Venezuela - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget

Travel Reference

In-Depth Information

Tourist information In the lobby of Hotel Venetur

(Paseo La Cruz y El Mar; Mon-Fri 9am-noon & 1-5.30pm;

T 0281 500 3675, W venetur.gob.ve).

Internet In Hotel Neptuno , open 8am-9pm. Sky Intern

@tional, C Maneiro, at Paseo Colón (daily 9am-9pm, Sun

from 1pm). Both cost BsF6/hr.

Laundry There is a nameless lavandería on Av Ravél,

between calles Carabobo & Las Flores (Mon-Fri 7.30am-

6pm, Sat till 3pm, closed Sun).

Pharmacy Meditotal, Paseo Colón across from Plaza

Colón, open 24hr.

Phones Movistar and CANTV are both on Paseo Colón

between calles Maneiro & Buenos Aires. You can also make

international calls from Sky Intern@tional (see above).

Police Located at Av Municipal by the Centro, Comercial

Regina ( T 0281 266 1414).

Post Ipostel, C Freites, at C Libertad, Mon-Fri 8am-4pm.

Shopping There are numerous souvenir shops on the

road to Los Altos de Sucre. Dulcería Alicia on this stretch

sells delicious tarts and cheesecakes. Taller Artesanal

Bogar in Sector Vuelta de Culebra makes local liquor,

sweets and preserves.

ACCOMMODATION

Most of the centre's budget accommodation is strung along

Paseo Colón, putting you right in the middle of the action.

Neptuno Paseo Colón south of C Juncal T 0281 268 5413.

Rooms are clean, all with a/c and en suite, while the

furniture is on its last legs. The hotel lo bby has an internet

café and is, bizarrely, football themed. BsF220

Posada Rancho Grande Paseo Colón between calles

Buenos Aires & Sucre T 0414 093 4020. You'll need to bang

on the door of this posada in the morning as they don't

turn the bell on before lunch. The outlandish owner is a bit

of a wheeler-dealer and will happily bargain a discount for

a multiple-night stay. Small, clean rooms (en suite, TV , a/c),

although none with windows facing outside. BsF200

Posada Turística Diana Paseo Colón, just north of

C Sucre T 0281 265 3517. Rooms in this sparsely decorated

posada all lack natu ral light, but are otherwise clean with

en suite, a/c and TV. BsF150

Posada Turística Montecarlo Paseo Colón 119 T 0281

268 5677. The chirping canaries in the lobby do little to

drown out the thundering a/c in this rather brown posada.

Rooms are perfectly decent, all with en suite, a lthough

showers amount to little more than a cold dribble. BsF160

11

PARQUE NACIONAL MOCHIMA

The 950-square-kilometre PARQUE

NACIONAL MOCHIMA was created in 1973

to protect 36 uninhabited cays and the

surrounding coastal area. Teeming with

coral, dolphins and pelicans, and with

laidback locals providing a genial social

life, this area is one of Venezuela's most

undervalued. While the beaches, some of

which are deep-red in colour, aren't as

postcard-perfect as those you'll find in

Morrocoy (see p.882) and Henri Pittier

(see p.878), the snorkelling and scuba-

diving opportunities are far superior.

There are limited services and no banks

or ATMs in Playa Colorado, Santa Fe or

Mochima - stock up on cash in Puerto La

Cruz (see p.909) or Cumaná (see p.909).

EATING

Curiously, Paseo Colón is lined with numerous, nearly identi-

cal Lebanese restaurants serving good-value shawarma ,

kibbe and tabbouleh . These tend to stay open very late.

El Bufalo Paseo Colón 49 T 0281 267 2210. You can't

miss El Bufalo , due in part to the massive angry bovine

stuccoed above the wide entrance. They import some of

their more gourmet cuts from Argentina, while the outside

terrace is a popular nightspot for cheap beers, sea views

and live music on the weekends. Daily 11am-midnight.

La Colmena Paseo Colón, west of C Miranda T 0281 265

2751. A little health-food shop serving up vegetarian food

in the back at lunchtime only. Mon-Fri 11.30am-2.30pm.

Tasca Senador C Miranda north of C Alberto Ravel

T 0414 825 8044. This restaurant has a rather sultry

atmosphere, which nonetheless attracts plenty of of ce

workers on their lunch break for a good-value menú

ejecutivo (BsF40). Has a DJ on Fri & Sat, when things get

rowdy. Mon-Thurs noon-midnight, Fri noon-3am, Sat

8pm-3am.

Playa Colorada

In a protected cove lined with swaying

palm trees, PLAYA COLORADA is rather

winding down from the glory days of

Venezuelan tourism, but nevertheless

offers a welcome retreat from the more

intense coastal towns. Deriving its name

from the stretch of terracotta sand, few

day-trippers ever venture to the other

side of the highway where the town's

numerous posadas and single restaurant

are to be found. The sandbar's visitors

triple at the weekends, but during the

week you'll be left pretty much alone.