General Info

[QuackUp]

Hi Jasoonn, thanks for the info. For some reason I thought I read that all USA Airlines stopped going to Caracas. So I just changed my ticket to a different destination.

[Jasoonnn]

To visit Venezuela just got harder. I was going to Venezuela in a week in a half but just got word from Copa airlines that they have suspended operations to Venezuela for at least 90 days. I believe Copa was the last airlines that went from the USA To Caracas. Anyways, getting the visa wasn't hard, just had to take a short trip to San Francisco. Looks like I will eat the cost of the visa.

Copa was the first one to stop, now ALL flights from Panama to Venezuela have been stopped for 90 days.

I also had a Copa flight, but I changed mine to American Airlines, with the stopover in Miami.

Your options for stopovers are now: Miami, Colombia, Lima, Trinidad (POS airport code).

In news that is probably related, people are getting 450 K + for each dollar changed! This is more than DolarToday, people are now using a new site: DolarPro (look for it on Twitter / Instagram).

[QuackUp]

To visit Venezuela just got harder. I was going to Venezuela in a week in a half but just got word from Copa airlines that they have suspended operations to Venezuela for at least 90 days. I believe Copa was the last airlines that went from the USA To Caracas. Anyways, getting the visa wasn't hard, just had to take a short trip to San Francisco. Looks like I will eat the cost of the visa.

[Wraith43]

Hi all,

I heard that digital payment apps are making strides in Caracas. Notably apps like Tpago, Vippo are mentioned in internet sources. If this is true, it could solve one of the big headaches in traveling to Venezuela. (which is acquiring cash). I would like to hear from anyone on the ground if this is true. Thank you.

P.S.

I've been keeping tabs on Caracas and Venezuela in general hoping to visit one day. I submitted my application for a tourist visa, but the clerk at the consulate heavily hinted not to keep my hopes up. Despite of this I would like to establish contacts on the ground in the event that my visa comes through. Please DM me if you are on the ground and can provide Cash exchange, taxis, or guide service.

[The Tall Man]

Yes that's the shits. I just read that yesterday, if it holds then there is no way young 20 somethings will cross over to Colombia.

TTM.

My intel from both the news reports and friends regards the border is confirming that Colombia / santos is serious with the restrictions. I was thinking about applying for a visa in San Francisco California but know that the efforts and cost will be a waste SO I have lined up a few Venezuelan girls for my next visit next month to Medellin.

TTM.

[The Tall Man]

Colombia tightens border control as Venezuela migrants surge:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...brazil-borders

Yes that's the shits. I just read that yesterday, if it holds then there is no way young 20 somethings will cross over to Colombia.

TTM.

[Haitek]

Are there any recent reports of mongers being able to travel? This post is kinda dead. I still have a dozen Venezuelan girls I am communicating with on latin american cupid and from time to time I still pitch the idea to have then travel to cucuta and I would pick them up and do some travel.

The Tall Man.

Colombia tightens border control as Venezuela migrants surge:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...brazil-borders

[The Tall Man]

Are there any recent reports of mongers being able to travel? This post is kinda dead. I still have a dozen Venezuelan girls I am communicating with on latin american cupid and from time to time I still pitch the idea to have then travel to cucuta and I would pick them up and do some travel.

The Tall Man.

[Travv]

"On the night of 9 January, for example, a hungry mob took just 30 minutes to pick clean a grocery store in the eastern city of Puerto Ordaz. By the time owner Luis Felipe Anatael arrived at the bodega he'the opened five months earlier, the looters had hauled away everything from cold cuts to ketchup to the cash registers.

'We are like a bomb': food riots show Venezuela crisis has gone beyond politics "It makes you want to cry," said Anatael in a telephone interview. "I think we are headed for chaos." Evidence for his prediction can be found in towns and cities across Venezuela that have been hit by an outbreak of looting and mob violence. Angry about empty supermarket shelves and soaring prices, some people are breaking into warehouses, ransacking food trucks and invading outlying farms.

During the first 11 days of January the Venezuelan Observatory for Social Conflict, a Caracas rights group, recorded 107 episodes of looting and several deaths in 19 of Venezuela's 23 states..."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...food-shortages

Commenter:

"I think we are headed for chaos. " Sounds like already there. This is what happens when the money is worthless and the free Obamaphones and Obamacare is gone and the welfare EBT cards don't work. Watch out for the FSA aka Free Shxt Army coming for tourists like you! "Sean Penn, Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama were unavailable for comment."

Fat tourists who look like Michael Moore might want to avoid Venezuela. Starving locals might develop a taste for "Long Pig", a traditional African delicacy of either BBQ or Stewed meat.

[Trevor2522]

I think this depends on if you are able to pay in local currency with Transferencia. In dollars it will be more.

As for buying a house, I haven't looked into that, and not sure of the laws if foreigners are allowed to do that.

Someone else might be able to answer that, I would be interested in that answer as well.

This site mentions foreign ownership of real estate. Needs a lawyer to advise. http://www.casatrudel.com/living.htm.

Dolartoday quotes US $1 = BS. 157,000 in CCS & 186,000 in Cucuta. Meltdown; something's got to give.

[Jasoonnn]

I checked Airbnb too but its not as cheap as I thought. I went to Ukraine and its a little cheaper than Venezuela. I stayed in fine area for like $20 to $25 a night but Venezuela is like $30. I thought its cheap. I was thinking buying a huge house there for 20 K NO?

I think this depends on if you are able to pay in local currency with Transferencia. In dollars it will be more.

As for buying a house, I haven't looked into that, and not sure of the laws if foreigners are allowed to do that.

Someone else might be able to answer that, I would be interested in that answer as well.

[BobSmith1]

I checked Airbnb too but its not as cheap as I thought. I went to Ukraine and its a little cheaper than Venezuela. I stayed in fine area for like $20 to $25 a night but Venezuela is like $30. I thought its cheap. I was thinking buying a huge house there for 20 K NO?

[Wraith43]

Just wanted to wish a Happy New Year for the people on the ground in Venezuela. Hoping This year will bring stability and change that benefits the people of a beautiful country.

[Trevor2522]

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/s/caracas/h...s_tag=Qy00y7gA

This could be a cheap route in for the newbie without local contacts. Prices are closer to the official DICOM rate than the black market but, once in, the host will likely help out with money exchange in return for an extension. It provides an address to give to the embassy / immigration. Use discretion if bringing back girls -- some hosts could be offended -- possibly ask first. £1 = US $1. 33 . Most apartments seem to be in the better areas of Caracas.

Caracas tops most-dangerous cities table.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/most-v...-world-2017-4/#22-tijuana-mexico-had-5306-homicides-per-100000-residents-29.

Is it easy to call taxis by cellphone, as in Colombia? For those staying longer-term, are there freight-forwarders shipping from USA to Venezuela at reasonable rates? I can get mail-order goods shipped from Miami to Colombia for about $3. 50 per pound weight, including customs clearance, but they don't ship to Venezuela. With all the local shortages, a reliable shipper is essential to maintain a good quality-of-life.

[MaraCucho]

I think it was mentioned earlier in the thread, but RIF = Registro de Informacion Fiscal, or Tax Registry Information. It's the national registry run by the SENIAT, the Venezuelan tax authority. When you are registered they give you a RIF number, which is quite important for identification purposes for us Venezuelans. It is not as universal as a Cedula (which is our main ID document), but it can be used for a lot of commercial purposes, including opening a bank account. It's normally something that a foreigner with a tourist visa wouldn't be able to obtain, but as with many things here in Venezuela, money makes impossible things happen.

And Trevor2522, that law is indeed a thing, five star hotels must charge in dollars to foreigners. While I was in Caracas I did arrange accomodations in a lower tier hotel (the Chacao Cumberland, which is pretty decent and is in a good location) to another forum memeber, perhaps he can elaborate on the matter.