On January 1, 2008 the national money, the Venezuelan Bolivar, went through a
currency change to the new Bolivar Fuerte which took three zeros from the old Bolivar. 

On Jan. 8, 2010 the Venezuelan government devalued the Bolivar "Fuerte" 100%,
from the official rate of BsF.2,15 to BsF.4,30 to US$1. There are now 2 official rates - BsF.2,60 for imported food & medicine & BsF.4,3 for the rest.

On Jan. 1, 2011 the BsF.2,6 rate was eliminated so now all exchange will officially be BsF.4,3.

I will attempt to summarize in English from the information provided by Venezuela's Central Bank
how this will affect tourists and investors here in Venezuela.

The main principal of this process was to eliminate three zeroes, 000, from all current coins and bills. As an example a Bs.50.000 bill will now be Bs.F.50.

The actual use of the Bolivar Fuerte started January 1, 2008. On Friday night, Jan. 8, 2010 the government devalued the currency at it's official rate by 100%. Time will tell how this will affect prices & exchange here in Venezuela from a consumer or tourist point of view.
As soon as things settle I will update this information.

UPDATE: May 18, 2010
Prices here in Margarita Island have risen about 27% in BsF. since Jan. 1 however the black market rate has increased in the same time period so visitors to Venezuela will not see any dramatic changes.

Here is a breakdown of the new currency

For Images of the new Bolivar Fuerte CLICK HERE!

If you have money in Bolivars in a Venezuelan bank it was automatically changed into Bolívares Fuerte on January 1, 2008. If you have regular Bolivars left over from a previous trip you can readily change them into Bolívares Fuerte at any bank. If you have an existing contract, say for apartment rental, etc., in regular Bolivars then it was automatically changed to Bolívares Fuerte starting on January 1, 2008.

Any tourist visiting Margarita Island in 2011 will not be affected by this change. The money you will receive when you change your dollars, etc will be the new currency.
The official exchange rate of Bs.2150 to US$1 simply changed to Bs.F. 2,15 to US$1.
This has now changed to BsF.4,3 to US$1 as of Jan. 1, 2011
The black market rate also adjusted with 3 zeroes less.

If anyone has any questions or doubts about these changes just send me an e-mail and I will try & answer them.

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