Originally Posted by Icaro
Well, let me tell you ... Arriving in Caracas is a HUGE HASSLE. I fly between Bogota and Caracas every 2 weeks. It takes an entire day despite the short 1:30 h flight.
Yes, the bridge is still down, and yes, it may take you more than 2 hours to get to the city. I've found that arriving around 6-7pm on a weekday is the best shot for a shorter ride from the airport to the city. Avoid arriving on a Sunday afternoon as all beach-goers will be heading back. When leaving, always plan leaving the city around 3-4 hrs prior to your flight time to allow for huge traffic jams. Especially on Fridays and weekends.
Good beaches are not close to the city.
I traveled there last year when the bridge was still up and I remember a very long tunnel back to the airport that reminded me of Escape from New York that was completely clogged with broken cars and vendors selling cookies. An SUV hit rear-ended the taxi i was but no one got out to exchange information.
That said, caracas is a rough city, and I haven't heard many good things about the beaches close to it.