Airport / Arrival, Caracas

In the international airport u can find internet poin, mony changer, some fast foods, hotel reservation point for the hotel near the airport.
If u have to go to /from the national to the international airport rememeber that the 2 building are separeted, u have to go out and wlk for 200 metrs, u don't need a taxi, but if u have a lot of luggage there are official attendants for it ( I don't know the rates)
If u have to go to Los ROques rememeber that the flight don't leave from the national airport, but u have to go to another little building, 500 mts from the national building...I walked cause I had only a trolley, but if u are lazy u can take a taxi!

Rememeber that in the airport many people ask u if u need taxi, guid or change money:
- take only the balck taxi with the airport logo on the door, or the with one with a yello/blak line on the door....this are the official taxi, they are safe! On the airport website u can find the prices!
- I changed my Eros and Dollars with a man in the airport, I wark ther, but be carefull....first time I changed only 100 Euros, after 2 hours I asked to change more because I was more sure of the situation, I leaved all the luggage to my partner and I went tho the toilet for the meeting only with the 100 dollars!

If u have to go in Caracas rememeber that now need from 1, 5 to 2 hours cause on the freeway there is a interrupion do to not safe bridge, that last week was destroied....so take your time!

If u need more info on the airport and the services go to the airport web site where u can find also allt he nearest airport hotel.....this website is only in spanish!

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Aserca, LASER, Rutaca, Santa Barbara airlines, Aeropostal and Conviasa (the latter owned by Mr. Chávez....) are the main domestic airlines.

Personally I would prefer Aserca, LASER or Rutaca as being the "most reliable", although all domestic airlines suffer from frequent delays. I was always just in time to take the previous scheduled flight.....

www.asercaairlines.com
www.laser.com.ve
www.rutaca.com.ve
www.sbairlines.com
www.aeropostal.com
www.conviasa.aero

Mind that airport taxes (national departures and international departures) can only be paid in cash in bolivares.

When connecting in Caracas international to domestic, there is an inside walkway between the international terminal to the national (domestic) terminal: turn left immediately after passing customs. Allow plenty of time, especially when connecting on the return flight, domestic to international. In that case after retrieving luggage DON'T leave the luggage reclaim area but go back inside the (departure) lounge and turn left in order to use that inside walkway towards the international terminal.

More info on the website:

www.aeropuerto-maiquetia.com.ve

Info January 2011

The only hussle is the waiting line to get ur passport checked. Expect to waste a couple of hours there. After u get ur luggages a somehow official guy approaches u (they all take turns) who might even speak english to help u out on taking a taxi. DO change ur euros! Ask him to change euros in a better rate than the official. Official is 3, his friends will give u 7. Later on on ur trip u might find rates closer to 8. Not such a big difference. So, do change 200-300 euros to be certain that u have enough money. Since all the guys are connected and they know u'll pay the taxi with the money they just gave u i don't think that there going to be fake money. Expect to pay something like 150-170bolivares (20euros) to get u to the city.

As I was flying from Los Roques to Caracas and then from Caracas to Mérida I had booked the ticket for Mérida at the same time I booked my trip to Los Roques. I made the arrangements with a travel agent in Venezuela via mail before leaving home. The ticket for Mérida was 135 dollars (June 2008).

If you arrive with an international flight you will find the terminal for domestic flights just next to the international terminal. I arrived from Los Roques and the luggage was not transferred as you carry your own luggage from the plane. I checked my bag in and then paid the airport tax, which was 23 BsF for domestic flights (June 2008). Inside the terminal (after security control) there are several shops and restaurants and I had sushi while waiting for my flight.

I flew with Santa Barbara Airlines and the flight was 45 minutes and during this time we got some snacks. In Mérida we landed at Aeropuerto Alberto Carnevalli, which is situated only 2km from Plaza Bolívar. The airstrip is not very long here and I have heard that another airport further away is used in bad weather. The luggage arrived quickly and I went to one of the taxis outside the building. I took the taxi to Posada Guamanchi and it was 12 BsF.

Local taxas are payable when departing from Caracas airport (and other airports in Venezuela). These vary according to destination - 23 Bolivars for a domestic flight to Puerto Ordaz, 115 Bolivars for an international flight to London.

On payment you will be given a receipt with a barcode - you need to place this under a scanner in order to get through the turnstile into the departure lounge.

Maquetía is the name where the Caracas Airport is located, actually the airport's official name is Simon Bolivar Airport. It is very faraway from Caracas downtown or everywhere in Caracas, you will have to cross a huge range of mountains until you get to the city!!!

No wonder that taxi charges you a real fortune!!! You will spend around 50-60 dollars just for one ride!!!

And the worst thing is that you will have to deal with the driver and negociate, and they are not good to bargain!!!

I found a solution!!!

There is a trade complex which looks like an old shopping center that they call CENTRO COMERCIAL PARQUE CENTRAL, close to the MUSEO DE NIÑOS or Children Museum.

There you will find under a bridge, a little agecy that offers shuttle buses to the Airport and they ONLY CHARGE 5000 bolivares (or 5 BOLIVARES FUERTES).

The taxi costs 150 000...so taking a bus is really better and the buses are quite confortable and it is air condioned!

Here is their contact:

UCAMC

Avenida Sur 17, entre Mexico y Avenida Lecuna
Terminal Almirante Brion
Parque Central

The subway station nearby is BELLAS ARTES, from there you just cross a big avenue and get to the PARQUE CENTRAL SHOPPING MALL. Remember!!! They call it as CENTRO COMERCIAL (never say SHOPPING MALL).

IF YOU ARE AT THE AIRPORT AND WANT TO GO TO CARACAS DOWNTOWN, get informed where the UCAMC bus stops!

Their telephone number is +58212 576 9851

I flew with Lufthansa to Caracas (Air France and Al Italia are other companies flying to Caracas) and the journey from Frankfurt took about 10 hours. On the plane both lunch and dinner was served, and a small sandwich or cake in between. When we arrived in Caracas (14.40) Al Italia also arrived. There was a lot of people going through the immigrations (I think I queued almost half an hour), so make sure you have all the papers ready, including the forms you were given in the airplane. As you go out of the customs you will find an information desk to your left, and the airport bus is just outside the main entrance.

The buses from the airport are small and white. You will find them just outside the exit. It cost 13 000 Bs (June 2007) to Caracas city centre. On its way to the end station Parque Central it stops by Gato Negro and Bellas Artes metro stations. I was advised at the airport to go to Parque Central and from there take a safe taxi to Rodovias as it was rush hour at the metro (but it was a Sunday). Gato Negro seemed very busy but outside Bellas Artes it looked quiet. From the airport the bus took only one hour (somebody I asked thought it was going to take two hours), but I guess it will be even quicker when the new bridge is opened, the old one colapsed but the new looked almost finnished.

At this time transport issues getting from the airport to Caracas is a bit of a challenge, but far from impossibly difficult. Since a bridge along the road became too unstable for use they have built an alternate route that is congested, slow, and passes through some rather rough neighborhoods.

Perhaps the safest way to get into town is to hop into the black Ford Explorers waiting outside the arrivals terminal. Unfortunately they charge 100,000 Bolivares (about US$46) for the 1 hour ride. If you are able to flag down a white taxi with yellow plates then they are a reasonably safe and cheaper alternative. I would advise that the guys inside the airport who try to get you to use their "private" vehicles should be ignored.

Returning to the airport from Caracas is much simpler and should cost leaa. I got qoutes ranging around 50,000 Bolivares. I think that omce they biuld a new bridge transit times will decrease along with the prices.

On the bright side, the airport currently isn't charging the departure tax of 50,000 Bolivares. So that's a little bit of good news.

One thing you should keep in mind is that though it's easy to convert foreign currency to Bolivares, once you get to the airport it's next to impossible to convert any remaining Bolivares back into US dollars or Euros or such. So unless you want to be stuck with a bunch of currency that's worthless outside of Venezuela be sure not to have a huge wad of Bolivares left over as you prepare to leave.

Para nuestros pasajeros que viajaran desde y hacia el Aeropuerto Caracas en Charallave, ofrecemos SERVICIO GRATUITO de Buses.
A continuación horarios de traslado desde nuestra sede principal en la Urbina hasta Aeropuerto Caracas y regresos desde el Aeropuerto Caracas con parada en Altamira hasta la Urbina.

Horarios de Buses
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde la Urbina Llegada a Charallave
S3 511 CCS-MRD 05:00am 06:30am
S3 5251 CCS-MRD 07:00am 08:30am
S3 519 CCS-MRD 01:00pm 03:00pm
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde Charallave Llegada Altamira Llegada La Urbina
S3 512 MRD-CCS 09:00am 10:30am 11:10am
S3 516 MRD-CCS 03:15pm 04:00pm 04:55pm
S3 5241 MRD-CCS 05:50pm 07:10pm 08:00pm
S3 520 MRD-CCS 06:55pm 07:55pm 08:40pm
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde la Urbina Llegada a Charallave
S3 503 CCS-LSP 05:30am 07:00am
S3 507 CCS-LSP 05:15pm 07:15pm
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde Charallave Llegada Altamira Llegada La Urbina
S3 502 LSP-CCS 07:45am 09:00am 10:00am
S3 506 LSP-CCS 07:50pm 08:30pm 09:30pm
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde la Urbina Llegada a Charallave
S3 5251 CCS-BRM 07:00am 08:30am
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde Charallave Llegada Altamira Llegada La Urbina
S3 5241 BRM-CCS 05:50pm 07:10pm 08:00pm
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde la Urbina Llegada a Charallave
S3 5251 CCS-VLN 07:00am 08:30am
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde Charallave Llegada Altamira Llegada La Urbina
S3 5241 VLN-CCS 05:50pm 07:10pm 08:00pm
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde la Urbina Llegada a Charallave
S3 1503 CCS-AUA 05:30am 07:00am
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde Charallave Llegada Altamira Llegada La Urbina
S3 1506 AUA-CCS 07:50pm 08:30pm 09:30pm
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde la Urbina Llegada a Charallave
S3 5251 CCS-SVZ 07:00am 08:30am
Para el Vuelo RUTA Salida desde Charallave Llegada Altamira Llegada La Urbina
S3 5241 SVZ-CCS 05:50pm 07:10pm 08:00pm