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.
DIRECTORY
Banks and exchange
Banco de Venezuela, C Libertad,
at C Miranda; Banco Banesco, C Freites, at C Bolívar.
Hospital
Policlínica Puerto La Cruz, Av 5 de Julio at
C Arismendi, open 24hr (
T
0281 265 6833).
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