Carefree Caracas Useful Links
Here we provide a collection of links to websites that we think will interest people who are considering visiting Caracas or Venezuela. You can click on any of the headings below to go the relevant section. When you've visited any of these sites, don't forget to come back to ours.
Tour Operators in your country
Venezuelan Embassies around the World
El Sistema, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra
External Tour Operators
Venezuela has not traditionally been strongly promoted as a holiday destination by most foreign tour operators, particularly the larger ones, mainly because it offers such a variety of holiday experiences that it is difficult to package for the mass market. In addition, the policy of the Venezuelan Government has for many years been focussed on developing sustainable tourism rather than mass-market resorts.
However, there are many tour operators around the world who can arrange a holiday in Venezuela for you; some of them offer a range of well-tried itineraries that take in several different aspects of Venezuela, others specialise in tailor-made tours for small groups and some specialise in particular activities such as fishing, trekking or bird-watching. All of the companies that we mention in this section are members of the the appropriate tour operator organisations (such as ABTA or AITO in the UK) in their countries that offer financial guarantees when you book with one of their members.
We've started with UK-based companies that we know but will expand this section later to include tour operators from other parts of the world.
UK Tour Operators
The people at Geodyssey are passionate about Venezuela and they have been organizing small group holidays and tailor-made individual tours in the country for the past 15 years. If you find the idea of Venezuela's diversity irrestible but are not sure how you can fit beaches, bird-watching, rainforests, paragliding and a visit to the Angel Falls into your time and budget, they have experts who can guide you through the options. They cover every part of the country with a network of hotels, posadas, lodges and guides, all described in their 32-page brochure dedicated to Venezuela.
Sunvil is another long-established UK tour operator that knows Venezuela very well and offers a wide range of standard and bespoke holidays. They describe their holidays as "soft adventure", which means that they can take you to some amazing places where you might have to rough it a bit but will always be in the hands of expert locals.
Venezuelan Tour Operators
Most tourists who come to Venezuela book their holiday with a tour operator in their own country but Venezuela can also be easily enjoyed by independent travellers, especially those who speak a little bit of Spanish. However, there are times when you will need a local tour operator to reach some of the most outstanding attractions. Venezuela has many tour operators that offer a very high standard of service. All of the companies listed below are multilingual, with fluent English obviously, but often French, German, Italian, Portuguese or even Polish as well.
Focused on Ecotourism, Akanan aims to offer authentic, personalized experiences that go beyond conventional outdoor journeys. Their trips are designed to take you to the most beautiful and exciting spots and they prefer, whenever possible, to camp and explore off the beaten path near lakes, rivers and beaches, although they also offer excellent lodges for group accommodations. Akanan was recently awarded the Premio a la Excelencia 2008 for its professionalism and responsible tourism. www.akanan.com
"If you want some adventure, travel through Venezuela, we can help you out. We offer all kinds of extreme sports along Venezuela, and also eco travel from the most remote locations to the closest, trekking through the jungle for many days, to get to the top of Auyantepuy by helicopter and drink champaign on top of Angel Falls. We have a variety of tours to offer, and we can also prepare one, according to your dreams." www.autana.org
Operating since 1987, Cacao offers a full range of services all over Venezuela, including conventional, nature and adventure tours. They have a fleet of jeeps and small buses and their own equipment such as tents, hammocks and camping equipment for adventure tours. They also have their own lodges and posadas in places such as Los Roques, Amazonas, Rio Caura, Barinas (for the Andes and Los Llanos) and Ciudad Bolívar. www.cacaotravel.com
Over the last 15 years Condor Verde has grown to be one of the most successful incoming tour operators in Venezuela, recognised by the Venezuelan Government's "Award for Excellence in Tourism". It works with many leading overseas tour operators and covers all of Venezuela's most important destinations. www.condorverdetravel.com
Venezuelan Embassy Websites
Before visiting a foreign country, it is always a good idea to check the website of its embassy in your own country to see whether there have been any recent changes in matters such as visas, required vaccinations or currency exchange controls. There are several internet sites that provide contact details for embassies around the world but many of them do not seem to check frequently enough whether the links they provide are still working. The links to all of the Venezuelan embassies listed below were working when we last checked them on June 20, 2009.
AustraliaCanada
China
Czech Republic
Finland (plus Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania)
France
Russia
UK and Ireland
USA
El Sistema, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra
For more information about the history, philosophy and current activities of the wonderful "Sistema", visit the website of Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela. Most of their pages are available in excellent English as well as Spanish.
Gustavo Dudamel's personal website (www.gustavodudamel.com) also has a section devoted to El Sistema, as well as information about his forthcoming concerts, including details of each venue.