patt711

We've heard some rumblings that Caracas is not a safe place to visit...but then we've heard that about other big cities everywhere too. Anyone been there recently? Suggestions for travel anywhere in that country? Places to stay?
Thanks!

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Is there a compelling reason you need to travel there? If not, I'd say, don't go. Violence has become too common in Caracas, and I'd avoid it if possible.

There is also the problem these days of the indefinite closure of one of the bridges on the highway between the airport and the city. The detours are very long. I've read reports of needing to drive 4-5 hours on narrow roads and back streets through some pretty bad neighborhoods. Passengers missing flights is pretty common these days, to say nothing of the risk of travel between Caracas and the airport.

Now if you can connect at the airport to a flight to a destination within the country and never have to go into the city at all, that's a different story.

ABENDIGO

Hi patt711! Why do you want to travel to Caracas? I'm venezuelan and, although I don't live there (I live in Valencia, a two hour drive from Caracas), I've been there thousands of times to visit relatives, do errands and even sightseeing. What Jeff_Costa_Rica has said is true concerning the highway bridge. Concerning the violence issue, well, that depends on the place you visit. Ghettos are dangerous everywhere in the world, and good neighbourhoods are safe and nice everywhere in the world too (from the NYC to Tokyo, from the North Pole to the South Pole). If you want to visit Venezuela, go to Los Roques (beautiful arcipelago with clear waters and white sandy beaches), Mérida (cute mountain villages and beautiful landscape), Canaima (rivers, falls, jungle and the highest fall in the world "Angel Falls&quot. Caracas is stressful, total chaos mostly due to the traffic (Manhatthan is a quiet little town compared to the traffic in Caracas). I don't consider CCS to be a tourist destination. It's my personal opinion.

patt711

Thank you, Jeff and Abendigo for you replies. We're still debating where to go and would still like to see Venezuela, if possible...but looks like we'll skip Caracas. Another possibility is Costa Rica...Jeff? Your name sounds like you could be an expert.
How about other suggestions? We're just a couple who love to travel and have yet to be in South or Central America, other than on a cruise.
Thanks.

chitamf

Hi,

You may not want to go to Caracas but you should make a trip to Margarita Island. It's like a world of it's own. I don't go to Caracas unless I have to but there is no comparing the two. Margarita has lots of offer tourists and it's a beautiful place that Venezuela has to offer everyone.

Even though you hear things about Venezuela in the news Margarita is never mentioned and that's because this island stays out of it. I had already been living here back a few years ago when lots of problems were going on in Caracas with their pres. on the island they're were protests but calm ones and nothing happened here. The most inconveniences were that the supermarkets were not always open depending on the days the Venzuelan's were doing a march or they ran out of sugar and small stuff like that.

I am american and I can honestly tell you we never get any bad looks or anything like that. We're always welcomed and Margaritenos are very friendly people no matter where you come from. Margarita probably has the most foreigners per capita of any other place in Venezuela. It is considered more of a place to visit than to live, but many foreigners live there year-round. Some Venezuelans jokingly suggest that Italians own half of the island and Germans the other half. But there are people from the U.K., U.S., Egypt, Canada and other's I forgot to mention.

I could go into more and more details but I seem to have written too much.
thanks for reading !