Venezuela
Check travel advice. Most governments advise against all travel
Population
28m people
Currency
Venezuelan Bolivar
Main Language
Spanish
best time to visit
Not currently advised – check government advice
Climate
Tropical, dry season December-April, wet May-November, cooler in the Andes
Visa
Visa free for 90 days for UK and EU visitors on paper, but travel advisories currently override this
Country overview
The advisory position first: the UK Foreign Office and most Western equivalents advise against all travel to Venezuela, citing violent crime, arbitrary detention, shortages of medicine and fuel, and very limited consular support. The country has been through a prolonged economic and political crisis with mass emigration. This page is reference material.
Venezuela has natural assets that would make it a major destination in almost any other circumstances. Angel Falls is the highest uninterrupted waterfall in the world at 979 metres, dropping off a tepui, one of the flat-topped table mountains of the Gran Sabana that inspired Conan Doyle Lost World.
It also has Caribbean coastline and islands at Los Roques, the Andes at Merida with the longest and highest cable car in the world, and Lake Maracaibo where the Catatumbo lightning storm produces near-continuous lightning for hundreds of nights a year. Whether any of that becomes accessible again depends on developments nobody can currently predict.
Annual events and festivals
- Carnaval (Feb-Mar) — biggest in El Callao, where the calypso tradition brought by Caribbean migrants is UNESCO listed.
- Diablos Danzantes de Yare (Corpus Christi) — red-costumed devil dancers. UNESCO listed and genuinely striking.
- Feria de la Chinita, Maracaibo (Nov) — the largest regional festival, with gaita music.
- Independence Day (5 Jul) — marks the 1811 declaration.
- Battle of Carabobo (24 Jun) — commemorates the decisive 1821 battle for independence.
- San Juan Bautista (Jun) — Afro-Venezuelan drumming celebrations along the central coast.
- Feria del Sol, Merida (Feb) — an Andean festival with bullfighting and parades.
- Paradura del Nino (Jan-Feb) — an Andean tradition of carrying the Christ child figure between houses.
- Dia de la Resistencia Indigena (12 Oct) — reframed from Columbus Day to honour indigenous resistance.
- Gaita season (Nov-Jan) — the Zulia musical style dominates the airwaves through Christmas.