Venezuela Tours & Vacation packages | Guided trips to Venezuela with Ada Tours

Highlights

-Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall
- Los Roques, an archipelago of small coral reef islands, a paradise for diving
- Los Llanos, here you can find a lot of wildlife

Geography

Venezuela lies at the northern extreme of South America, bordered by Colombia to the West, Brazil to the South, Guyana to the East, and the Caribbean Sea to the North. Its borders seem to hold all of South America in miniature: there are fine stretches of the Andes, huge areas of Amazonian rain forests, fertile plains known as llanos, miles of Caribbean shoreline, and even a small desert. The nation also has the world's highest waterfall, which you must visit and South America's biggest lake, where you can relax and enjoy the sunset.

Language

Spanish is the main language of Venezuela. However, Venezuelan Spanish differs in pronounciation from the Spanish spoken in Spain. Venezuelans call their language castellano. Besides Spanish, there are over 30 native Indian languages, of which several have common origins. In more remote areas, some Indians still only speak their own language and have no knowledge of Spanish, visiting these places will certainly make your holiday a true experience.

Climate

Because of its proximity to the Equator, Venezuela experiences few climatic variations. There are really only two seasons: dry and wet. The dry season lasts from December to April, the wet one from May to November. The average temperature is about 27C, but cooler temperatures you can find in the Andes. If you want to visit the Andes you should take some warmer clothes with you.

Gastronomy

The food in Venezuela is generally easy and full of flavour. Caracas has a great variety of restaurants. Venezuelan cooking has European, indigenous, and African roots. Some native dishes you should try are:
• Pabellon - stewed and shredded meat accompanied by rice, black beans, and banana
• Hallaca - a traditional Christmas dish.
• Cachapa - a type of sweet corn pancake served with cheese.
• Arepas - a type of round cornmeal biscuit

History

In ancient times, Venezuela was paradise for the Indians who lived on its beaches, in its tropical forests, and on the gentle grassland of the llanos.

Many famous men have marked the history of the country. The first one was Christopher Columbus, he came in 1498 during his third voyage to the New World, and landed on the Peninsula de Paria. The second one was Simon Bolivar, the man who would one day turn the empire on its head by liberating Colombia in 1819, Venezuela in 1821, and Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in 1825.

An oil boom in the mid-1970s saw enormous wealth pour into the country. Oil prices dropped in the late 80s and once again the country was thrown into crisis. Right now, the nation's stability and future are uncertain, but still it has so much to offer to the tourists as you can see on out excursions list of Venezuela.

Religion

The vast majority of the people are Roman Catholics. Some Indian people continue to practice their traditional religions, but many have converted to Catholicism, especially those in settlements clustered around riverside mission stations.

Culture

If you want to experience as much culture as you want you should explore the culture of Venezuela. Venezuelan culture is a mixture of three main cultures: Indigenous, African, and Spanish. The African influence was mostly found in the dancing, food, language and musical instruments such as the drums. The Spanish influence was the heaviest, and in particular the influence of the regions of Andalucia and Extremadura from which most of the colonial people came. Examples of the Spanish influence is easily found in the religion, language, architecture, music, food and other aspects of Venezuelan culture which you will certainly encounter on our tours.

Like many Latin American countries, Venezuela was also enriched by other European cultures, especially by the French. Venezuela is so rich and mixed that it is a must to visit and explore more further if you have the chance.

Music

Several styles of traditional Venezuelan music, such as salsa and merengue are common to its Caribbean neighbors. Perhaps the most typical Venezuelan music is the llanero music, which comes from the llanos or plains. Another very popular music in Venezuela is the gaita. This genre originated from the region of Zulia state and is very popular during the Christmas season.

Wildlife

Venezuela is home to an enormous variety of animals and plants, and is one of the most biodiversity regions in the world.
Today, there are about 250 species of mammal in Venezuela, including the jaguar, puma, capybara, manatee, howler monkey, sloth and two species of fresh water dolphin. The country is also home to the giant otter or 'water-wolf', which is the rarest otter in the world. The bird population consists of over 1,200 species, among which are the condors, hoatzin, flamingo, pelican, several species of parrot, macaw, toucan and the oilbird. Venezuela's reptiles include five species of cayman, the common iguana, rattlesnake, boa and the largest snake in the world: the anaconda.