Venezuela Getting There & Away

Getting There & Away

In Caracas, passengers pass through immigration in the recently refurbished arrivals hall before going to baggage claim. Officers will check your passport and may ask questions. If a customs officer or anyone asking about your purpose of visit, tell them you are only there to visit, tourism. At baggage claim you will be required to match the baggage sticker on your flight ticket to the bar code on your bag before you hand over your tax form to customs officials. There will be many individuals who approach you after your arrival offering assistance with locating a taxi or trading currency. It is best to not interact with anyone who approaches you. Even airport officials with proper identification may attempt to lead you to other areas of the airport to trade currency on the black market. When taking a taxi from the airport, always settle on a price before getting into the cab, and only use taxis that have the official yellow oval seal. {edit}By plane Please note: Airlines may require passengers to present a valid Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate before being allowed into the country, and a valid measles vaccination certificate may be required to board flights out of the country. The main international airport is Simon Bolivar International Airport (locally known as Maiquetia airport) located in the Vargas state. It is approximately a 40-minute ride from Caracas. Buses are available during the day. A taxi ride from the airport will cost Bs. 30000 / US$15 during the day, or Bs. 60000 / US$30 at night. There are international flights to Maracaibo and Valencia, but the choices are very limited. Note: On January 5th 2006, Venezuelan authorities closed the main access road between Caracas and Maiquetia-Simon Bolivar International Airport due to a bridge failure. Officials are working on a brand-new bridge to fully reestablish the road connection and plan to have it constructed by the second half of 2007. In the meantime, a 1.5-mile two-lane road has been paved to go around the broken structure. The highway reopened on February 26th 2006. You can travel non stop from the US and most major European cities. Continental Airlines links Caracas to Houston daily Newark weekly. American Airlines offers daily flights from Miami, San Juan, Dallas and New York. Delta Airlines offers a daily flight from Atlanta. Air Canada offers a non stop flight from Toronto twice a week. From Europe, there are non stop flights from Paris (Air France), Rome and Milan (Alitalia), Madrid (Iberia, Air Europa, CONVIASA), Frankfurt (Lufthansa) and Lisbon and Oporto (TAP). Aeropostal, CONVIASA, Avianca, Copa Airlines, TACA, Lloyd, LAN Chile and Aerolineas Argentinas provide flights to the rest of Central America and South America. For international departures, the airport tax is Bs. 73500 / US$38.3 and a departure tax Bs. 29400/ US$15. These taxes are paid at the airport, although many airline tickets might include these taxes. For domestic flights, the airport tax is Bs. 14700. Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela, Santa Bárbara Airlines, Avior Airlines, Conviasa and Aserca Airlines are the major domestic airlines in Venezuela. By car You can get to Venezuela by car, from Colombia - NOT RECOMMENDED By bus From Colombia, the buses are in bad conditions - NOT RECOMMENDED