[jergens007]

Hey there!

Has any Americans been to Venezeula recently? Im talking about from 2009-present. If so, how was your experience? What cities did you go? and most Important... did you felt you were in danger? were you safe? and share your experiences with gaming the women there.

I been to Colombia, Panama, Brazil. I have always wanted to go to Venezuela, but with Hugo Chavez in power, the difficulty to exchange cash and the high murder rate, my lack of spanish deters me from making an excursion.

bring it up gents! gracias!

[whosyourdaddy]

i met a couple of guys from venezuela in China. They said that its great because no on visits there anymore due to Chavez. Safety however is a bit of an issue, but they said that it would be best if you had some local connections while there.

[Gringuito]

I've been in Venezuela quite a few times in the past 2 years. I've been to San Cristóbal, which is close to the Colombian border. I drive across the border and have been lucky not to have been hassled by the border guards. (I'm always driving with Venezuelans) Some of the people are nice but distant and others downright hate you as soon as they see you (yankee de mierdo). Last time I went was for a funeral. You change your dollars (not COP) on the Colombian side of the border for the best exchange rate. I always use the black market since they seem to be paying almost double the official rate. Make sure a local changes your dollars or you'll get the official rate. I didn't run into many people that spoke more than a few words of English.

[nomadicdude]

I went in 2010 and it was all right. Spent one night in Caracas then two weeks in Margarita Island, which is safe by Venezuelan standards and has some really nice beaches. I wish I had gone to Merida too as I heard that's student central.

Caracas is a dump but I didn't really feel necessarily unsafe in the area I was in. Bigger problem was the currency. If you change dollars on the black market you get like a 100% higher rate or something, which makes the country pretty cheap. I didn't do this though, used the ATM machines and ended up paying double. Was afraid of getting ripped off by the money changers as my Spanish sucks and they are known to be shady as fuck.

Oh another problem was that I felt like most ppl were pretty unhappy, maybe that's cause of Chavez? I dunno, but elsewhere in Latin America ppl usually see so happy but in Venezuela it just seemed almost eastern European-ish.

To be honest, I didn't see that many attractive girls, but it wasn't high season and Margarita Island didn't really have much nightlife. Anyway, don't listen to the US State Dept bullshit about Venezuela. It has problems, but its not that bad.

[chinogringo]

I have a friend that just got back from Venezuela. She was catered around by extended family the entire trip. Her family there has money and showed her a VERY good time. If you have any contacts that live in Venezuela I would highly recommend going just based off of my friend's experience. The whisky and rum there is top notch. She brought back a few bottles of some really high quality liquor.

As far as backpacking and roughing it there, I would definitely watch my back. I could only imagine it to be similar to the streets of Lima ie shady.