Venezuela - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 860

tour agencies is rarely unbiased,
independent travellers will find them
useful, as they are more in touch with
current public transport schedules and
black market exchange rates.
A variety of country and regional maps
is available in Venezuela, the best being
Miro Popic's Guia Vial de Venezuela/Atlas
de Carreteras and individual city maps.
Elizabeth Klein's guidebooks to Venezuela
are also an excellent source of informa-
tion, and these, along with maps, are
available in most bookshops.

USEFUL NUMBERS
All-purpose, nationwide emergency
hotline T 171
All-purpose, nationwide information
hotline T 131

cannabis), cocaine and base (unrefined
cocaine). Although it's unlikely that you
will be offered drugs, illicit substances
should be avoided due to unpredictable
police searches and serious penalties
for possession.

HEALTH
The main illnesses in Venezuela are
dengue fever, yellow fever, hepatitis A,
hepatitis B and malaria. Make sure
you consult a doctor before travelling;
they will be able to recommend which
vaccinations to get pre-trip. You may
be asked for a certificate of yellow-fever
vaccination when entering the country.
The vaccination should be procured four
weeks in advance to ensure effectiveness.
Malaria is a risk in rural parts of the
country, so if you're planning on staying
in remote areas such as the Orinoco
Delta, a course of anti-malarials and
sufficient repellent is advisable.
Good medical care is available in
Venezuela, although this tends to be of
a higher standard in Caracas than in the
rest of the country. It may be very hard
to find a hospital with good facilities,
let alone good doctors, in remote areas.
Foreigners tend to rely on private clinics,
which offer high-quality service.

MONEY AND BANKS
Money - and how to get the most value
from it - is likely to be your biggest
concern while in Venezuela. The country's
economy is extremely volatile, with a
devaluation in 2013, in the aftermath of
the 2012 presidential elections. Rather
than leaving it to the country's stock
exchange, the Bolívar Fuerte's official
value is dictated by the government at
rates vastly higher than the reality.
Consequently, Venezuelans and foreigners
alike resort to foreign currency
transactions through the black market ,
or mercado paralelo (see p.858). Very
importantly, all prices given in
Venezuelan currency in this chapter are
based on the o cial exchange rate .
Bank hours vary hugely, but are
generally open Monday to Friday,
8am to 4pm, and many offer 24-hour
access to ATMs. VISA and MasterCard
are the most widely accepted bank cards.
Two reliable banks are Banco Coroní
( W bancocoroni.com.ve) and Banco
Mercantíl ( W bancomercantil.com),
both found in most sizeable towns.
Exchange houses , such as Italcambio,
also exist, though their exchange rates
are worse than the banks; they do
however exchange travellers' cheques
for a commission.

11

INFORMATION AND MAPS
What Venezuela's tourism officials
- Inatur ( W inatur.gob.ve), Venetur
( W venetur.gob.ve) and Mintur ( W mintur
.gob.ve) - lack in useful knowledge for
budget travellers, they make up for with
charm and enthusiasm. Unfortunately,
many offices don't abide by any logical
schedule. Additionally, each state has its
own tourism entity located in its capital
city. Tourist offices are listed under
“Information” throughout the guide.
Though information provided by private

OPENING HOURS AND HOLIDAYS
Most shops are open from 8am until
7pm on weekdays, often closing for lunch
from around 12.30pm until 2 or 3pm.
Shopping centres , however, generally stay