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Feel like Indiana Jones in Venezuela

Grand Venezuela Tour

Join our group tour to Venezuela. A country of many extremes. Together we will get acquainted with the impressive and vibrant capital city of Caracas, before traveling on to see the famous Catatumbo Lightning. To top it all off we visit the world famous Angel Falls and Andes Mountains. During the trip you will be assisted by experienced local and Western guides.

InStock
CultureRoad Travel
Trip
Group A: EUR 2095 2095
Trip
Group B: EUR 3695 3695
Grand Venezuela Tour

General info

Start dateTuesday 8 October 2024
End date14 / 19 October 2024
Days7 / 12 days
PriceGroup A: € 2,095
Group B: € 3,695
IncludingAccommodation (shared)
Transportation on the ground
Western & local guide
Entry fees
ExcludingInternational flights
Group A: single room € 175
Group B: single room € 350
Insurance
Visa
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Tips for the guide
Personal expenses
This offer is covered by the STO Garant guarantee. You can find the conditions for this guarantee scheme on STO Garant’s website.

Itinerary

Tuesday 8 October – Caracas

  • Arrive at your own convenience in Caracas. While the city used to be known as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, these days it’s a lot more relaxed which gives it the typical Latin America city-vibe.
  • Meet the group at 6:00 PM for dinner.
  • Overnight stay in Caracas.

Wednesday 9 October – Caracas

  • At 10:00 AM we start our city tour.
  • Highlight: We head for the historical centre of Caracas. Once this area was full with tourists admiring the old colonial architecture, now it’s just the Venezuelans who are doing their shopping here.
  • We’ll visit Simon Bolivar’s Birthhouse and the National Pantheon, the place where he is buried.
  • During our walk we’ll come across Plaza Bolivar (the main square of the city), the Cathedral, City Hall and the National Assembly.
  • Highlight: We will visit the Eternal Commander Hugo Chavez Mausoleum in Cuartel de la Montaña. His mausoleum is located in one of the socialist districts of the city; 23 de Enero.
  • We take a short walk through the 23 de Enero neighbourhood. This socialist neighbourhood was a stronghold of socialism during the Chavez era. Our guide explains exactly what this meant for the local population.
  • We’ll take the car and head for Próceres, the street is heavily controlled by military, as this is the street where all the military parades take place.
  • Next to it is the Monumento a los Próceres, two giant walls with images of the most important figures of the Venezuelan history.
  • Overnight stay in Caracas.

Thursday 10 October – Caracas – Canaima National Park

  • Early in the morning we’ll head to the airport for our flight to Canaima National Park, located in the southeast of the country.
  • At 8:30 AM we take a flight to Canaima National Park.
  • Upon arrival we’ll meet our local guide who will take us around Canaima National Park.
  • Highlight: After a short drive we take our motorized canoe for the trip to Angel Falls. On the way we sail through the Carrao and the Churún river while we have a beautiful landscape in the background. The boat trip will take around 4/5 hours, but we’ll break it up with a lunch stop at a waterfall, next to the river.
  • After a last stop on a pink beach we’ll take the final stretch to our camp, next to Angel Falls,  flowing from the top of Mount Auyán-Tepuy. With a height of approx. 1 km the waterfall is the highest in the world.
  • Our local guide, including cooks will prepare an amazing meal for us, while we can see from our camp Angel Falls.
  • At night we’ll sleep in hammock, from which you’ll have a view of the fall.

Friday 11 October – Canaima National Park

  • After breakfast we cross the river and start the hike through the jungle (around 1.5h) to Angel Falls.
  • Highlight: Our first stop is the Mirrador Salto Angel, from where you’ll have a picture-perfect view of the falls.
  • Next is another hour treck to the Japanese viewpoint (named after the Japanese who often came here for quick photos). Here you’ll see the falls from the side.
  • Time for a swim! We descent to the Angel Falls pool, where you can swim in the water coming directly from the top.
  • We return to our camp where a freshly prepared lunch will be waiting for us.
  • After lunch we take our motorized canoe again and we return to the start of Canaima National Park.
  • We’ll stop this time at Mayupa Village, a small village where the people still live a traditional life.
  • Once more we’ll spend a night in our comfortable hammock with falling asleep to the sound of frogs and crickets.

Saturday 12 October – Canaima National Park

  • We’ll have breakfast in the village, after which we’ll say goodbye to them. Time to slowly head back to the main village of Canaima.
  • Highlight: After a short boat ride and hike we arrive at Sapo Falls. First we’ll see it from the top and afterwards we descent down and take a walk behind the falls. An incredible experience as the waterfall is extremely powerful and intimidating. You will return completely soaked, but also full with adrenaline!
  • Highlight: We’ll take a short hike towards the beach at Canaima Lagoon. Take a dip in the water before we head to the Hacha Falls. Due to the enormous power of the water we can only watch it from our boat, but its still an incredible experience.
  • When we arrive in Canaima village we’ll head to the Posada were we’ll stay for the night. Not a hammock this time, but a real bed!
  • Free time to explore the village of Canaima or to hang around at the beach and take a dip.
  • We’ll head for dinner at the local school, where they prepared a special local dinner for us.
  • Overnight stay in Canaima village.

Sunday 13 October – Canaima National Park – Caracas

  • After breakfast we head for the tiny airport to catch our 9.30 AM flight back to Caracas.
  • We’ll stat exploring the immense city of Caracas, up to 4 million people live in the city, huge class difference. While a lot of socialist street art has been removed in the past few years, you’ll still see every now and then the picture of Chavez on a wall.
  • Highlight: We spent the rest of the day in the San Agustín area of Caracas. This area serves as the cultural center of the city, boasting several art museums and a vibrant salsa culture in many of its bars.
  • Overnight stay in Caracas.

Monday 14 October –Caracas – El Vigia – Lake Maracaibo

  • Group A: End of the tour, depart on your own convenience.
  • Group B: At 9:00AM we catch our flight to EL Vigia, close to Lake Maracaibo.
  • Drive to Puerto Concha, a harbour village on Lake Maracaibo.
  • Transfer to a boat in Puerto Concha. We stock up on food and drinks as there won’t be anything available for the next 24h.
  • Maracaibo Lake is the largest lake in South America, with a bit of luck we’ll spot pink dolphins during our boat trip.
  • After lunch on an abandoned platform (which was once the entrance to the Juan Manuel National Park) we continue to Ologo, the water village where we’ll overnight. In total we’ll spend around 4h on the boat until we arrive at the village.
  • Upon arrival at the village we’ll explore the unique culture of the water houses. The people are not used to tourism here at all, so you might see a few curious faces.
  • We head to our camp (a floating house on the water), where we will have a barbecue and install our hammocks.
  • Highlight: We will try to experience the Catatumbo Lightning. This special phenomenon takes place 140-160 days a year. It can take place up to 10 hours a day and up to 280 times an hour.
  • Overnight stay in a hammock in Ologa Camp.

Tuesday 15 October – Lake Maracaibo

  • After a short night (due to the incredible lightning) we’ll pack our bags and head for the (almost) abandoned Congo Mirrador village. Due to pollution people had to move to other places. Some took their whole house and floated it to a different spot, others just left it there. However, recently a few families have come back to the village.
  • NOTE: if the first night the Catacumbo Lightning was unsuccessful, we will alter the program so that we can try to catch it on the second night.
  • We continue by boat to Puerto Concha, with a bit of luck we see several animals, including the aracari, otter, tiger cat, capuchin monkey, tamanduas, caiman and many others.
  • After arrival in Puerto Concha we’ll have lunch and continue towards Merida (3h drive).
  • Along the way we will stop at sugar cane factory and a coffee and cacao plantation.
  • Merida is situated in the Andes mountains and has therefore the perfect climate. It’s also known as the extreme sports capital of Venezuela.
  • Overnight stay in Merida.

Wednesday 16 October – Merida – San Raffael

  • In the morning we will take a walking tour through Merida. The city is famous for its revolts agains the government, whch means you’ll see lots of socialist street art around the town.
  • During the city walk we’ll see the Plaza Heroinas, Paza de Milla and the Mérida Bolivarian Library.
  • After the city tour we’ll head for the mountains of the Andes.
  • We’ll stop at various pitoresque villages like Tabay and Mucuchies, where will also opt for a lunch.
  • Along the way we stop at El Vergel, from where we’ll take a 1h hike towards a hot spring.
  • Highlight: 2 different baths are available to try, from where you’ll have an incredible view over the valley.
  • After the hot springs we continue to San Raffael, the highest town in Venezuela at 3300m.
  • We’ll end the day with an amazing 2h hike between two glacier lakes, from Laguna de Mucabaji to Lago Victoria.
  • Overnight stay in our hotel.

Thursday 17 October – San Raffael – Merida

  • We’ll head down again towards Merida with along the way various stops.
  • Highlight: In Merida we’ll take the cable car towards the highest point of Venezuela – Pico Bolivar (4978m).
  • Merida is known as one of the best spots in the world for paragliding, if you like we can arrange a trip for you (70 USD). For those who don’t want to go paragliding we’ll go on a bird watching tour.
  • Overnight stay in Merida.

Friday 18 October – Merida – Caracas

  • Free morning before we head to the airport for our return flight to Caracas.
  • Departure to El Vieja for our afternoon flight back to Caracas.
  • We’ll stay close to the airport this time. From here you can walk to the beach or you can enjoy the pool of the hotel.

Saturday 19 October – Caracas

  • End of the tour, depart on your own convenience.