Paradise for $20

Paradise for $20

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Fears of being kidnapped or not finding toilet paper are not much of an incentive for a holiday in Venezuela. Yet hardy travellers undeterred by the tales - real and exaggerated - of crime and shortages are finding the South American nation absurdly cheap.

That’s thanks to exchange controls skewing the economy in favour of anyone with foreign cash, meaning you can hire a boat to a Caribbean island for $15 a day, or trek through Andean mountains or Amazon jungle for a week, with porters, at $125.

. LOS ROQUES, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

"It's crazy! This beer is costing me just a few pennies," said British tourist Matthew Napier, 35, clad in sunglasses and clutching a local Polar beer on a stunning white-sand beach with his girlfriend.

Even at a bumped-up 90 bolivars due to the exclusive island location, a beer here costs just $0.22 (or 14 pence for Britons like Napier) at the black market rate most foreigners change on.

. LOS ROQUES, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Venezuela's largest denomination note is 100 bolivars - about 25 U.S. cents. Amazed at the sheer quantity of notes they receive, visitors find where to keep them the biggest problem.

Despite the currency bonanza, tourists are hardly flocking to Venezuela, with just under 1 million arrivals last year.

It's the frightening level of crime that mainly puts people off going on holiday to Venezuela, plus acute shortages of basic products from milk to nappies.

. LOS ROQUES, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

"You're bombarded with this idea you can't go out on the street," said Argentine Juan Suso, 31.

He ignored advice and enjoyed a few days walking round Caracas before heading to Los Roques with a guitar on his back.

"It's so cheap, it's ridiculous," he added, saying meals out in Caracas were a quarter of the cost in Buenos Aires. “Even with our devalued currency in Argentina, it still works out such good value.”

. LOS ROQUES, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

In contrast with tourists, Venezuelans' purchasing power has fallen as wage rises cannot match inflation of 68 percent in 2014 and widely forecast to hit triple digits this year.

Shopping for basic food and goods has become a daily struggle for many locals - let alone the sort of exotic holidays foreigners are enjoying in their country.

In Los Roques, a group of Argentine pensioners were off to snorkel in the shallows with a local guide, after a boat-ride across azure waters from the island where they were staying. Including breakfast and some mid-morning drinks in a cooler, their total layout that morning was minimal.

"We're in paradise for $20!" shouted one, before ducking under the water.

. LOS ROQUES, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins