Currency to display:

1 Visiting Venezuela
2 Entering Venezuela with a Car or Motorbike
3 Driving in Venezuela
4 Gas and Diesel price in Venezuela
5 Safety and Security Considerations
6 Camping in Venezuela
7 Navigation
8 Special Overland Travel interests
9 Vehicle Maintenance
10 Buy or sell a car or motorbike in Venezuela
11 References
12 Helpful External links

Visiting Venezuela

Give a brief overview of what it's like to visit. How easy is the border, how safe is the country, are there great things to see and do, etc.

Entering Venezuela with a Car or Motorbike

Correct as of: July 2013

Required Paperwork

Passport of registered owner.
Drivers license of registered owner.
Original vehicle registration.
Third Party Vehicle Insurance for Venezuela (may be an international insurance as long as there is "proof")

Process at border

(To check if you need a travel Visa for Venezuela, application instructions and fees see: Venezuela Visa online application at VisaHQ.com)
Just past the border, you need to stamp your passport. This is not necessarily to be done the person him/herself. If you are traveling with 2 or more persons, the other person can already go to the office to stamp the passports. -This depends on the border as we (Lost World Expedition) were asked to both be present at the Brasil/Venezuela border

Cost of entry

No entry fee

Permitted length of stay

90 days for passport and vehicle import permit

Extension of stay

Describe the process to extend the permitted length of entry for the vehicle, if possible.

Storing a vehicle and temporarily leaving the country

Describe if/how a vehicle can be stored, and for how long.
Also mention if the owner / temporary importer can leave the country while the vehicle is in storage.

Exiting with a vehicle

Drop of vehicle import note with aduana

Driving in Venezuela

Insurance requirements

Car insurance is required in Venezuela. You can’t buy it at the border. We bought insurance in Santa Rita (by plaza), a town just beyond Maracaibo

Cost of insurance

$35.00 USD for 1 year (minimum period).

Look for Shopping Centres, they usually have a booth that sells it. you are looking for "SOAT"

Driving license

State the kind of driving licenses required. i.e. International Driving Permit.

Driving side of road

Right.
RHD vehicles can be driven in Venezuela without a problem.

Mandatory items in vehicle

State any mandatory items that must be carried in the vehicle. (i.e. safety triangle, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc.)

Roads

General Road quality

Usually the roads are in good condition, there are highways that pass through major cities in very good condition.

Road signs

Briefly describe the overall quality & existence of road signs for directions and hazards.

Toll roads

There are almost no toll roads in Venezuela. 99% of the toll booths that you pass through are not in use, everyone just slows down a little. There will often be a police presence there.

Bribery in Venezuela

The bribery can be common if your vehicle is seen colorful, this can arouse the interest of the authorities and their curiosity, a good way to handle this is to remain friendly and calm, if authorities percisten you can negotiate a bit, but never for very large amounts of money.
See the bribery tips page for advice.

A very good way to avoid having to pay money to police officers or others, is to act like you absolutely don't understand them. Utter a few basic words in your worst Spanish, look them very friendly in the eye, look like you are having difficulty understanding even the simplest words, and keep on doing that till they let you go. Most of them don't speak English anyway. And if they do speak a little English, you could for example demand that they call your ambassador to translate properly. Big chance that they back off.

Checkpoints

Now and then you'll meet some checkpoints, and even some kind of customs (in between two districts). When your paperwork is okay, most of them will give you no problems, and we met some very friendly people at those points. Other checkpoints people were very "stiff", but also correct. At just a few checkpoints they'll try to get money from you (see "bribery"). If your papers are okay and they still give you problems, try to stay friendly and keep on saying the same things over and over again, like you don't understand them, till they let you go.

Traveling with pets

List the entry requirements and anything else required to travel with a pet.

Gas and Diesel price in Venezuela

Last updated: June 2013

Currency and unit to display:

Price will depend also on which exchange rate you use official or black market. In June 2013, with the "black market" exchange rage, 160 Liters of diesel was less than $1USD - for all intents and purposes it's close enough to free.

Gasoline Grade	Price
Regular	€0.02 EUR per Liter
Super (88)	??
Premium (90)	??
Ultra (95)	??
Diesel	$0.07 USD per Liter

Link to external websites with price & quality information, if available.

Gas and Diesel Availability / Frequency

Briefly describe if gas shortages are known to occur.
Also state the approximate average distance between gas stations. This is a very rough estimate.

Gas and Diesel Quality

It is very difficult if not impossible to get fuel within a few hundred KM of the borders for any vehicle without a Venezuelan number plate. When you enter, be sure you can cover 300km or so.

The diesel quality in general seemed fine, however the diesel quality of some "black market" diesel at the brazil border was so bad it blocked our fuel filters within 20km.

Safety and Security Considerations

Driving at night

Discuss driving at night and if it should it be avoided. Mention why.

Vehicle parking

Discuss if vehicles can be parked on the street, if they are considered "safe" at night. If vehicles can not be parked on the street, list the other options that exist.

Special driving considerations

A List of special things to be careful of (i.e. Unsigned speed bumps, abnormal road rules, people or animals on the road, etc.).
List any roads that are not recommended to drive for safety or other security reasons.

Security advisories and information

Camping in Venezuela

Describe if organized "pay" camping is common. List the facilities commonly found at these campsites.
List the approximate average price range of camping in organized campgrounds.
Also discuss the possibility of "wild" or "roadside" camping. How common is it? Is it considered safe, or a bad idea.

Camping guide books

List and link to books specifically for camping.

Drinking water

We traveled by camping truck with a huge water tank. We refilled at water shops who sold the 20L water cooler bottles. We would refil our tank while parked outside these stores. This was working out at about Error in price tag: The currency attribute must be specified. per bottle. There were taps at some fuel stations, but when we asked we were told it was not potable. Even the fuel station staff were using the 20L water bottles for drinking.

Navigation

Paper maps

Description of the best paper maps and where to purchase them.

GPS Maps of Venezuela

Review different GPS companies, quality and coverage (Tomtom, Garmin, OSM, Tracks4Africa). (with links to each).

GPS co-ordinates for camping, propane, gas, repairs, etc. in Venezuela

Link to sites that have a list of GPS co-ordinates (or directions) for camping locations (including "wild" campsites), propane filling, gas stations, repair shops, places of interest, etc.