Venezuela Country Profile Part 5: Transportation 

Water Transportation

• A large portion of Venezuela is bordered by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.  The coastline is about 2,800 km long.  Their extensive coastline provides many economic benefits as it helps with trade, transportation, and tourism. 
• A major port in Venezuela is Puerto Cabello.  Puerto Cabello is about 210 km west of Caracas, the capital city.  It is the largest and busiest port in the country and is an important component of the large oil industry.
• A country with many rivers, the Orinoco is the biggest and most important.  To get an idea for the size of this massive river, it is the third largest in South America falling behind the Paraná and the Amazon Rivers.    As well as providing transportation, oil is exploited from the Orinoco Delta.  Connects major industrial cities such as Ciudad Guayana to the Atlantic Ocean.  

Land Transportation 

• Railroad system 
•  The railway system in Venezuela is limited.  It has no rail connections to any outside cities in other countries.  
• The East-West Railroad connects eastern and western Venezuelan cities.  This railroad provides cargo transport as well as passenger transport.  
• Caracas has a metro system that is used for passenger transport.  
• Highway and Road network 
• Comparative to other South American countries, the Venezuelan road and highway systems are more extensive and in better conditions.  About 1/3 of the countries roads are paved and road travel is extremely popular and common because Venezuela has some of the cheapest gas prices in the world.   

Air Transportation 

• Venezuela's main connection to the world is through the air and Venezuela boasts a number of airports.  Over 60 airports in Venezuela.  
• International Airports 
• Some of the major international airports include: 
• Simon Bolivar International Airport of Maiquetia 
• Santiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport
• La Chinita International Airport 
• There are 2 military airports:
•  El Libertador Air Base  
• Generalissimo Fransisco de Miranda Air Base 

Sources 

• http://www.mongabay.com/reference/new_profiles/554.html
• http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-14559.html