1. Souvenir Shopping
If you’re planning to take some gifts back home for your friends, then souvenir shopping is done best at Centro Artesenal Los Goajiros and Casa Curuba. Centro Artesenal is known for its Orinoco crafts such as bags, caps, wallets etc. Casa Caruba offers a wide selection of carved hardwood products such as picture frames, boxes, bowls, miniature statues, dolls, furniture, and art. The dark wood souvenirs in Venezuela are especially popular amongst tourists.
2. Hammocks
Venezuela is popular for its hammocks since they originated from here. If you come to Venezuela and not buy one, it would not complete your trip. Hammocks are great for your garden where you can tie them and lie down on a summer day enjoying nature around you. The finest Hammocks are sold at Hannsi in El Hattilo. Besides hammocks, you’ll also find papier-mâché devil masks, and stuffed piranhas in Hannsi.
3. Gold
If you want to buy gold jewelry from the country, then head to Southern Venezuela. Some miners actually sell the gold they dug out themselves from the mines so you can be assured that it is real and of the purest form. You can also bargain on jewelry from miners. Edificio de Francia is the biggest gold shopping mall in Caracas with 100 jewelry stores.
4. Shopping Malls
• Centro Sambil is one of the high scale malls of the country. You’ll find all brands over here along with banks, internet cafes etc. It boasts itself as the largest mall in South America with five levels. It has 500 shops, restaurants, theatres, and amusement park rides.
• Central Comercial Ciudad Tamanaco is an upscale mall known for its cinemas, boutiques, fast-food chains. It is located in Las Mercedes in Caracas.
• El Recreo is a recent mall built in Bello Monte, Caracas which is popular for its amazing food court. It is open from 10 am to 9 pm from Monday to Saturday.
• San Ignacio mall is known for its hip nightlife and brands such as Guess, Swatch, Dockers, Merrel etc. It is located in one of the posh areas of the city, La Castellana. It has won several awards for its fascinating architecture.
• El Mercado market is an outdoor market where you’ll find everything you can think of. It covers almost 10 acres and sells a variety of goods from fruit to clothing
Other important things which you can buy from the country are chocolate and tobacco. They are locally grown and are available throughout the country. Venezuelan cigars are especially popular amongst tourists. Chocolates and cigars are also available on airports. Besides the ones mentioned above, other shopping options include Beco (camping), Dulces Criollos (Candy), Artesania Altamira (basket work), Centro Lido, Maquita (wood carvings), Corporación Verotex (camping), Metrocenter, Merida (handicrafts), Merida Prinicpal, etc.
Have you been to Venezuela? Feel free to share your tips and recommendations.
Photo Credits (Flickr Creative Commons): Caracas by Marcio Cabral de Moura