Venezuela Activities

A visit to Venezuela might not be at the top of every family’s list of destinations, but it is a wonderful place to bring the children. There are some stunning beaches, excellent hotel-based activities and clubs and of course a number of parks and wildlife reserves.

Beaches
Venezuela has some fantastic beaches just perfect for a family day out. Resorts such as Margarita, Coche, Los Roques and La Blanquilla offer golden sands and deep blue sea water where the kids will be able to find a myriad of activities to keep them occupied. Take a paddle in the sea, play Frisbee, bury Dad in the sand or attempt a better sandcastle than the neighbouring family! At Venezuela’s beaches, the only limits on your fun are those of your imagination.

Hotel kid’s clubs
Reputable hotels in popular Venezuelan resorts, offer kid’s clubs where young visitors get to spend the day engaged in a variety of activities with appropriately trained staff members. Parents can take off for a while or relax down at the pool in the knowledge that their children are in good hands.

National Parks
Venezuela has an extensive selection of national parks where the family can enjoy exploring and seeing some of the country’s fascinating flora and fauna. The country’s 40 national parks and 20 nature reserves are home to a wide variety of interesting animals which the kids can observe in an unspoilt and entirely natural environment.

The Children's Museum of Caracas
Located in the country’s capital, the Children's Museum of Caracas is a facility aimed at the young, offering a variety of interactive, hands-on exhibits covering topics such as medicine, physics and natural sciences. Visitors are given the chance to learn something about the fascinating world we live in through fun, engaging activities.

Venezuela’s large collection of national parks provides extensive hiking and trekking opportunities with walks available for both the beginner and the advanced hiker. Easy trails are signposted for the novices while those with experience can take a compass and head off on the jungle paths. Serious trekking/hiking enthusiasts invariably head to the Venezuelan Andes, a territory covering around 400km and offering a wide variety of environments and terrains. All visitors should note that entry to national parks is by permit only; these can be applied for easily at national park offices.

The same regions that lend themselves to hiking offer some great climbing opportunities with everything from relatively easy to highly technical climbs. The Sierra Nevada de Mérida mountain range is a popular area, offering a selection of pre-bolted climbs that can be tackled independently if you are in possession of your own equipment or undertaken with the assistance of experienced guides.

Venezuela has some great spots for pursuing water-based activities with the coastal areas providing all the necessary conditions for the pursuit of sports such as scuba diving, snorkeling and surfing. The Isla de Margarita, located about 40km off the mainland to the north of Cumaná, is one of the most popular beach destinations and one of the best places for pursuing water sports. Additionally, the Parcque Nacional Mochima, a collection of small islands, offers some fantastic scuba diving opportunities as well as good spots to enjoy a day of fishing.

Regions such as Merida, present some fantastic off-road trails for mountain bike enthusiasts with intermediate to advanced rides dominating the scene. Visitors with their own cycles can take the advice of local tour operators with regards to the best places to start or alternatively take organised biking trips on which off-road cycles can be hired when necessary.

Spelunkering enthusiasts will find that Venezuela offers a variety of destinations where hardhat and headlamps can be donned and the depths of intricate cave systems can be explored. Cueva del Guacharo is perhaps the most popular caving area and can be reached from Cumaná by bus in just three hours.

With over 40 national parks offering thousands of acres of Amazon forest, ornithologists will find plenty of opportunity to indulge their passion. The list of popular bird watching areas is extensive and includes: the wildlife ranches Hato El Frío, Hato El Cedral and Hato Piñero, the Sierra Nevada National Park, the San Isidro Trail, La Carbonera and Morrocoy National Park. Among the interesting specimens available for viewing, visitors might be lucky enough to see Swallow Tanagers or Green Ibis.

Venezuelan’s share the same passion for food as the Spanish on account of their Spanish heritage and it’s fair to say that the local cuisine features many Hispanic influences. Popular dishes feature ingredients such as rice, corn, beans, chicken, beef, garlic, tomato and coconut. The national dish is widely considered to be Pabellón criollo, a meal consisting of rice, stewed black beans and shredded beef; the beef can be substituted for other meats or fish. Another popular creation is arepa, a small cornflour cake cut in half and filled with meats, cheese, vegetables and other fillings. Arepa can be eaten as a snack or as a side dish to accompany a main meal. Other well known dishes include the chicken salad, Ensalada de pollo; the rice with coconut creation that is arroz con coco and pastiche, the Venezuelan interpretation of lasagne.

Eateries can be found everywhere in Venezuela and can be as cheap or as expensive as your budget permits. Areperias, where the ever-popular arepa are sold, are common in almost all cities, towns and villages. Caracas, the country’s capital city is home to the greatest concentration of restaurants and it’s here that visitors will find some of the most up-market establishments, many of which belong to the big hotels and have reputations for excellence. If it’s authenticity that you are looking for then don’t be afraid to try some of the less attractive-looking establishments where what’s lacking in décor is made up for by the most delicious traditional local delicacies.

As Venezuela’s capital, Caracas is home to some of the country’s best shopping centres. Large malls offer internationally known stores where designer goods of every description are readily available. If however, you prefer to look for locally made goods and handicrafts, then the traditional markets are a much better bet. Mercado Principal in Merida is one of the country’s best markets to find souvenir and gifts to take home to family and friends. Visit the first floor of the market and check out the variety of unusual fruits and vegetables, before heading upstairs to the handicrafts section where you’ll find wooden products, hammocks, wall hangings and more. If you plan to buy any edible produce, be sure to check your country’s customs and excise regulations with regards to the importing of organic items, invariably there are restrictions relating to these goods.

Buyers are encouraged to enter into the bargaining process with the vendor in order that both parties reach a price that is mutually acceptable. Vendors will as a matter of course, ask a higher price than they might expect to get or above the product’s value in order to engage customers in the bargaining game. Take the experience in the spirit is intended and everybody is left smiling plus you get to take your souvenirs away for 25 per cent less than originally quoted. 

Isla de Margarita, which can be reached easily by boat from Cumaná, offers duty-free shopping, although prices are no cheaper than in Europe for perfumes, clothing and electrical goods.