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5 Unexpected Reasons to Visit Venezuela

Home » Guest Posts

Updated: January 17, 2021 by The Planet D

5 Unexpected Reasons to Visit Venezuela

Venezuela, the kidnap-capital of the world.

Spiralling inflation armed gangs of protestors and police with a reputation to shoot first and ask questions later.

A powder-keg waiting to explode. A destination for only the suicidal or the foolish

Or at least that is what I had been expecting…

Why Go to Venezuela?

travel to venezuela
Is it safe to Travel to Venezuela?

Everybody I had met had told me that to visit Venezuela was point blank stupid.

I had been travelling for six months, winding my way down Central America and into Colombia, getting ever closer.

The whole time I had been on the look out for someone, anyone, who had actually been to Venezuela and lived to tell the tale. I had yet to meet a soul who had successfully backpacked around Venezuela.

That didn’t stop people giving me advice, when it came to Venezuela, everybody had an opinion

  • “It’s impossible to visit Venezuela without getting robbed”
  • “Do you have a death wish man!?”
  • “I heard they forcibly evicted all foreigners?”
  • “Isn’t it unbelievably expensive there?”
  • “Your going to die… I hear the girls are hot though”

5 Reasons to Visit Venezuela

visit venezuela cactus

Despite all of the rumours and half-truths that were thrown at me, it turned out that there was five crucial things nobody seemed to know about this truly incredible country…and these are the reasons to visit Venezuela.

1. Venezuela is Unbelievably Cheap

Venezuela was without a doubt the cheapest country I have ever been to, I changed money on the black market, which is pretty much the norm for anybody lucky enough to have US dollars, and was absolutely amazed at what I could afford.

For one dollar I could get twelve beers. For four bucks I could stay in a five star hotel room, for six bucks I could catch a flight, for eighty bucks I could go on all inclusive, truly amazing, four day wildlife tour.

Venezuela is a country where you can easily get by on just fifty bucks a week, with a budget of $100 a week, I lived like a king.

why visit venezuela the budget
$100 on the black market gets you literal wads of cash…

2. The people of Venezuela are friendly

Everywhere I went, people seemed somewhat bewildered to see me. I met only a handful of other backpackers whilst in Venezuela, all of whom spoke better Spanish than me.

Locals never seemed to sure what to think of a tattooed gringo with a scraggly pack and terrible Spanish attempting to hitch a ride or make new friends whilst out on the town.

Ultimately, most people were incredibly kind to me, possibly out of a sense of responsibility, and nothing bad ever happened to me.

I found the Couchsurfing community in Venezuela to be thriving and I made some great friends throughout the country, despite my terrible Spanish!

I found the local people to be really concerned for my wellbeing and to be incredibly helpful when I was sorting out buses or trying to find somewhere to stay.

things to do in venenzueal couch surfing
Playing chess with a couchsurfing host

 3. You can fill up a car for 1 cent in Venezuela

I knew Venezuela was going to be cheap, although just how cheap it was truly shocked me. What I didn’t know was that I could fill up a car with gas for less than 1 US cent.

That is not a typo.

Venezuela has more oil reserves than any other country in the world and you can buy a full tank of gas for less than it costs to buy a bottle of water.

Venezuela on a budget
And when you have this kind of money… even the average backpacker starts thinking about buying a few barrels of oil.

4. The rum and food are amazing!

Rum… I’ve always quite liked the idea of becoming some sort of rum aficionado.

Once I started a foreign rums collection, then I had a party and that was kind of the end of that dream.

Venezuelan rum is without a doubt some of the best in the world and buying a bottle of the absolute best stuff, Santa Teresa, is comparatively expensive – as in, it will cost you about $4 for the bottle.

go to venezuela
nom nom nom!

This is a rum which costs $6 a shot back home.

I spent a fair bit of my time in Venezuela sipping on rum… Don’t even get me started on the food, because it was so cheap I was eating in the kind of places I could never even dream of entering under normal circumstances.

For less than $10 you can expect a three course dinner in a truly classy establishment with a couple of cocktails to wash it all down…

5. It is so worth the risk 

It took me a few days to get my head around Venezuela, I spoke to lots of people and tried to get a better understanding of the very complicated economical and social issues in the country.

It’s no wonder people had been telling me not to go; Venezuela can be a scary place, especially if your living there.

things to do in Venezuela
Stunning Mt Roraima

Saying that, for a wandering backpacker, it is so worth the risk.

With some truly stunning sites, the table-top mountain of Roraima being my favourite, dirt cheap adventures and a welcoming people; Venezuela is prime adventure territory – just play your cards right and play it safe.

travel to venezuela

I personally would love to go back to Venezuela and would recommend it to anyone who has some decent backpacking experience under their belts. This is not a destination for newbies.

For the more experienced backpackers, with some time in The Middle East or Western Africa under their belts, this is the next big thing…

Author Bio:

broke backapcker

Will blogs over at The Broke Backpacker about his adventures around the world, you can follow him on Facebook and on Twitter or, if your really friendly, hunt him down on the road for a cheeky pint.

Writer and photographer. Adventurer and vagabond.

Master of the handstand pushup. Conqueror of mountains, survivor of deserts and crusader for cheap escapades. Will is an avid hitch-hiker, couch-surfer and bargain-seeker. He is a devout follower of the High Temple of Backpackistan and the proud inventor of the man-hug.

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About The Planet D

Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil are the owners and founders of The Planet D. After traveling to 115 countries, on all 7 continents over the past 13 years they have become one of the foremost experts in travel. Being recognized as top travel bloggers and influencers by the likes of Forbes Magazine, the Society of American Travel Writers and USA Today has allowed them to become leaders in their field.

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Categories: Travel Planning, Venezuela

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Comments

  1. Silvia Reveron says

    January 28, 2018 at 6:24 pm

    I really had fun reading this. I’m Venezuelan and if you want to go you just have to be organized. I loved the idea being part of couchsurfing and will be great if you go with somebody from Venezuela.
    Don’t forget to eat empanadas, cachapas, tropical fruits, and the soups.
    One day Venezuela will be in peace again.

    Reply
  2. Mick says

    December 20, 2017 at 7:45 am

    Venezuela has never been on my radar, but after reading this, i think it will have to be included on my south america itinerary!!

    Thanks for the read!

    Mick

    Reply
  3. Rinjani Trekking Package says

    May 14, 2017 at 6:16 am

    I’ve heard a lot about Venezuela. Its beautiful landscape and the cist of traveling which seems affordable are the best reason to visit this country. It is on my bucket list.

    Reply
  4. Hajar Rinjani says

    January 25, 2017 at 3:57 am

    My absolute reason to put Venezuela on my TO GO LIST is the panoramic mount Roraima. The trek must be fully rewarding especially if having chance to do rock climbing.

    Reply
  5. Carolann & Macrae - One Modern Couple says

    July 4, 2015 at 2:41 pm

    This is a great list! We’ve been throwing around the idea of heading to South America, sooner rather than later, but we weren’t sure which countries we’d want to visit (and which were safe enough to do so). We’ll definitely be looking to see Venezuela now, especially if there are classy $10 three-course meals waiting!

    Reply
    • Dave and Deb says

      July 7, 2015 at 7:49 pm

      Gotta love affordable meals!

      Reply
  6. Frank says

    July 1, 2015 at 2:05 pm

    I’ve seen this article somewhere else – really good post on an interesting place. I almost went there a few years ago when exploring Colombia. But we have a couple of Venezuelan friends and they’re the first to tell us that it’s not a place to go right now – just too darn dangerous. I honestly don’t know how Chavez turned one of the world highest producers of oil into an economic basket case. Sad.
    Frank (bbqboy)

    Reply
  7. Amber Hieber says

    July 1, 2015 at 8:26 am

    It is perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I want to suggest you some interesting things or tips. Maybe you can write next articles referring to this article. I want to read more things about it!|

    Reply
  8. Manila flights says

    June 30, 2015 at 6:51 am

    Venezuela is undoubtedly among the must visit places of the world.The true beauty of the city lies in its friendly locals.

    Reply
  9. Tajirul Haque says

    June 29, 2015 at 5:31 pm

    Not all of these are unexpected reasons… friendly locals, nice food are common to most places I mean the reasons to visit places. But what was really unexpected is how cheap things are in Venezuela…..

    Reply
  10. Izy berry says

    June 28, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    Venezuela is a great place to go most of the people don’t like to go to Venezuela because all the situation with the government

    Reply
    • Dave and Deb says

      July 1, 2015 at 6:35 pm

      Thanks for the comment. Have you been?

      Reply
  11. Jeorge Grenberg says

    June 28, 2015 at 1:12 am

    wow awesome article and very beautiful pictures.
    Thank You

    Reply
    • Dave and Deb says

      July 1, 2015 at 6:32 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  12. Luisa Rincon says

    June 26, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    Thank you for this article. I am from Venezuela, and we are going through hard economical and political times, adding up the insecurity. For people living here, it is horribly expensive; for foreigners with dollars or euros, you are going to be amazingly rich. Despite the risks, Venezuela has a lot of beautiful places and natural landscapes, warm people and delicious food (you cannot miss trying arepas at an “arepera”!). It saddens me that the touristic potential of Venezuela is being lost due to all its problems. If you decide to go, be careful to where you go, do not show to everybody that you have expensive things (cellphones or cameras) or a lot of money, and you can have a good experience!

    Reply
    • Dave and Deb says

      July 1, 2015 at 6:30 pm

      Hi Luisa, Glad you enjoyed it. We look forward to coming ourselves one day soon. Thanks also for the words of caution, it’s great to visit a place but it’s important to keep safe and be aware of possible problems that may arise.

      Reply
  13. Stef says

    June 26, 2015 at 2:55 pm

    Thanks for sharing that. I have been living and traveling for 10 months in Latin America now and haven’t met a single person who has been in Venezuela. I had no clue it is that cheap and it seems like you had a very special experience as there are so few backpackers.

    Reply
    • Dave and Deb says

      July 1, 2015 at 6:28 pm

      Thanks Stef. That’s amazing that you haven’t come across anyone in 10 months! Glad we could share something new with you!

      Reply

welcome

Hi we’re Dave and Deb, a Canadian adventure couple who left our careers in the film industry 10 years ago to travel the world. We’ve been to 115 countries on all seven continents and were named one of the top travel influencers on earth by Forbes.

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