Transportation in Maracaibo, Venezuela

If you are planning to visit the beautiful city of Maracaibo, you are lucky indeed because of the numerous delights that await you such as Lake Maracaibo, La Vereda del Lago Maracaibo and Teatro Baralt. It is the largest city of Venezuela after Caracas and is home to over 2 million people. Also, it is the capital of Zulia, one of the 23 states of Venezuela.

One of the most important things to research when planning a trip to a foreign city is transportation because of a number of reasons. Firstly, the availability or the lack of transportation makes or breaks your plan to a certain location. Secondly, cost also is a major factor that makes you decide the mode of transportation. Thirdly, since safety and comfort are also necessary for a pleasant tour, it is imperative for you to choose the mode of transportation that guarantees both.

Travelling to Maracaibo

There are two primary ways of getting to Maracaibo – by air and by road.

Air Travel

Maracaibo has its airport called La Chinita International Airport. It is around 17 kilometers far from the center of the city. There are several airlines that serve travelers at La Chinita International Airport. Some of them include Conviasa, Avior, Venezonlana, Aserca, Aeropostal, American Airlines, Insel Air and SBA Airlines.

Bus

If you are in Santa Marta, Colombia, you can use the bus service to get to Maracaibo. Also, bus services are available from cities such as Merida, San Cristobal and Caracas. The average bus fare to get to Maracaibo from one of these cities is approximately BsF 30.

Travelling within Maracaibo

Once you reach Maracaibo, you’ll find what a lively city it is and people will be eager to help you with finding the places if you are unable to do so yourself. Following are the modes of transportation that you can use to get to the desired locations.

Taxi

Taxis are readily available on the streets of Maracaibo. However, since you will appear a tourist, you will be more vulnerable to fraud and crime. Hence, the best way of hiring taxi service is by calling a taxi service center walking up to one. And if you have to get a taxi off a street, look for the yellow number plate – that is the sign of a taxi registered with the government.

Bus

Consider travelling in public buses equal to walking on an insecure road where you can be mugged any time. Bus trips are more expensive that those of metros. However, tourists unwilling to pay relatively higher taxi fare choose to travel by bus because of the lack of access to metro.

Subway

Metro is the best way of moving about in Maracaibo. They are fast, cheap, safe and reliable. However, there are only six stations in the city so your access to them is limited. Choose to travel by metro when possible. A trip costs around 0.7 BsF.

Walking

Walking is an option if the weather is pleasant and the time of day is such that there is enough public on the streets to make the environment safe.

 
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