taking taxis maybe hiring someone for the days you will be there to drive you around would best, and planning ahead your stay.
Great article. I had the same experience in 2002, the first time I went to Venezuela. I had wanted to go since seeing a photo of the Angel falls, whenever I mentioned it I would hear, ‘It’s dangerous, you will be kidnapped and murdered, the spiders are the size of birds! You will be raped and shot. Well, soon as landed, taxi drivers hustled for business, we followed one across the car park and he drove us to La Bandera to get a bus to Choroni. Myself and my friend did everything we were told we should never do. I even hailed a cab alone on my third visit, from the highway to the airport. On another visit my sister and 8 yr old nephew came with me and again we took a taxi, for like a three hr ride. We met lovely people and no one hurt us or robbed us, in fact it was in Venezuela one of the sweetest things happened to me. Me and my friend went swimming then, exhausted fell asleep on the beach. When we woke our rucksacks had gone. Freak out! Then a little old man came and gesticulated to the palm trees, there were our rucksacks. He had been looking after them for us. I f love Venezuela! I travelled all over and I went back three times, I even considered moving there due to meeting with an estate agent and being shown an acre of beach front land for 18000 us dollars! I went in 2002,/2006 and 2012. I adore it. There is danger everywhere, you can get murdered in your own house. I look forward to my next visit. A stunning country that has absolutely everything any traveller could want!
I would love so much to go back to that amazing country…
Guys, you have no idea what Venezuela is going thru… you have been very lucky not to have any robbery there, I’m Venezuelan and can tell you it’s really dangerous.My brother was kidnapped with his family, my brother in law shoot in the stomach when buying groceries, and on and on… please people dont get a false sense of comfort just because someone had good time there… it’s really dangerous! and I’m sad to say that about my own country!
Jose, thanks for telling about the current situation. I apologize that the article still reads as a positive review of Venezuela, though it was meant to show a different side of the country for travel when it was written in early 2015. It’s now been updated with a disclaimer to say that the current situation is different. We likewise don’t recommend traveling to Venezuela, aunque nos da mucha pena….
Thanks so much!!! just trying to help out and keep people safe. 🙂
Thanks for this! I have only ever been robbed in AMERIKKKA… And the cops never, ever helped me there, even when the robberies (plural, many) were violent. The current president of the Imperial Democratic Peoples Republic of Money and Guns, Mr. Donald Trump, made a lot of insulting comments about Venezuela in his speeches, when in reality his country has a very high murder rate, robbery rate, suicide rate, and while there is no shortage of food in the IDPRMG, you may have to steal it if you lose your job and don’t qualify for government assistance (aka, if you are a single male).
I guess that number one wasn’t so much of a lie after all !!
https://www.thebrokebackpacker.com/robbed-in-venezuela/#comment-28286
Great post, makes me feel much safer while I plan for my trip in November 🙂
Hey Will, did you say you stayed in a nice hotel for $8/night? Was this after exchanging your dollars to bolivars?
That was after changing my dollars.
Thank you for a great article and one day soon we will return.
Thank you very much for this article, I have read so many negative articles about Venezuela online and found hardly any positive stories 🙂 Lonely Planet doesn’t even have any guide books on its website for Venezuela now, it has published previously guides on the country, but a new edition hasn’t come out for a few years now, there’s just a small section in its Shoestring South America book.
In my opinion we should help support Venezuela by travelling there, they need the money. I think it’s stupid to say travelers shouldn’t go there, there are other countries in the world that are very dangerous in some parts, yet many travelers visit these countries to travel, such as South Africa, Mexico etc. etc.
It would be such a shame to miss out on a country that I think seems amazing, because of media hype, over-generalised and misleading stories online of the country
I definitely will be visiting Venezuela 🙂
Well put Gabby, I totally agree! I hope many more people find the courage to visit and support this amazing country.
This was a great read! I travelled in Venezuela in 2001 and loved everything about the country then. At the time Columbia was on the list of places you shouldn’t go. As you said things change! I have been wondering if folks are still travelling so I was thrilled to see an honest account of travel in more recent times. Thanks. Did you get to Roraima when you were there? If not, you have to go. I have plans of going back but then hiking over it and down into Guyana. I was worried that there wouldn’t be anyone operating on the Venezuelan side. Anyway, thanks for this post
So glad you enjoyed the post, and Venezuela in general! I did the hike to Roraima and it was ridiculously incredible – loved it! Hope to get back there soon!
It is almost impossible to see this post and evoid smiling, thanks to you, for showing the truth about my beautiful contry, besides been in a not-good situation in economic or political issues, we always will be trying to show the grace of our land, the kindness of our people, and the diversity of this incredible country! Thanks for visiting us
And it makes me smile reading your comment! I absolutely loved Venezuela, and I really want others to see what an amazing country it is, rather than to just be turned off by political problems. I can’t wait to go back for a second visit!
Well, I live in Venezuela. The tourist aproach to any country is very diferent if you live there. The LIES that the somebody told you is not a really LIE. You was lucky, with this I dont want to said that Venezuela is always dangerous in all places. I visited many DANGEORUS countries like Afganistan, Irak and Yemen and was not robbed or attacked by any body. I was robbed in France, Italy, and Holland, and attacked in Poland and Spain only getting around the streets or public tranport in dayligtht hours, but really is France or Poland more dangeorus than Venezuela, Honduras or Afganistan? I think is not posible make a conclusion for a personal and individual experience of a tourist trip in any country. You are welcome to Venezuela again and I hope you will have the same lucky trip.
Ps. I am a apolitical, not like the oposition that see all very bad and pro USA (Coment by someone before) and also not a goverment suporter that close the ears and eyes for a crazy negation of the situation in Venezuela.
Hi Will- I am certain I have read your blog before but somehow missed the Venezuela stuff (not sure how!). Someone on my FB liked your daily mail article and your comments about Veneuela caught my eye. I’m glad to see you blogging about your time here. I lived and worked there for a few months in 2007. It was a wonderful experience and I only wish I had been travel blogging then! (Actually I did keep a little blog for my family but travel blogging was not what it is now back in 2007 ha!). The comment that caught my eye in the article was the bit about you could have been killed if you hadn’t travelled a lot before (sorry I’m paraphrasing here). This is not a criticism at all- I’m generally curious if that’s how you felt as it was such a long time since I was there. I was 22 when I went and hadn’t done that much travelling without my family (I’d lived in South Korea which is a world away!) I actually think it was my naïveté that made me have such amazing experiences in Venezuela- I was sensible as I would be in any country, but I didn’t feel fear or feel held back. To be honest- I did head into the ‘wrong’ areas countless times but I was always ok! 🙂 I completely agree about the taxi situation too- I was told not to take illegal taxis. Well I could only ever see illegal taxis so I had to take them. I had no problems taking them at night by myself (I was there with my boyfriend- now husband- but we often worked different hours and I often travelled around the city alone). Living and earning there though, we did suffer with the inflation as we weren’t getting money from outside the country. That’s why we left. Anyway- sorry for this crazy long comment. I’m glad to have been redirected back to your blog and will continue to read! Cheers! Joella.
Keep in mind this: People who are against the current Venezuelan government likes to talk shit about Venezuela. These people are mostly pro-USA, and they like to lick gringo’s balls. That’s why you’re going to read/hear too many lies about Venezuela.
I don’t agree 100% with what Will Hatton wrote in his blog about Venezuela, but at least he recognize some of the lies. Everytime a gringo ask me about Venezuela, my answer is: Come to Venezuela and see it with your own eyes.
For a foreigner traveller, I think these are the most important points:
1) Insecurity:
The probability of being robbed, kidnapped or assassinated in Venezuela, are the same in another country in Latin America. Do you think Venezuela is the worst place? probably in Mexico, Bazil, Colombia, Salvador, Honduras there are places that you’re never going to visit because they are dangerous too. Even U.S. has dangerous neighborhoods. They know this, but they have to talk shit about Venezuela, it’s in fashion now ¿right?
In Venezuela, you only has to be alert all the time and don’t do stupid things like wear a gold chain, or carry expensive stuff like an Iphone6. That’s how Venezuelan and other people in Latin America live since along time ago.
Due to my job (Telecom) I’ve lived and worked in different places in Venezuela, and I’ve not being robbed since 1998. My cellphone cost me 50$ USD and after five years it is worthless, so… right now I use it everywhere without a problem.
My recomendation is: always alert, do not wear or carry expensive stuff, and don’t go to dangerous places or neighborhoods.
2) Prices:
Yes, the exchange rate became crazy after Hugo Chavez won his last presidential election (Octuber 2012). That’s the main reason of the madness with the prices.
But, Why? Why it didn’t happened before? if the goverment after Hugo Chavez is almost the same government. Draw your own conclusions here.
Anyway, for a foreigner traveller is cheap if you don’t buy Imported products or unregulated products. Services and things like: lodging, food, local transport, gas, water, electricity, Internet… stay low because they are related to the Venezuelan salary.
But, if you go to a MALL and ask about an imported pair of shoes, a PS4 or an Iphone6, ¿They are cheap? i don’t think so. If you buy all your groceries in the street (black market), you realize they are not cheap either.
3) Shortage?
Due to the madness with the exchange rate, regulated products became too cheap. The gap between the prices of these regulated products in Venezuela and the prices outside Venezuela (internacional prices) is too big, and for example, it’s more profitable to smuggle things like food or legal drugs from the pharmacy than the ilegal drugs like cocaine.
A lot of stuff are being smuggle to Colombia or others countries, and some people are buying stuff in the groceries to resell them on the streets locally (the black market). That’s only one of the reasons why there’s a “shortage” (see the doble quotes) for the Venezuelan people. But, you’re going to find everything in the black market (more expensive).
Food places like Restaurants always have food, so… i don’t see any problem for a foreigner traveller or turist.
Dude, all the prices you mention, like staying in a hotel for just 6 dollars, or buying cheap condoms, or getting cheap domestic flights, thats because you had dollars and the exchange rate benefits people with dollars, and thats also because the economy in Venezuela its a total disaster. It is not the same for the people that live in Venezuela, that work in Venezuela, that earn bolivares and not dollars, for the locals it is very hard to have a normal life, and thats why a lot of young and old people are leaving the country, to find better opportunities and to find better quality of life. Yes, I know my country has beautiful places, and Yes, I know the people are very nice and friendly, specially with foreigners, but there are huge problems. Im sure if you had traveled to Venezuela 20 years ago or more, before the “revolution” took power, you would have loved Venezuela 10 times more. Greets.
Hi Gus! Thanks for your comments man 🙂 I understand your point; I truly do, I’ve written several articles about Venezuela and tried to cover the political situation in detail but this is a travel blog… it’s for foreigners who are visiting or trying to explore a country, it’s not supposed to be written from a locals point of view, I’ve already pointed out in other articles that the situation on the ground is dire for Venezuelans and I truly feel sorry for my Venezuelan friends.. it sucks, but, for an adventurous backpacker, it’s a pretty amazing place to explore cheaply.
If you have been told that you will “definitely” get robbed, it is not true. However, the chances are probably nowhere higher than in Venezuela. In my first night, two men tried to rob me. On my last night, 8 men succeeded to rob me. But the thing is, I knew what risks I was ready to take, expecting that I could get robbed. Especially on my last night, despite knowing all the dangers, especially on my last night I was easy prey the way I partied 😉 But it is not enough to measure ones own experiences to what is true. Instead, even before m stay I have concluded that the country, in which you have the highest chance to get robbed might be in Venezuela, because I have not met one person who did not get robbed or who does not have friends or relatives who got robbed or in the worst case murdered.
So while I agree that you can avoid being robbed in Venezuela, I feel that the dangers of Venezuela must be stressed in particular, albeit I fully understand that the beauties and the friendliness of Venezolanos must be stressed as much.
I agree with you that while Venezuela isn’t a country you should just whisk away to unknowingly, it is a country suited to well-traveled people, but continuing to let the exaggerations about it is only helping the bad stigma. It is important for people to put things they hear on the news into perspective, instead of taking it all as the gospel. We have been into many a ‘hot bed’ on our travels and had completely different experiences with the people and places then how the media perceives. We recently paid a visit home (USA) before setting off to spend the next 5 months traveling overland in Africa and I am not kidding when I tell you that every. single. person we told about it said we would either A. be kidnapped by ISIS, B. get Ebola or C. will die. Hello, really? It is really important that those of us that are out there seeing the World use our experiences to educate people with real life information on these destinations. Bravo for bringing Venezuela forward into a more realistic light. 🙂
I’m really glad you took the “risk” to come here and visit my country. It truly is an incredible place with lots of things to do, specially for foreigners as the black market exchange rate helps a lot doesn’t it?
I hope you made friends, and that you keep in touch with them, because even though there are bad people here, there are also lots of amazing people willing to share their lives and their country to anyone willing to come here.
I’m sure you saw more of this country than most venezuelans do, but I assure you that there’s still lots to see, so make sure you come back again, and I hope that next time you visit you find it in better shape (politically, economically, etc.)
I just want to finish by saying thanks from the bottom of my heart, for sharing this, and all the other articles about Venezuela.
Thanks Pedro! I really appreciate your support man 🙂
I’m really glad you took the “risk” to come here and visit my country. It truly is an incredible place with lots of things to do, specially for foreigners as the black market exchange rate helps a lot doesn’t it?
I hope you made friends, and that you keep in touch with them, because even though there are bad people here, there are also lots of amazing people willing to share their lives and their country to anyone willing to come here.
I’m sure you saw more of this country than most venezuelans do, but I assure you that there’s still lots to see, so make sure you come back again, and I hope that next time you visit you find it in better shape (politically, economically, etc.)
I just want to finish by saying thanks from the bottom of my heart, for sharing this, and all the other articles about Venezuela.
I Love your post!
I am Venezuelan living in Istanbul. If you want to come here or to Caracas feel free to contact us :))
Let me just tell you you were very lucky. And as many people have told you in the comments, you went as a tourist, it’s not the same when you actually live there and stuggle daily. And no comments on the danger venezuelans are exposed every day, many people are violent and you don’t know who is going to have a gun and shot you in the face. I know you loved my country, I highly appreciate that but let’s get things straight and don’t make it look like Venezuelans don’t face all those issues u told they were líes.
Will,
sorry for bad english.
I am one of the owners of http://www.venezuela-forum.com. This is a forum over Venezuela in german language. Recently I have linked your article under the thread “7 Lügen über Venezuela” oder “Hearsay-Infos”: http://www.venezuela-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5108&p=25639#p25639
I have even added some more hearsay information or lies about this country:
8. There is no electric power
9. There is no toilet paper
10. There is no sugar or coffee
11. There is no harina pan …
@all: Please note that this is a tourist’s perspective.
Hey man! Thanks a lot, I really appreciate the support 🙂 If you need anything off me, just get in touch 🙂
Hi Will! I’m very glad you had a great experience in Venezuela, you have a lot of courage to go even with the advices of the people!
I’m one of those who discourage people on going if they don’t know anyone in Venezuela…maybe I’m doing bad because tourism is good for Venezuela, but I would never forgive myself if something bad happens to someone I told to go.
I’m Venezuelan and now I live in Argentina, and I traveled with my Argentinan boyfriend to Venezuela this year and he was amazed of the beauty of my country. Now that I don’t live in Venezuela, is when I can discover Canaima, Kavak, Uruyen, Los Roques, because when I was living there my budget would never be enought to pay this kind of traveling.
If you do a second trip you need to go to “Parque Nacional Morrocoy” It’s really worth it to go, and it’s not that expensive. You can stay in a posada in the town “Tucacas”, and from there you take a boat to different islands.
Good luck and thank you for making this blog! =)
Another Venezuelan here saying thanks for visiting us and glad that you enjoyed your visit. Like a poster above I’m also from Margarita Island. When you come back and visit Margarita make sure you watch a sunset in Juan Griego Bay. Also depending on the time of the year you can watch sea turtles hatch in Parguito beach.
The best tip I can give you is: get a local to show you around. Most of the really interesting things for a backpacker are not the same as for a regular tourist. If you cannot get a hold of someone before you come just grab a white cab (make sure they belong to some company) and they can show you anything you could possibly want.
Venezuela… a special black hole!
All my friends hated your post. They found it offensive. I kinda get them, because we’re so tired of chaos and it’s become somewhat of an emotional preemptive strike to hate the country before it lets us down, but I think you’re spot on. Bottom line for visitors: there’s a higher than average probablility that something unpleasant will happen to you, but if you keep an open mind and be careful (and take advice from locals that don’t seem too paranoid), you’ll have a marvelous vacation for a very low price.
I think for the locals is so difficult to see it because we earn our wages in bolivars, which are worthless. It’s hard to overcome that desperation and see the good.
But precisely that’s why it’s so important for us to interact with foreigners.
This is such an accurate article, man. Thanks for writting it. I also read you went to Roraima. I just visited there last month and it truely made me believe that Venezuela is such special and blessed country. Keep spreading the word about us! 😀
I think this is kind of misleading, I know you’re writing it from the perspective of a tourist, and writing it for backpackers. Considering that yes, you can circumvent a lot of these “lies” just because you have ready access to dollars, lots of problems go away with that, which, as you’ve mentioned, isn’t the case for us Venezuelans.
Regarding all that refers to safety, you got lucky, plain and simple. Also, oddly enough, sometimes being a tourist and actually looking like a tourist offers some form of protection. So I’d say by inviting other people to visit our country you’re putting them in danger only because your experience wasn’t, luckily, what was expected.
Dude, awesome article… If you ever come by to Margarita Island. Let me know. I’ll buy you a drink…
You were lucky indeed. Venezuela is beautiful and fun. But we can’t get sugar, toilet paper or chicken in the supermarkets. It’s still a dangerous place. We live afraid for our lives. We hear people near us get mugged, rapped and killed everyday. We can only be grateful that we aren’t the unlucky ones.
Will, good to hear you had an awesome time in Venezuela because it really is an incredible country.
Just wanted to let you know that the minimun wage is Bs. 5622,48 and the current black market exchange rate is Bs. 285 = $1. So maybe what you found pretty cheap, is a different story for venezuelans that live with bolívares and not with dollars. If you ask me, that’s pretty fucked up.
Yeah man, I’m totally aware that the situation sucks for local Venezuelans; it’s something I covered in a couple of other articles, I’m just talking about the costs for visitors here though – it is very cheap.
I am glad to read your satisfactory experience, Venezuela is undoubtedly a wonderful place to visit. However, living there while your monthly salary is 30$ is not an easy task. Reality becomes a nightmare and long term goals seem imposible, perhaps that is where all those stories rely on; fear and frustration.
I totally understand that and truly feel for the Venezuelan people – I wrote all about it and it got published by an Australian paper actually 🙂
What can I said, I’m Venezuelan and I visit Venezuela ones a year, during my visits I try to keep a low profile and don’t keep expensive electronic on me like phones and cameras. With the economy problems of the country it ends up being really cheap to travel around Venezuela. I only recommend picking up a taxi from a reliable source. You can find plenty of food every where. Venezuela has a lot to offer to those who take risks. At the end anything can happen pretty much anywhere are in the world. But yes I would recommend visiting venezuela with a Venezuelan friend that know his way around at the end is better to be safe than sorry. Good luck to you all!
Hi! I’m from Venezuela and I still live here. Tell me something while you were traveling Venezuela did you came to Margarita Island? If not, please include this beautiful island in your next visit. I can imagine that you ate “empanadas” and “arepas” wich one was your favorite? If you come to Margarita Island you need to eat an “empanada de pabellón” this one is really big, so you only need one. Also I wanna tell you that from a beach called “el Yaque” you can take a 20 min boat to another beautiful island, Coche Island, it has beautiful white sand beaches, make sure you wear sunscreen there because you could get a really bad sunburn, I recommend you to be there at 8am and take the boat to Coche Island you can get back to Margarita island the same day at 4pm if you get back later the ocean is really bad. Oh I almost forgot, if you are in Margarita Island you need to eat comething called “Pastel de Chucho” that is stingray cake, it’s really good like a lasagna. I hope you come back soon, and enjoy a lot. If you want some more tips and places to go or foods to eat in Venezuela you can ask and i’ll gladly tell you the best places.
Wow!! So much epic info! Thanks for sharing! I didn’t go to Margarita island but I am due back in Venezuela next year so hell yes – let’s do it, let’s grab a beer or something! 🙂
It’s great to know that you enjoyed your trip in our country, that you could see its beuty but I must disagree, it’s another story when you live at Venezuela, been a tourist never will be the same…
I would not for a second suggest it is the same man – I know it’s totally different, and kind of sucky, for you guys. I am writing for backpackers though..
Thanks brother…….some times we need to hear this about our beloved country
Thanks!!!!!
It’s amazing what you said about my country is beautiful, has beautiful places, but the danger is present everywhere
Man, thank you for this post, i’m from Venezuela, it’s true that we have serious problems regarding security but this country is worth knowing, it has beautiful places, unique and almost undiscovered or not much vivisited, sorry for the bad English
I love Venezuela – it’s a truly special place filled with really wonderful people, I plan to return next year! 🙂
Man I absolutely adore your blog and I thank you for clarifying some of the aspects about my country. You’re always welcome.
Thanks buddy, I really appreciate the support!