Home Venezuela Welcome Personalized solutions for expatriates Pensions, life insurance, economic disability, medical expenses, .. Free quote request (moving, relocate, insurance, health, Visa, Aparthotel, Hotel, Housing; concierge, home management, sitting services, ..) Expat1 Political Status Geographical situation Economy & statistics Agriculture Industry Expat2 Other sectors Population Languages Religion Weights, measures and voltages Money Main towns Climate Insects Expat3 Working Formalities Entry formalities: Health & medicine Expat4 Connections with France Time differences Telecommunications Airports Car rental Hotels & restaurants Your suitcase Information Your car Banks Schools & schooling Guides Observations Cost of Living Accomodation Adresse Adresses Venezuela (fr) Caracas (fr)

Connections with France There are flights from Roissy, Paris with Air France and Viasa (the Venezuelan company) to Caracas. Internally, regular daily flights with the Aeropostal Venezolana and Avensa go between Caracas and the main towns and the Caribbean.  Time differences Venezuela is 5 hours behind French time during the winter season and 6 hours behind during summer.  Telcommunications Telephone : Telephone communications are difficult, the network is not of a very good quality. The best thing to do is to rent a mobile phone at the airport if you want to be in easy contact with Europe. To phone France from Venezuela dial 00 33 + To phone Venezuela from France dial 00 582 + Postal services : Both local and international postal services are irregular. You have to count between 4 days and three weeks for a letter to arrive. Radio/Television : There are five television channels. Two of them are private, two are State owned and the fifth is on a cable network. There are several commercial radio stations which you can pick up in the main towns. The most popular are : Radio Rumbos, Radio Mundial, Radio Continente, Radio Tiempo, Exitos 1090, Radio Caracas, Radio Libertador, Radio Tropical, Radio Capital... You can get RFI thanks to a wave length system from Guyana. Press/Newspapers : You can find some of the French daily papers. It is not easy for the press with the difficulties that exist in the country. The local paper with the widest circulation is El Nacional. About twenty French films are shown. Airports Simon Bolivar airport is 30 kms to the north of Caracas, but traffic is dense and it takes about an hour to get there. Maiquetia airport is 20 minutes to the south, on the coast. There is also a military airport, Carlota, where private jets can land, at 20 minutes to the north of the capital. Car rental You can rent a car in all the big hotels as well as at the Simon Bolivar airport. Caracas : Avis : Tel. (2) 551 190. Budget : Tel. ( 2) 552 799. Dollar : Tel. (2) 855 375. Hertz : Tel. (2) 552 758. National : Tel. (2) 552 777. Taxis : Tel. (2) 752 4155, 573 7111, 541 2046.  Your suitcase Take light clothing with a sweater or jacket for evenings or for regions at high altitudes. People dress up in the evenings with jacket and tie, and also for business meetings. Take a raincoat with you. Information Food has been influenced by European cooking but there are some local specialites : maize flour pancakes, cooked bananas..... Local supermarkets are well stocked. There is a big choice of household electrical appliance. Driving : Driving is on the right, and you give way to the right. American cars are imported into Venezuela and also some French brands. With a French driving licence (international if possible) you can drive in the country for a year. After this period you have to obtain a local licence. For this you have to show a medical certificate and take a theoretical test in a local agency. You don't actually have to sit a test but you have to pay for one to be able to get a licence. Clothing : People mostly dress in tropical and mediterranean style clothing. Public holidays : 1st January, New Years Day. 12th, 13th, 16th April, Easter 19th April The Declaration of Independence 1st May, Labour Day 24th May 4th June 24th June, anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo. 5th July, Independence Day 24th July, birthday of Simon Bolivar 15th August. 12th October, the discovery of America 1st November, All Saints Day 25th December, Christmas Day (Noël). There are other holidays like Carnival days and Assomption Day.... Shops are open from 8h30 to 18h00. Some are closed during lunch hours. Offices, particularly administrative offices, are open earlier, some at 7 am, others only from 9 am. They are closed over lunch hour. Closing time starts at 4, but some stay open till 6 pm. Precautions to take : Don't drink tap water in Caracas, there is a high level of chlorine. Out of the main town you can catch tummy bugs drinking tap water. You will need to show your passport when you use your credit card. It is advisable to remove the carbon papers when you use your credit card. Banks Banks are open from Monday to Friday from 8h30 until 11h30 in the mornings, then from 2 till 4h30 in the afternoons. You can find some bank agencies open over Christmas and on Saturday mornings.  Schools & scholarity It is possible for students enrolled in a foreign school to get a grant, within the limit of the available budgets. For that they have to fulfill the following conditions : - the student (and his family) must live in Venezuela and continue his studies there - the school must give a French education -the student and his family must be registered with the French embassy or consulate -it must be primary or secondary studies and the grant could cover the scholarity, boarding or half-board - the family must show that they do not earn enough in order to qualify for a grant.  In French : Vénézuela, collection Guides Arthaud.  Le dernier Inca (Mariano Picon Salas).  Légendes indiennes du Venezuela (Raymond Socchetti). En radeau sur l’Orénoque (Jules Crevaux).  Films made in Venezuela : Le sauvage (J.C. Rappeneau). Les aventures pas ordinaire d’un papa extraordinaire (with Aldo Maccione). Rio Negro (a Venezuelan film). Oriana (Fina Torres). Papillon (from the novel of the ex-convict H. Charrière).  Cost of living Cost of living: The cost of living is still acceptable for an expatriate although it has shot up since 1996. Gold is cheap in the jewellers' shops. Petrol is not expensive at 20 cts a liter.   Piranha - Ve-online - Radio : Morfeo Heure : World clock - WebCam - Isla Margarita Globovision

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