Originally Posted by
Shed-on-a-Pole
Porlamar: I believe First Choice B763's used to do the runs over there. Unfortunately, as economic difficulties increased in the latter days of the nutty Chavez regime there were increasing reports of problems with petty crime against tourists. I walked around Porlamar for a day during a cruise ship visit, but our itinerary was altered (to a very boring shopping centre) to avoid areas which had been dropped. Basically, Venezuela just became a bit too risky for mainstream package tourism at that time.
I remember flying to Porlamar for 2 week all inclusive holiday with First Choice in Margarita in about 1996. Great place for a holiday as it had a real South American vibe to it. You could walk around in safety then with no problems. Lots of Latin American history and you could do a day trip flying to Caniema on the mainland taking in a view of Angel Falls as well. From memory the flight used to depart from MAN and stop to pick up from LGW on the way so it felt like a long haul, especially in economy!