Venezuela

A valid passport is required upon entry to Venezuela expiring a minimum of 6 months past the date of entry into the country. US citizens traveling to Venezuela require a tourist visa. Tourist visas last for one year and cost $30 for US travelers, for multiple entries in durations shorter than ninety days.

Every traveler planning to visit Venezuela should be fully up to date on his or her routine vaccines prior to entering Venezuela. Additionally, the CDC recommends that people visiting Venezuela get vaccinated for Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Rabies. Any travel clinic will be able to provide the needed vaccinations.

Venezuela’s climate is broken into two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season. The rainy season takes place from May to October. Temperatures are generally warm in the mornings and rainy in the afternoons. The dry season in Venezuela occurs from November to March. The days are typically warmer, less humid, with more mild evening temperatures, and little or no rainfall.

The country code for Venezuela is +58. The cell phone service in Venezuela is good and is widespread across the country. Though the service may be slightly patchy in some rural areas, for the most part cell coverage widely available. The access to Internet is very good in Venezuela. Most cafes, restaurants, malls and hotels all will have Internet with adequate speed. It is, however, important to note that online surveillance of its citizens is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Venezuela’s voltage is 120V, 60HZ. There are two types of plugs that are most commonly used in Venezuela; one of the plugs has two flat parallel pins and the second has two flat parallel pins and a grounding pin. If you are coming from the US, you will most likely need a power plug adapter, but will not necessarily need a converter, as the standard voltage in the US is between 110-127V.

As of now the CDC highly advises against travel to Venezuela due to arbitrary arrests and detention of US citizens. Should you decide to travel to Venezuela please exercise a high degree of caution due to civil unrest, crime and poor health infrastructure. Additionally, the Zika virus has been reported in Venezuela, so it is important to take proper health precautions to avoid contracting Zika. Make two photocopies of your passport, tickets, and visas. Keep one copy with you in a separate place to the original and leave another copy with someone at home.

The currency used in Venezuela is the bolívar soberano (Bs.). It is best to bring enough cash with you for your entire trip to Venezuela because converting or withdrawing it from a bank or money exchange location will cost you twice as much as it would if you were to exchange it on the black market. If you use a bank card or credit card to pay for something (if it is accepted), the price will often double.

The type of government active in Venezuela is a federal presidential republic. The president, Nicolás Maduro, is both the chief of state and the head of government. He was re-elected into office on May 20, 2018, for his second six-year term. The president holds the executive power of Venezuela while legislative power is vested into the National Assembly.

The largest affiliated religion present in Venezuela is Roman Catholic, making up 71% of the population. 17% identify as Protestant, 6% as Agnostic, 2% as Atheist, 1% as Santeria, and 3% report as Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish and other.

Approximately 50.3% identify as Mestizo (combined Native American and European Ancestry), 42.5% White European Ancestry, 3.5% as Black African Ancestry, 2.5% Indigenous Venezuelan (Native America) and 1.5% as other ethnic groups.

There are over forty different languages spoken in Venezuela. While there are numerous different dialects and indigenous languages in Venezuela, the most commonly spoken language is Spanish. According to the Constitution of Venezuela, Spanish is the official language of Venezuela.

There are over forty different languages spoken in Venezuela. While there are numerous different dialects and indigenous languages in Venezuela, the most commonly spoken language is Spanish. According to the Constitution of Venezuela, Spanish is the official language of Venezuela.