Venezuela : Safety by CityVenezuela is a country located in South America with a shoreline along the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.
It shares its borders with Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east and Brazil to the south, and it’s located in a manner that connects North and South America, right on the main sea and air routes.
Right off its coast sit the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and Trinidad, and Tobago.
Venezuela, although not the safest of countries, really has to offer an abundance of gorgeous sights and activities, like the Angel Falls that sit in the Guiana Highlands, and that is the world’s highest waterfall.
It is no wonder that this is of Venezuela’s major tourist attractions.
Tourists also love to visit its coastline which is the longest coastline on the Caribbean sea.
Don’t forget that Venezuela is the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter with enormous reserves of natural gas.
Ecologically, Venezuela is extremely diverse with more than 40% of its national territory being covered by protected areas.
Warnings & Dangers in Venezuela
OVERALL RISK: HIGH
Venezuela is not safe for foreigners. Keep that in mind while you plan your trip to your country, remain vigilant at all times as both petty and violent crimes exist in abundance here. Apply maximum possible precaution measures.
TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: MEDIUM
Pickpockets operate mostly in buses and subway stations so be careful. Know that the roads are also extremely dangerous as carjacking is a regular occurrence. Buses and trains are also known for robberies.
PICKPOCKETS RISK: HIGH
Pickpockets are virtually everywhere in Venezuela. Pickpocketing and bag snatching are the most common forms of petty crime. Refrain from wearing anything remotely valuable outside.
NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: MEDIUM
As for the natural disasters that hit Venezuela, you can expect floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Floods are expected mostly in the period between May and December while the hurricane season lasts from June to November.
MUGGING RISK: HIGH
Violent crimes are also the norm here, and kidnappings as well. There's a new expression developed in this country, "express kidnapping" which means foreigners being kidnapped and possibly tortured until they use their credit card to empty their account and give their money to the muggers. Be extremely careful everywhere.
TERRORISM RISK: LOW
There haven't been any terrorist attacks in Venezuela's recent history. However, they shouldn't be ruled out, so be aware of your surroundings at all times.
SCAMS RISK: HIGH
Be wary of the so-called "virtual kidnappings". Locals in Venezuela generally never complete questionnaires or surveys because they're actually scams devised in order to collect information on you and your family members. Also, don't fall for the airport tax scam: be careful not to get overcharged when paying airport tax for both international and domestic flights.
WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: MEDIUM
Many women have traveled to Venezuela without having negative experiences. The fact is, it is no more dangerous to women than it is to men. However, do not walk alone, especially after dark, as you might be perceived as an easier target to muggers and robbers.
So... How Safe Is Venezuela Really?
You should know that Venezuela is not safe for tourists.
The US State Department has released an issue for all tourists to reconsider travel to Venezuela due to crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, and detention of U.S. citizens.
There are numerous areas that are extremely dangerous.
Avoid traveling to certain neighborhoods of Caracas due to crime.
Places, where tourists are relatively safe, are the main tourist areas, but that’s it.
The situation is critical in this country: it has one of the top five highest per capita murder rates in the world, kidnappings that have increased as much as 50% within a period of one year, from 2008 to 2009, while armed robberies are the norm.
Kidnappings of foreign nationals also occur and people have been taken from homes, hotels, unauthorized taxis and airport terminals.
In the past couple of years, an expression “express kidnapping” has developed.
The expression basically refers to short-term opportunistic abductions, with a goal of extorting money from the victim.
Victims are selected randomly and held while criminals force them to use their cash cards to empty their bank accounts.
Once they get the money, they release the victim.
It doesn’t last more than an hour, but it is commonly followed by violence and is generally a terrifying experience.
You also have to be extremely careful on the road, where you are more exposed than in your home.
Carjackings happen both during day and night.
Do not rent or drive an expensive-looking vehicle as they are targeted and attract attention.
The carjackings are executed by armed gangs ramming the victim’s vehicle from behind, or flagging them down in order to rob them.
Whatever you do, don’t resist – it can end in them shooting the victim dead.
How Does Venezuela Compare?
| Country | Safety Index |
|---|---|
| Venezuela | 33 |
| Morocco | 54 |
| Slovenia | 87 |
| Bulgaria | 80 |
| Vietnam | 73 |
| Portugal | 57 |
| Japan | 83 |
| Ghana | 73 |
| Australia | 86 |
Useful Information
Visas
Most countries do need a visa in order to enter Venezuela and they cannot be acquired upon arrival or at any of the airports. Make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months from the date of arrival in Venezuela. If you are not sure about your visa status, visit www.doyouneedvisa.com which will let you know whether or not you need a visa based on your nationality and the country you want to visit.
Currency
There are two currencies in Venezuela: Venezuelan Bolivar and Petro. ATMs are widespread throughout the country, but they don't all accept foreign credit cards. Banco Provincial and Mercantil accept foreign cards. Credit cards are accepted in most establishments in major cities.
Weather
Venezuela has mostly tropical climate, on the coastline and even in the lowland areas. However, the mountainous region of the country is much cooler, with temperatures there dropping to as low as 9°C. Venezuela has a rainy season that lasts from May to December, and a hurricane season that lasts from June to November.
Airports
Simón Bolívar International Airport is the main international airport located in Maiquetía, Vargas. It is located about 21 km from downtown Caracas.
Travel Insurance
Just like anywhere else, we recommend getting travel insurance when traveling to Venezuela, since it covers not only the costs of medical problems but also theft and loss of valuables.
Venezuela Weather Averages (Temperatures)
Average High/Low Temperature
| Temperature / Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °C | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
| Low °C | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 |
| High °F | 81 | 82 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 82 | 82 | 82 | 82 | 82 | 82 | 81 |
| Low °F | 63 | 63 | 64 | 66 | 68 | 68 | 68 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 64 |
Venezuela - Safety by City
| City | Safety Index |
|---|---|
| Caracas | 28 |
| Porlamar | 62 |
Calm and Tranquil
Wonderful!
Get rid of the e. Hugh Gashol. I like it though.
Woman risk medium?. Few years ago , miss world travel to her own country and her British husband’. Both rubbed and killed . Ultra high risk to get murder ..
MURDER KIDNAPPING DRUG SMUGGLING CORRUPT GOVERNMENT ! GOD BLESS THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE. I PRAY FOR YOU. MADURO MUST DIE AND ROT IN HELL!!!!
Lived there for a year in 2010. Interrogated at the airport. Airport “official” tried to steal my passport as a I was trying to get back to Canada. Water from taps was brown. No electricity for hours at a time. Rolling blackouts due to corrupt government. Fast forward to 2020 and things are SO SO MUCH WORSE. No food, no medicine, coronavirus outbreak. They will Kill you for money, cell phone, food, car, shoes. Anything that you have, the government run colectivos will Kill you. Maduro will burn in hell along with his cronies and Hugo Chavez. Do not go there until there is a regime change. My wife is Venezuelan and she will never go back. Thank God she got her parents out of there. Most dangerous place on Earth.
Thank you for your honest and by what else I’ve read, accurate review and warning. I have a partner there and I was considering visiting Venezuela, not anymore!
I was thinking of visiting San Felipe Venezuela I am hoping it won’t be that bad… but I will do my research and see how things are down in Venezuela.
Please don’t go. Not safe at all
Yes exactly. PLEASE USE YOUR COMMENT SENSE. LEVEL 4 AVOID ALL TRAVEL.
Worst place on Earth. Do not go there. Zero rating.
Murder Capital of the World.
it’s so sad to see what venezuela’s become 🙁 such a beautiful country with amazing people! but it’s impossible nowadays… just sad
Lived for 3 years. no issues whatsoever, beautul beaches, good rum nice weather.
When was that….back in the 50s?
May he went down further like to Brazil or Argentina. Going to Venezuela it’s just like been in a war zone!
Don’t go here
I only lived here for two years before my family moved to the United States… but the stories my mom tells me are really horrific. It’s really dangerous, and much, much worse with the added coronavirus pandemic. Please don’t go here unless it’s absolutely necessary, or you will leave injured, robbed, or not leave at all (die here).
Amazing place, just be a bit careful downtown & at night
Ay ay ay…..no. It may be dangerous but my family thrives in Venezuela and only die of natural causes. Rlly nice ppl. Im not saying that there are criminals, my grandmas phone got stolen once. But thats IT. As a Venezuelan girl, amazing food,music (listing to it right now & vibing) and we have one of the tallest waterfalls in the world. Our president is TERRIBLE but ye, anything else is amazing. I recommend Arepas!
Don't go to Venezuela
Your family thrives there because they have adapted. The problem is that we as Venezuelans see the crimes as something common, we couldn’t leave the country so we had to comply, WE NORMALIZED CRIME, and you know that!!! but when you live in a first world country you understand that it was never OK, and we were just prisoners in our own country.
Jen,
It’s either that they have adapted as you said, and they think that atrocities that happen there are expected on this planet because they haven’t lived in a developed country or they are connected “enchufados” somehow with the tyrants that they have in their government and getting benefits from their corrupted system. It seems that his or her family is not getting the benefits of being part of their government because that Venezuelan said that their president was “TERRIBLE” and she or he could be in very grave trouble if their government members are aware of those adjectives that person is using about their dumbass president. With that said, I’m almost sure that they fall in the bracket of those who are prisoners of their lack of knowledge. This would be an excellent example of the Stockholm Syndrom to teach in schools and universities around the world to properly educate human beings to start combating and decreasing this kind of pure anarchic dictatorship.
The documentary named “How to Become a Tyrant”, and that Venezuelan individual and his/her family should watch it, of course, if it is available to get accessed in Venezuelan because I bet it’s banned there, played by Netflix explains how these brutal and cruelest geniuses including Lenin in Russia, Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union, Adolf Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy, Hirohito in Japan, Muammar Gaddafi in Lybia, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Idi Amin in Uganda, Fidel Castro in Cuba, Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Chavez and Maduro in Venezuela, Kim Jong Un in North Korea and his amazing granddaddy and daddy, and so on, follow a recipe or playbook for absolute power, outrageously enrich themselves, and rule with an iron fist massacring or eliminating whoever stands in their way.
I was born in Venezuela and lived there for 31 years, and the best decision I have done in my life was to get out from there 20 years ago to live in a decent way without the extreme fear of being killed in one of their daily robberies or express kidnappings, or basically die of starvation or from the stress produced by their anarchy, electrical outages, lack of running potable water.
My recommendation to that person, if she/he doesn’t mind, is to live sometime in a developed country and to invest a little more effort to get better educated so they can be able to escape from that mental prison.
It’s a shame that I cannot grade her comment with something less than terrible or one star.
My recommendation to anybody who reads this input is as follows: If you want to get a hell experience in a place where you don’t have any warranties to come back alive or whole, you can go to Venezuela.
And, I feel a profound shame because Venezuela was blessed with all kinds of natural resources and it had the biggest oil reservoir in the world, but there is no sack that can withstand the constant theft from their own functionally illiterate government members and whoever clown is connected to that corrupted and atrocious system, and this is why Venezuela is one of the worst places in this planet nowadays.
Hope this helps with your travel decisions.
Venezuela needs tourism
I spent 4 years in Venezuela and I was robbed once in my last 3 months. I travelled extensively throughout the country alone as a blonde, blue eyed European. The “Guardia Nacional” and the Venezuelan police were extremely polite and very helpful. I loved my time in this extremely beautiful country. Of course I was extremely aware of my surroundings 24/7. Most of South America is dangerous but Caracas has ALWAYS been extremely dangerous. I was there in the 1980’s and the 1990’s. It really was hell on Earth so I avoided it completely on this 4 year stay.
Is it safe for tourist. we want to travel to Venezuela from Trinidad and Tobago.
It isn't safe right now
It is not safe for tourists. They are currently having a humanitarian crisis. Please reconsider going there!
...
my mum went to Venezuela she liked it.But she went on an island.
That island its Margarita island!
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Avoid all travel purposes, essential or non essential. but if you want to go, avoid the slums and risky areas.
Mostly accurate
The article is mostly accurate except for a few points:
– Woman safety. By saying that the place is equally unsafe for both genders automatically makes it a high risk instead of a medium. Also, if you’re a remotely attractive woman, get ready for some serious cat calling, just like in your average latin American country
– How prevalent murders are should be stressed more, criminals are armed to the teeth and wont hesitate to open fire if they don’t get what they want, or even because of mere sport, it is a cultural thing
– Even mentioning the risk of an earthquake is silly, you’ll get mugged a thousand times before feeling a remotely threatening tremor
Bottom line, don’t risk it. Similar natural beauties can be found in the neighboring and (relatively safer) countries, even the typical food is widely available in most Spanish speaking countries as huge Venezuelan colonies have been established by the more and more migrants running away from the unbearable situation there
Source: Venezuelan
It gets worse as time goes by
This is one of those cases where you should believe all the red flags. We’ve only had the misfortune of visiting it once, four years ago, but I wouldn’t go back unless it’s an island or the Guianan savanna ecoregion! I know it’s home to lots and lots of tourist attractions but I find it horrible trying to enjoy a foreign location when I have to constantly watch over my shoulder.
Slums should be absolutely no-limits zone, no matter where you find yourself in Venezuela, this is the first thing the guide told us.
Tourists are usually the go-to target, either for hefty ransoms or just for an armed robbery. Luckily this wasn’t the case but I got horrible notifications in the four days we’ve spent in Caracas. Local police have little to no interest in helping you; I’ve lost a film camera which I’m sure was somehow swiped from my backpack but they just told me to give it up after waiting almost two hours to fill a police report. Seriously? They looked like they all wanted to be somewhere else…
ATMS? Not safe, we were warned to use only the ones located inside banks or in very populated areas.
TAXIS? Overpriced, unpleasant and you risk being stopped by robbers.
We then went on to spend a full week in Los Roques which made it seem like we were in a whole different country. The place has almost zero crime, we weren’t disturbed by beggars, the water and the staff was incredibly helpful and accommodating.
Don’t be naive, don’t imagine that this sort of thing only happens to others, Venezuela is a very dangerous place. You might have more luck moving around if you have a friend/relative there but otherwise I would just stick to visiting from the myriad of islands.
Sure, it’s a dangerous country and the government is corrupt, but it’s not a war zone. Due to the current anarchocapitalist model and heavy money laundering by government officials, as of 2022 there has been many new businesses and the economy is slightly better. There are no more food shortages anywhere, they’re just expensive for the lower class. Caracas is very dangerous at night, but the rest of cities suffer from less crime. (personally, i’m from San Cristobal and I have never gotten robbed at gunpoint in my entire life) Of course, if you go around looking like a tourist from a first world country, the chances of something bad happening tend to elevate. Stick to places like Margarita (specifically El Yaque, crime is almost non existant there because they kill criminals to keep that place safe) and Los Roques (the most expensive destination in the country but also the most beautiful and safe)
You’re more likely to be a victim of corruption and authority abuse than robbery or murder, honestly. Be wary at Maiquetía. A good option might be to record any violations, as the current modus operandi is “whatever crime goes viral on social media must be punished”, and they might be scared of that.
Plus, always be with someone who speaks spanish.
Enjoy the adventure if you come. Sure, it’s kind of dangerous and every living being related to the government is a piece of garbage, but the people here are incredibly nice to tourists since we don’t get so many, the beaches are incredible, and the food is superb. Plus the women are gorgeous, too.
Valencia
Has anyone recently (2022) been to Valencia in Venezuela? I’m thinking about going to see a friend before the end of this year?
I lived here for 8 years, everything was bad
I used to live in venezuela from 2010 to 2018, im now almost 13 and boy, Venezuela want really good. sure, it has great food, great culture and beautiful scenery, but over 95% of venezuelans (including me back then, now im in USA) deal with economic struggle. Most of Venezuela is extremely unsafe, and Caracas has more crime than all the other cities. The healthcare is also horrible, once I got a really bad sickness and the medicine I got from there made me feel worse, I feel really bad for my relatives who live there, may Venezuela be better in the future 😢🇻🇪