newyorkdiver
Registered
Decided to go to Los Roques after hearing how wonderful the place is. I got back a bit disappointed, here's why:
-After getting all kinds of rates on the internet for the flight Caracas-Los Roques round trip, I decided to purchase the ticket at Maiquetia airport (serving Caracas) last minute because I heard you got a better deal. My plane from NY arrived at 5:30am and I was travelling during low season. I was told by the employees of Aerotuy and Chapi Air, first 3,000 bolivares (exchange rate anywhere from around 5 bolivares per dollar (legal change) to 9 bolivares (black market). As departure time got closer and closer, the flight price got lower, so I ended up purchasing the R/t with Aerotuy for Bs 1,600 (found out later that a gentleman and his entire family bought it each for Bs 600!). The plane was supposed to take off at 7:30am but left at 12:30pm.
The plane ride was pretty short, about 40 minutes and the view as we approached our destination was breathtaking.
Once there, I followed a young Swiss couple to a place they said was budget. They paid, per night, per person Bs 400 in the same room. I paid Bs 100 for the same size room, all by myself.
First thing I did after dropping my stuff in my room was go to Ecobuzos. The charged me higher than the price quoted in their website. I did 6 dives in 3 days, all morning dives back to back because the dive outlets there don't do afternoon dives. The dive sites where they took me were just around the corner from Gran Roque, the main island (odd when you know that Venezuela has the cheapes gas in the world). 5 of the dives were not that great (seen a lot better in Roatan, and I'm not even comparing it to the Galapagos). One sight, however, was out of this world: La Guasa.
Once they drop you off before noon, that's it. There is nothing to do in the island and nobody can take you to any of the other islands, even though some of them are only minutes away because the boats only leave at 9am. I asked the dive shop owner if they could drop me off in one of the islands and arrange for someone to pick me up later and he said: NO, I don't want to be responsible, what if ...this, or that...So, if you dive, you don't get to hang out in the other islands, and viceversa. On my last day, I did not dive because I was flying, of course, so I went to see if I could catch up and visit this one island with the turtles, about 20 minutes boat ride. My plane was leaving at 5pm. Well...you have to take a full day tour if you want to go there that returns at 6pm! Finally I was able to book a tour, and yes, it was beautiful.
My opinion? That the people in charge there somehow manage to mess up an extraordinary place.
-After getting all kinds of rates on the internet for the flight Caracas-Los Roques round trip, I decided to purchase the ticket at Maiquetia airport (serving Caracas) last minute because I heard you got a better deal. My plane from NY arrived at 5:30am and I was travelling during low season. I was told by the employees of Aerotuy and Chapi Air, first 3,000 bolivares (exchange rate anywhere from around 5 bolivares per dollar (legal change) to 9 bolivares (black market). As departure time got closer and closer, the flight price got lower, so I ended up purchasing the R/t with Aerotuy for Bs 1,600 (found out later that a gentleman and his entire family bought it each for Bs 600!). The plane was supposed to take off at 7:30am but left at 12:30pm.
The plane ride was pretty short, about 40 minutes and the view as we approached our destination was breathtaking.
Once there, I followed a young Swiss couple to a place they said was budget. They paid, per night, per person Bs 400 in the same room. I paid Bs 100 for the same size room, all by myself.
First thing I did after dropping my stuff in my room was go to Ecobuzos. The charged me higher than the price quoted in their website. I did 6 dives in 3 days, all morning dives back to back because the dive outlets there don't do afternoon dives. The dive sites where they took me were just around the corner from Gran Roque, the main island (odd when you know that Venezuela has the cheapes gas in the world). 5 of the dives were not that great (seen a lot better in Roatan, and I'm not even comparing it to the Galapagos). One sight, however, was out of this world: La Guasa.
Once they drop you off before noon, that's it. There is nothing to do in the island and nobody can take you to any of the other islands, even though some of them are only minutes away because the boats only leave at 9am. I asked the dive shop owner if they could drop me off in one of the islands and arrange for someone to pick me up later and he said: NO, I don't want to be responsible, what if ...this, or that...So, if you dive, you don't get to hang out in the other islands, and viceversa. On my last day, I did not dive because I was flying, of course, so I went to see if I could catch up and visit this one island with the turtles, about 20 minutes boat ride. My plane was leaving at 5pm. Well...you have to take a full day tour if you want to go there that returns at 6pm! Finally I was able to book a tour, and yes, it was beautiful.
My opinion? That the people in charge there somehow manage to mess up an extraordinary place.
