La Guaira Caracas

LaGuaira itself offers little interest unless joining a ship excursion into Caracas, which may be hot, dirty and noisy, with a risk of pickpocketing. Do not walk around La Guaira because it is unsafe. The cruise terminal is secure but contains only a collection of shops.

Visiting the port town of La Guaira is not recommended; it is considered extremely dangerous by day and at night.

Only join a tour sanctioned by the cruise line. Do not try to organise a private excursion or negotiate with a taxi.

Exercise care over clothing even on an "official" cruise-line excursion. Avoid costly rings, earrings, watches, necklaces, handbags, designer clothes and anything else expensive. Do not draw attention or deliberately look like a "tourist."

Caracas is not among Venezuela's leading visitor destinations, as travellers frequently bypass the capital for the country's exceptional natural sights. Nevertheless, the city itself can be compelling, offering excellent art and food alongside busy nightlife.

Caracas displays the striking wealth disparities that define Venezuela's economy. Conditions range from the very poor hill neighbourhoods west of the city, known as “barrios”, through El Rosal's modern commercial district to enormous mansions in affluent eastern areas.

Vehicles continually crowd the city's roads and motorways because Venezuela has the world's cheapest petrol, at about $0.12/gallon. Subsidised fuel and insufficient infrastructure have contributed to pollution and long queues across almost every inner-city motorway.

Visitors should understand that Caracas remains one of the world's most violent cities, and outsiders effectively cannot enter large districts classed as No Go Areas.

The Bolivar fuerte (BsF) is Venezuela's currency. It replaced the former bolivar on January 1, 2008 at an exchange rate of 1 BsF for 1000 old Bs.

Visa and MasterCard are accepted widely, while upmarket hotels, restaurants and shopping centres generally take American Express and Diners Club. Sellers always require identification for card payments, and a passport is sufficient. Although ATMs exist nationwide, most request the last two digits of a local ID, preventing withdrawals with foreign cards.

Venezuela's official language is Spanish.

Cafés offering customers free WiFi are becoming increasingly widespread, and even smaller towns normally have at least one place with a reasonably decent connection.

Across most of the country, call the single emergency number 171 for police, ambulance or firefighters.

Usual shopping hours are Mon-Sat 0900-1300 and 1500-1900.

Public holidays fall on New Year's Day (1 Jan), carnival (Feb), Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Declaration of Independence (19 Apr), Labour Day (1 May), Battle of Carabobo (24 Jun), Independence Day (5 Jul), Birth of Simón Bolívar (24 Jul), Columbus Day (Oct) and Christmas Day (25 Dec).