Weather locations in Venezuela

Venezuela occupies the northern corner of South America, with a long Caribbean coastline, the vast llanos grassland to the south and the Andes running through the middle of the country. Its climate is tropical almost everywhere, but its internal variety is enormous: a hot, arid coast and a cool high-altitude plateau lie within a few hours' travel of each other.

Main climate types

Under the conventional grouping the lowlands take a tropical savanna class with a marked dry season, and the Caribbean coast is hot semi-arid to arid. The Andean cordillera, the range at Merida and the coastal cordillera, holds a highland climate whose temperature depends almost entirely on height above sea level. The Orinoco basin is the classic savanna, and the Gran Sabana in the far south is wetter and more like rainforest.

Temperatures

Caracas, at about 900 metres, has January means around 21 degrees and July means around 21 to 24, so it feels mild and springlike all year. The lowlands of the llanos, around San Fernando de Apure, mean about 26 in January and more than 28 in July. Maracaibo on the lake of the same name averages about 26 in January and 29 in July.

Rainfall

Annual rainfall ranges from under 300 millimetres on the arid coast of Falcon, Zulia and Guajira to more than 1,000 millimetres in the llanos and up to about 3,000 in the south, particularly around the Gran Sabana. The llanos have a distinct wet season from May to October and a dry one from December to March.

When to go

The dry season, from December to March, is the best time for the llanos and for most of the country, and especially for the beaches on the northern coast. The rainy season brings afternoon storms and high humidity, particularly in the south, where travel can be slow.