Official language is Spanish. Native American languages serve regionally as colloquial language. English, French, German and Portuguese are also partially spoken.
There are also regional holidays. Details from the embassy or tourist office.
Duty free shopping
Overview
The following items can be imported duty-free into Venezuela: 200 cigarettes or 25 cigars or 250 g of tobacco; 2 liters of alcoholic beverages; perfume and eau de toilette for personal use; Gifts valued at US$1,000 or less. More information is available from Countryaah.com.
Contact addresses
Embassy of the BolivarianRepublic of Venezuela
Prinz-Eugen-Str. 72
Vienna
Austria
+43 (0)1 712 26 38.
http://www.austria.gob.ve
http://www.austria.gob.ve
Mon-Thu 09.00-12.00 and 14.00-17.00, Fri 09.00-12.00 and 13.00-15.00.
Business
Business etiquette
English is the main language spoken in business circles, but knowledge of Spanish is an advantage. Appointments should be made well in advance and punctuality is expected. Business cards are exchanged.
Opening hours
Business hours: Mon-Fri 08.00-18.00 with an extended lunch break between 12.00-15.00 to avoid the midday heat.
Business contacts
Handelsabteilung der Botschaft von Venezuela Schillstraße 9-10, D-10785 Berlin Tel: (030) 832 24 00. Deutsch-Venezolanische Industrie- und Handelskammer (CAVENAL) COINASA Center, 4th Floor, Avda. San Felipe, La Castellana, VE-Caracas Tel: (02 12) 277 38 11. Internet: www.cavenal.org Lateinamerikanische Handelskammer in der Schweiz c/o DPS Communications, Gessnerallee 28, CH-8001 Zürich Tel: (044) 699 54 47. Internet: www.latcam. ch Venezuelan Federation of Chambers and Associations of Commerce and Production (FEDECAMARAS) Apdo. 2568, Fedecàmaras Building, Floor 5, Pent-House 2, El Empalme Avenue, Urb El Bosque, VE-Caracas Tel: (02) 731 17 11. Internet : www.fedecamaras.org.ve
Communication
Phone
According to Abbreviationfinder.org, the country code is 0058. All major cities are well equipped with public telephones. They can be used with coins or phone cards. The cheapest way to make calls is with prepaid cards, which can be bought at the airport, in hotels, in CANTV branches, at kiosks, in the post office or in tobacconists. Emergency numbers are: police 17, fire brigade 18 and ambulance 15.
Cell phone
GSM 900 and GSM 850. Mobile phone companies include Digitel (Internet: www.digitel.com.ve). The reception/transmission range is limited to Caracas and the surrounding area. International roaming contracts exist. It may be worth purchasing a Venezuelan SIM card.
Internet
One of the main providers is CantvNet (Internet: www.cantv.net). There are internet cafes in most cities.
Post
Airmail to Europe is 3 days to 5 weeks on the way; Domestic mail shipments sometimes take longer. Post to Europe takes at least a month by land and sea. In addition to stamps, the post offices (ipostel) also sell airmail letterhead, the price of which includes postage. Mailboxes for international mail are marked extranjero or internacional. Post offices are open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. A two to three hour lunch break should always be expected.
Radio
Since the use of shortwave frequencies changes several times over the course of a year, it is advisable to contact Deutsche Welle customer service directly for the current frequencies (Tel: (+49) (0228) 429 32 08. Internet: www.dw-world.de) to request.
