Earlier in 2025, I visited Venezuela. It was my first visit to a South American country, and honestly I decided pretty last minute to go (thank you, visa on arrival) so I hadn’t done a huge amount of research. Venezuela has been through quite a bit of turmoil in recent years, and tourist numbers have really dropped. But it is possible to visit and have an amazing time, albeit you absolutely need to go with an organised agency if you wan’t any chance of getting into the country and seeing the highlights without issue.
I spent six days seeing Caracas, Orinoco Delta, and Canaima National Park – aka the main highlights. Here are seven things that really surprised me throughout my visit.
1 – The nature is BEAUTIFUL
Ok maybe if I had googled Venezuela before deciding to go on this trip, I might’ve known this. But I kind of didn’t, or at least not in detail. But oh my goodness. From the moment I could see land from the plane, I was obsessed. Within hours of landing, I saw macaws just flying around the suburbs of Caracas. When I headed down to Orinoco, the scenes on the delta and in the jungle were just unbelievable. And then there was Canaima, which really is worth the hype. Potentially unpopular opinion – the waterfalls in Canaima are actually way better than Angel Falls itself… Though Angel Falls is also incredible. I was not a bird person, or really a nature person, before this trip. But now I am. The mosquitos kind of sucked, and I left southern Venezuela with over 50 bites, but that was to be expected.
2 – Caracas is actually quite chill
Ok, chill might be an overstatement. There is an element of chaos, as you’d expect in any South American capital city. But it felt quite safe walking around, even at night, as long as you take the same precautions that you’d take anywhere else. During the day, you could quite easily hail cabs on the local cab app (yummy rides), you could wander around, visit tourist sights, take photos, and ask locals for directions. I took a walking tour of Caracas and had a great time seeing the street art, national monuments, and museums.
3 – National Heroes everywhere
Simón Bolívar, who led several South American countries including Venezuela to independence, and Hugo Chávez, former president famous for his modern socialist movement, are both represented strongly throughout the country. You’ll see murals all over, in the cities and in small towns, as well as statues, faces on the sides of buildings, and more. If you take a city tour in Caracas, you’ll hear much more about their influence. You’ll also likely visit the Chávez mausoleum and revolution museum, which is super interesting. I learned so much about Venezuela’s history from this.
4 – Everything is super expensive
This shouldn’t have been a surprise really, considering the recent political and economic turmoil. But it really shocked me. I went to buy a magnum ice cream and it was $5 USD. A dinner with a couple of small plates and a couple of beers was $40 per person (the beers were the cheap part, often less than $1…). If you want to do things that are normally expensive anyway, like take a helicopter ride over Angel Falls, prices are also sky high. Here it was $500 per person for an hour ride, other countries where I’ve seen this have been more like $100-200… Make sure you take enough cash. You can use USD to pay for things, though you’ll receive your change in local currency.
5 – Card machines actually worked
I really hadn’t expected this to be the case. I had kind of assumed with sanctions and other restrictions that foreign cards just wouldn’t be accepted. But they were, at least in airports, and larger restaurants. I didn’t try ATMs, but just being able to make a couple of card payments here and there meant I could save my USD for other cash-heavy parts of the trip.
6 – The food was not a highlight
I was under a slightly misguided illusion that everywhere south of the USA had amazing food. And don’t get me wrong, the food wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t incredible either. Arepas (maize flatbread with a filling) and empanadas (stuffed pastries) were ok but didn’t leave me excited to rush to the nearest Venezuelan restaurant I can find elsewhere.
7 – Entering the country was not as complicated as expected
My personal experience was a positive one. I can get visa on arrival, which helps. I had been expecting long waits, lots of questions at the border, and possibly lots of bag searching. This wasn’t the case. A pro tip: sit right at the front of the plane, pay extra to reserve the seat there if you have to. This way you’ll be front of line and honestly it makes 1-2 hours different wait-time wise. I was done and stamped in within 45 mins of leaving the plane. They did ask for paper copies of my visit itinerary, hotel bookings, and inbound and outbound flights, and took a while processing this info. I went with an agency that provided a personalised itinerary with my name and passport number which also helped with the info needed. When I left the country they also asked for all of my upcoming flights until I reached my home country.
All in all, Venezuela was incredible, I’m so glad this was my first introduction to this part of the world, and I can’t wait to see more.
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