Restaurants

Although both Caracas and Isla de Margarita have a wide range of restaurants serving a whole gamut of international cuisines, your choices will be much more limited throughout most the rest of the country. Venezuelan cuisine is neither very distinctive nor noteworthy. Most meals consist of a meat or chicken dish (either fried, grilled, or in a stew), accompanied by some stewed vegetables, rice, and the ubiquitous arepa, the traditional cornmeal patty that's a kind of cross between a tortilla and a biscuit. Vegetarians may have a particularly hard time. If you are vegetarian, try to coordinate your meals in advance with hotels and tour agencies.

For those with a sweet tooth, be sure to try a piece of the national cake, bienmesabe, a soft sponge cake soaked in a sweet coconut cream sauce. (Its name literally means "Tastes good to me!") Also be sure to sample some of the fresh fruit drinks, or batidos. These are made with whatever ripe tropical fruits are on hand. My favorite batido is made of mango, but parchita, or passion fruit, runs a close second.