It's an interesting thread - today there has been a news report on a UK TV channel from Venezuela; two interesting snippets concerned the current rate of annual inflation, which is now about 50%, and a guy who has bought a second hand Jeep Cherokee as an investment - the latter point was made in relation to keeping cash in any bank account which is hopeless of course, so there is a rising market in the price of second-owner vehicles; in response the government aims to control the price of such vehicles.

A further 3rd point concerned the empty new car showrooms which cannot get vehicles into the country for sale because of currency controls on the US$ - hence the resulting black market that inevitably springs up inside any national system that tries to beat the supply and demand free market in any commodity, including currencies (the earlier reference to dealing with a Euro based bank for day-to-day transactions is a case in point).

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Dave

Black market rate for 1 USD (100 notes) is now 50 BSF here in Santa Elena on the border with Brazil, maybe you can even get more if you bargain harder.

29/10/2013
mika

scary situation. just discussing this subject with my wife - does that not have the potential to turn any 'gringo' (i.e. any foreigner in VEN) into a potential target for robbery? be smart with your shit.

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http://www.2fortheroad.co.uk/

Arrived in Venezuela on 20 Oct. Crossed from Cucuta into San Antonio and everything went good. It was a Sunday and was not able to process the moto documents however I was allowed to ride in and take care of it on Monday. A bit confusing chasing down the insurance and then find two stamps you need, tax stamps that cost 27 Bolivares.
Changed Colombian pesos on the Colombian side and received a rate that equaled 44 to 1 USD. You can get more for the USD depending on your location.
Gas was difficult to get in the border state, you need some sort of card that has a chip in it at the fuel stations to purchase gas. There's a lot of fuel being bought by Colombians and taken back across the border and sold on the BM and this is their attempt in curbing it. No issues anywhere else I've been, 25 liters of 95 octane cost 2.5 Bolivares, almost free.
As for safety and security, I've not had any issues however, the locals have warned me about certain areas and not to wander around alone at night, especially in Caracas.
The roads are good for the most part, lots of big pot holes and dug out spots in some places. The roads in the mountain areas are great to ride.
From what I've seen the country is beautiful and the people are friendly and helpful.

Hi guys

Thought I'd update my travels through Venezuela
Entry Santa Elena
To cuidiad Bolivar don Carlos Posada German biker and parking good for angel falls tour
Barcelona, porto la Cruz nice busy spot
Cumuna for ferry to isla margaritas
Cheaper that from Porto la Cruz
3 1/2 hr approx 700 bolivar return
Need photocopy of docs
Then across to heugote
For a great coastal mountain rd to Caracas then corro and maricaibo
Fight across to Aruba 9000 Bolivar for a week
Friendly Kawasaki dealer stored bike no charge
Down to valera merida and being accosted by biker in san cristabol
For 2 weeks due to boarder closed a week to Colombia for mayoral elections
Excited to cutata without stamp out of Aduana due to just couldn't find it
There was a 10km que to get to boarder was caos but fun

Overall 5 wks
Last exchange was at 55 USD
65 Euro
Great friendly people
Lots of people mention danger but didn't have any
Great roads
Nice food
Found other drivers were extremely
Courteous giving lots of space

Overall a great place

Hugo



Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2

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"Blat" Racin
Brake Late and Turn

Just driving through Venezuela, route Santa Elena -> Cucuta.

Never felt threatened. People are generally very friendly, some of them speak English, which is a nice suprise.

Managed to sell some dollars today at a local mercado on my way to Merida. Rate 52 Bs for dollar. Generally at rate 50 BS/dollar almost everyone will buy from you, because they know that blackmarket rate is above 60.

Only once I got stopped by the police, they checked my papers and let me go.

The only dangerous thing in my opinion is that Venezuelans drive like crazy. Bigger goes first, remember.

Hi,

Whats the latest news on no-go areas? We have been reading about the current issues since the opposition leader has been imprisoned....

We are hoping to go from Colombia via Venezuela to northern Brazil....

Is this route still safe? Just read about issues in San Christobal. The Game Changed in Venezuela Last Night – and the International Media Is Asleep At the Switch | Caracas Chronicles

Merv.

Merv,

I'm currently in San Cristobal. I would strongly recommend travelers do not come through this area right now. Most of the roads are either blockaded, or were previously blockaded, and there's metal, nails, broken glass etc all over the streets. I haven't ridden in more than a week due to this. Even the main roads through town are blocked.
The police/Mil are generally concentrated in a few areas; many areas that were reasonably safe (Barrio Obrero, Las Pilas) are now quite dangerous, even in the middle of the day. It's a bit of a ghost town; most people haven't gone to work in more than a week, and are staying indoors, so any services needed (w/exception of medical) aren't readily available.

That being said, if you're crossing here, feel free to contact me for updated info or a place to stay.

Best,

- Agave

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The world belongs to those who don’t let anxiety about screwing up keep them from moving forward.
- UNK

Agave, many thanks for this! Hope you are save and well? I may ask again the situation on Monday when we need to make our final decision on what to do.

Merv

Hi Agave,

I know there are no guarantees, and things are changing daily, but I am wondering if it is possible to enter from Cucuta,Colombia, and to skip San Cristibal by staying south of the city?

For example, after entering Venezuela, going to Rubio, then to El Tambo to Route 5, and then head East? once we are over 100km from the border, things should be ok - right?

We are also wondering if we crossed the border into Venezuela late in the afternoon, and slept in the customs post, then hit the road at sunrise the following morning, we should avoid any protests... Might that help? We do not need anywhere special to sleep, just a bit of safe ground. We stay 100% inside the trucks in these situations.

We would be traveling in 2 large 4x4 trucks, so broken glass or small rubble would not bother us too much. Shipping containers and mining truck tyres on the other hand.....

Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated, even if those words are "do not chance it"!

If we do go through, is there any way we can help? anything we can bring you from Colombia? Space is not much of a problem.... Just that you will need to meet us somewhere safe...

Merv.

It seems like the consensus among Venezuelans is that the situation is risky for all in Venezuela right now. See this link for more info:

What's happening in Venezuela? - ADVrider

While the Australian travel advisory is at it's highest level - Do Not Travel - for the region nearest the border with Colombia, individuals within Venezuela are offering the same advice but even more broadly.

Just wanted to pass along some more info so your decision can be well-informed.

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motojeros.blogspot.com - 2 up on an ´89 Transalp through the Americas

Merv,

I've been speaking to a friend in San Antonio often for updates, as I need to cross to Colombia for some business as soon as possible. Over the border was closed yesterday, as well as today. Being the anniversary of Chavez's death, it may have been preemptive, and will possibly be open in the morning.
Once the border is open you can take the route you mentioned, or even skirt by San Cristobal for now; the streets have cleared up quite a bit recently due to the Carnaval holiday. Who knows how long that will last.
I will send you a PM with contact info. Suerte!

- Agave

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The world belongs to those who don’t let anxiety about screwing up keep them from moving forward.
- UNK

We crossed in to Venezuela 2 days ago, up north at Maicao. No problems, and in coro now. Avoiding the cities all we can. The people are great!

Howdy, We are picking up our bike in Rio end Sept 2014 and heading north towards Colombia and Venezuela... would really love some up to date info on the situation in Venezuela and road conditions.
Cheers,

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Patrick and Belinda Peck
www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/peck

Am in Coro at the moment. Came into VZ via Maicao. Heading east and south. No problems that i can see. Fuel is nearly free and in some case is actually free. No problems with corrupt officials. All the stores have things in them for sale. Doesn't seem to be anything different here or note than in Colombia or other Andean nations. Four star hotels are less than a hostel in most other countries.