Thread: Caracas?

Never been there, but have been told that the airport is not a place to spend any time!! Probably a good reason why the flites are open?

So did you make a day trip down to CCS?

Hello

I do not recommend travel to Venezuela if you are not from there, or not with someone who is from there. I have lived in Venezuela and have family there still. Venezuela is a beautiful country however Caracas is one of the worlds most violent unsafe cities in the world. Please read travel advisories on Caracas, they are very close to the truth.

There are stories all the time of ligitimate taxi drivers killing, and robbing travellers. When I travel to Caracas I never use a taxi or public tranist fromo the airport due to safety concerns. Officials at the airport are very corrupt and anti-american, so please exercise caution.

I love to promote Venezuela, but this is not a place for a day trip - especially if you have never been and even more so if you do not speak spanish.

Originally Posted by harry.farmer

Hello

I do not recommend travel to Venezuela if you are not from there, or not with someone who is from there. I have lived in Venezuela and have family there still. Venezuela is a beautiful country however Caracas is one of the worlds most violent unsafe cities in the world. Please read travel advisories on Caracas, they are very close to the truth.

There are stories all the time of ligitimate taxi drivers killing, and robbing travellers. When I travel to Caracas I never use a taxi or public tranist fromo the airport due to safety concerns. Officials at the airport are very corrupt and anti-american, so please exercise caution.

I love to promote Venezuela, but this is not a place for a day trip - especially if you have never been and even more so if you do not speak spanish.

Some of these cities in the USA are quite dangerous too. These punks today need a swift kick in the you know what. They've been spoiled rotten and you don't have to look far towards the parents, the source and see why they are trash today. Trash is trash no matter what city or where you go.

I can assure you, that even I as a citizen avoid going home. Caracas has the highest per capita murder rate in the world. Caracas yes is very expensive. Due to poor governing inflation is around 30% which causes goods and services to go up on a daily basis. I was home visiting last August, and for 2 weeks staying with family we spent well over $3000 just on the basics. My mother, wife and I went for dinner in a moderate restuarant and the bill came to Bs.F 850.00 which at the time was about $425.00... or McDonalds or the local Pollo Arturos was Bs.F65.00 or again at the time $32.50.

If you decide to go at another time, be very careful. When you arrive to CCS you arrive to Simon Bolivar which is in Vargas State. You will need to take a taxi from the Airport to Downtown which takes about 1 hour with no traffic up to 4 with traffic and longer with traffic and rain... The cost is about Bs.F 400 for a secure ride, that is relatively safe. Public transit is not recommended for non-venezuelans and this reason is two fold: Buses are often robbed at gunpoint, they usually just take what the locals have on them, non-venezuelans have not been so lucky, and lost more than just their belongings. The second reason for not taking public transit is they will transit all the Barrios (slums) as well that is where they stop near down town Caracas. Most Venezuelan's don't go to these areas so I recommend against it... again too many sad news stories of travlers trying this and ending up in a not so good situation.

Margarita Island is so so in terms of safety. Things are on the decline and will get worse as we get closer to the National Assembly Elections in September.

I do not want to make Venezuela or Caracas sound bad... I just worry that many won't know what they are getting into. I can say first hand that Beirut is easy and friendly in comparison with Caracas. I really mean this. Caracas is in a league of its own, and often startles people once they arrive.

As well Venezuela Exit Tax at the Airport is BS.F 162.50 or about $37.00