diff --git a/lib/foursquare/venue_proxy.rb b/lib/foursquare/venue_proxy.rb
index 5f49c3a..729e4a1 100644
--- a/lib/foursquare/venue_proxy.rb
+++ b/lib/foursquare/venue_proxy.rb
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ def find(id)
     end
 
     def search(options={})
-      raise ArgumentError, "You must include :ll" unless options[:ll]
+      raise ArgumentError, "You must include :ll or :near" unless (options[:ll] || options[:near])
       response = @foursquare.get('venues/search', options)["groups"].inject({}) do |venues, group|
         venues[group["type"]] ||= []
         venues[group["type"]] += group["items"].map do |json|
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ def nearby(options={})
     private
 
     def search_group(name, options)
-      raise ArgumentError, "You must include :ll" unless options[:ll]
+      raise ArgumentError, "You must include :ll or :near" unless (options[:ll] || options[:near])
       response = @foursquare.get('venues/search', options)["groups"].detect { |group| group["type"] == name }
       response ? response["items"].map do |json|
         Foursquare::Venue.new(@foursquare, json)