Lonely Planet Venezuela

We took two guides with us to Venezuela during our July 2006 trip. One was Fodor's, one was Lonely Planet. Both were valueable for their insights into culture and customs, but only Lonely Planet offered practical information such as names and phone numbers for hotels and attractions. That said, much of the information was outdated or deceptive. For instance, food and taxi service in Venezuela is very expensive! (not the $5 a meal lonely planet represents). Caracas is not set up for tourists and many of the areas are unsafe to travel without a local guide. Also, finding an offical place to change money can be challenging, I recommend using taxi drivers who are readily available. Good luck! You may need it.

Venezuela is quickly changing. Prices one day may double the next day. Politics and society are in fervid change. All in all, Lonely Planet has not managed to produce a guide up to the standard of other Lonely Planet guides. Having said that, I do not know of any better guides on Venezuela, and this is still a book worth taking with you. Though you will have to take all its advice and contents with some care, not for granted.

If you are traveling to Venezuela, this is the book that I recommend you buy. Unfortunately, I did not buy this book before I moved down there. I went down with two other travel guides and threw both of them out. I met some ex-pats down there and borrowed their copies until I could get my own copy down there. It is true that the prices have risen. The tourist industry, also, charges more for foreigners. Once people starting recognizing my speech as a Venezuelan, I got much cheaper deals on trips. It is a good idea to talk to locals, too. They can tell you of great places to stay and give you invaluable information, plus they are really friendly.Some of the information will be outdated, especially since the mudslides in December. I recommend visiting Venezuela to anyone who is considering it. The country is beautiful and full of wonderful people.

No- I did not buy this book. I bought and read two others on travel to Venezuela. If I had, I would not have been the victim of pickpocketting in Caracas. As a fellow traveller in Venezuela pointed out, this book describes verbatim my experience of "being setup" at an escalator in one of the metro stops specifically mentioned. For whatever reasons other reviewers may have for you not to buy this book, I can simply say: this book was right-on regarding crime in Caracas. The price of this book may save you $500 in cash, $1300 in fradulant credit card charges and alot of bad feelings toward a vacation you should not miss.