Táchira · Venezuela
San Cristóbal travel guide
San Cristóbal is a city in Táchira, Venezuela, home to about 286,000 people.
- Best months
- December to March
- Nearest airport
- SVZ24 km · Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport
- Currency
- VESsovereign bolivar
- Time zone
- America/Caracas
- Language
- Spanish, Venezuelan Sign Language
About
About San Cristóbal
San Cristóbal is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Táchira. It is located in a mountainous region of Western Venezuela.
The city struck oil in the late 1800s at a site now known as "La Petrolera", and has attracted investors and business innovation. San Cristobal is known for its industrious people, relaxed nature and relative safety when compared to the other cities of Venezuela. The city is an attractive haven for Venezuela's emerging middle class and successful business entrepreneurs, particularly those involved in financial services and commodities.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in San Cristóbal
See
Take a 30 minute drive uphill to "Chorro del Indio", a remote mountain waterfall rich in blue butterflies and people enjoying a bathe in the cool waters often enjoying a cold beer.
- Cathedral of St. Christopher
- Anthropological museum of Táchira
Do
Events hosted in the city are either related to sport, the arts or tie in with agriculture and cattle farming. The big annual events held in the city, reflect this. The city centre of San Cristobal is crowded and somewhat dangerous, therefore many events are held on the edge of the city, and particularly near the Stadium of Pueblo Nuevo, where Tachira state soccer team play. Also in Pueblo Nuevo, La Corrida de Toros, which is a celebratory fortnight of bull-fighting held in mid January. The Bullfight season attracts the world's best bull-fighters, from the Americas and Spain.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of San Cristóbal to stay in
Hotel 5ta Avenida (Avenida 5, entre calles 10 y 11) has rooms with AC, TV and a private bathroom.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in San Cristóbal
1 hotel within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Lidotel San Cristóbal | 2.8 km |
When to go
The best time to visit San Cristóbal
The most comfortable months for a city stay in San Cristóbal are December to March. March is the warmest month, with average highs of 26 °C; July is the wettest, with about 139 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to San Cristóbal: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport (SVZ), about 24 km from the city centre in a straight line; Mayor Buenaventura Vivas International Airport (STD, 31 km) and Camilo Daza International Airport (CUC, 36 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
There are three airports that serve the city of San Cristobal. The airport Juan Vicente Gomez of San Antonio del Tachira is on the border with Colombia, on the Venezuelan side. It is about one hour drive to San Cristobal and this airport is the most important of the state. It is also used by many Colombians who want to fly within Venezuela. Close to this airport is the Airport Daza of Cucuta, which is also used by the people of San Cristobal when they want to fly within Colombia. The Airport Mayor Buenaventura Vivas of Santo Domingo del Tachira also serves the city of San Cristbal.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
SVZ · Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport
STD · Mayor Buenaventura Vivas International Airport
CUC · Camilo Daza International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in San Cristóbal
Drink
The University of Los Andes is in San Cristobal, close to Pueblo Nuevo, and therefore the city homes a large number of students. The popular student and popular culture hangouts, include, the Sambil Mall (in Las Lomas)the various sport clubs (El Democrata, El Latino...) and primarily, La Plaza de los Mangos. The area around Plaza de los Mangos is popular because of its numerous eateries, bars, nightclubs and modern clothes shops. More exclusive night-spots are appearing around San-Cristobal, such as "Cinnamon" and "8 and a half", also hangouts and events are often held at social clubs like at El Latino and El Democrata sport clubs.
Stay safe
Safety in the city has traditionally been good, however frontier problems, "Vaccine" payments, kidnapping threats and exponential population growth have made the city a place of increasing unrest and insecurity.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
San Cristóbal: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit San Cristóbal?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in San Cristóbal are December to March. March is the warmest month, with average highs of 26 °C; July is the wettest, with about 139 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to San Cristóbal?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport (SVZ), about 24 km from the city centre in a straight line; Mayor Buenaventura Vivas International Airport (STD, 31 km) and Camilo Daza International Airport (CUC, 36 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in San Cristóbal?
sovereign bolivar (VES).
Nearby
Destinations near San Cristóbal
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.