Originally Posted by
Elena
Thank you for the only relevant response! Your idea to pay USD cash and negotiate the exchange rate sounds like a very good option.
It's very upsetting to me when people write off doctors in other countries- board certified surgeons in Colombia are held to equally high standards as in the US. Looking at the US embassy in Venezuela medical referral list there are even plenty of Harvard educated surgeons in Venezuela. I would much prefer a top doctor in another country than a mediocre doctor in the US. People that experience medical troubles for elective procedures abroad tend to be because they are going to fly-by night clinics, clinics actively trying to cash in on foreigners, or don't research the doctors credentials properly.
If you've never been to Caracas, now is not the time to make your first trip.
Using a credit card is out of the question. Using a credit card, any purchases will be made at the official 10 Bolivar to 1 Dollar.
(I use the term Bolivar, instead of the correct 'Bolivar Fuerte' for convenience).
However, that 10:1 exchange rate is bogus.
The real value of the Bolivar is north of 1900 to 1.
So your $1000 surgery is going to cost $190,000 by the time the banks get done exchanging your money. A foreign credit card is a non-starter.
So, you're thinking you'll just deal in cash?
So now you're looking at showing up in
the most dangerous city in the world, with several thousand American Dollars (at least), asking around for a casa de cambio (black market money traders). It's illegal, you know.
Buying Bolivars in Caracas is a lot like buying marijuana in Detroit...everyone you're dealing with is operating outside the law (ie, criminals); they know you've got cash; they're almost certainly armed; they know you're far from home with nobody you can call for help.
(The police know this too.)
I've done it many times in years past. It's not fun.
So lets say you manage to exchange your $3000 for bolivars at the Green Lettuce exchange rate. Using round numbers, you're going to be carrying 6,000,000 in Bolivars! The largest bank note is 100Bv.
1,000,000 in 100Bv notes weighs roughly 20 pounds, and requires ~1 cubic foot of space. You'll have to multiply this by 6 for your needs.
Did I mention you're in the most dangerous city in the world?
Oh...and once you exchange your dollars for Bolivars, they're yours to keep. All exchanges are one-way. Nobody buys them back.
Nobody here is disparaging Venezuelan doctors.
They're disparaging Venezuelan reality.