Merida Backpacking Bargains in Venezuela

By Lara Brodzinsky

Stretched out on a flat meseta between two rivers in the Andean Mountains, Merida, Venezuela is one of South America’s most popular destinations for international backpackers. Home of the Universidad de los Andes, Merida is calm, safe, unhurried, and relatively inexpensive.

If you’re in a hurry to get there, Avenza, Venezuela’s main domestic airline, is probably the safest and most reliable company to travel with. Flights from Caracas are generally available within one day of request, and cost from $50-$125. The primary form of public ground transportation is the bus. It takes about 11 hours to go from Caracas to Merida and costs about $11-$15 one way.

Renting a car is easy in Venezuela, but driving is not. Most locals don’t obey traffic laws, and renting is also expensive.

Posadas, located all over the city, range in price from $4-$15 per day. Tourist bureaus offer a complete listing. A very friendly and inexpensive family-run posada is Posada La Joya Andina, on Calle 24, owned and run by a man named Josepe and his daughters. They also rent beautiful mountain cabins located in a village about 30 minutes outside the city. The 3-star Hotel Belensate offers cabanas, fine Italian cuisine, and a swimming pool.

The average traveler can get by on less than $20 per day; however, it is easy to pay only half that. Meals can cost as little as $1; top-end restaurants serve $10 fixed price dinners. Free-range chicken is served in most restaurants. Heladeria Coromoto, the famous ice cream parlor listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for its 650 flavors, is a must.

While the main tourist office, Corporacion Meridena de Turismo (located near the airport), can offer general suggestions on traveling in and out of Merida, it is best to book adventure tours with other smaller and less-expensive companies. Among the most reliable are Bum Bum Tours, Guamanchi Expeditions, www.guamanchi.com, and Natoura Adventure Tours, www.natoura.com, all located on Calle 24 near the famous Teleferico and public fountain. Expect to pay anywhere from $30-$50 per person per day, all-inclusive.

You can take your own adventure trip up the Teleferico, Merida’s cable car that scales a mountainside and stop at various altitudes along the way. Travelers may get off at any point and trek through the mountains. A favorite trek is to Los Nevados, a small farming village about seven miles from the third stop. Locals offer room and meals in their posadas for the night. Maps are available at the Inparques office located next to the teleferico. Permits for overnight camping cost 25 cents.

Merida is a great place for learning Spanish because the people speak slowly and clearly. Language courses are offered every day and last from a week to a month. The major institutes are Instituto Latino-Americano de Idiomas, Iowa Institute, and Venusa.

Cybercafes are located throughout Merida. Standard rates are about $2 per hour.

The best guidebooks are Lonely Planet’s Destination Venezuela and Venezuela Handbook. Venezuela: A Century of Change by Judith Ewell details the country’s 20th century history. The Search for El Dorado by John Hemming gives insight into Venezuela’s conquest.

LARA BRODZINSKY is a senior photo-journalism major at Douglass College, Rutgers Univ. (New Brunswick campus). She worked as a staff photographer and editor's assistant at the Daily Targum, the daily newspaper of Rutgers Univ.