I just got back from a 6 day / 5 night tour to Roraima with Conexion Tours, who have a small office at the bus station in Ciudad Bolivar. While I cannot speak for other tour operators, I would have to warn individuals who are seeking a tour to be very, very wary of Conexion Tours.
The reasons to avoid Conexion Tours are as follows:
- The guide, Frank, was certainly amicable, amusing, and often filled with funny stories, but these are not qualities of an excellent tour guide or manager - they are qualities of a good mate. Among other things, Frank:
(a) did not show up to meet me at the airport bus depot when he said he would; I had to give him a call to ask him where he was and what I should do;
(b) forgot his first aid kit, which affected our ability to tend to several cuts and bruises of members which could have been quite serious;
(c) on at least four occasions, ran out of food or did not have any available (e.g., no more sauce for spaghetti; no more milk for coffee in the morning; no more fruit by the middle of the second day; and no snacks at all on the trail during the last day) -- of course, food needs to be planned and can run out, but this seemed to stem from a lack of planning;
(d) forgot a lighter to turn on the stove and didn't have a knife to cut things with (two essential items when going on a hiking trip of this magnitude);
(e) did not plan ahead to ensure that the group had a hotel (i.e., a cave) at the top of the mountain when we arrived (again, one may argue that this would have been well nigh impossible given the numbers on the tepui, but our group was comparatively large);
(f) did not manage time well (e.g., said lunch would be at 1pm on the fourth day, though it was not ready until after 2:30pm; and said breakfast would be at 6am the last day, though it did not appear until after 7:30am) - again, time can be fluid, but this was egregious; and
(g) mismanaged the transport for the group at the end of the trip, failing to get tickets for the bus back to Ciudad Bolivar and causing at least two individuals to be unable to connect to another tour and - potentially - another three people miss connecting flights (after being assured they could make them).
Furthermore:
- The tour company said that the tour was "all inclusive" but this was NOT true. In addition to park entry fees, the group had to cover the cost of breakfast the first day and the final meal the last day. The amounts, of course, were not much in the long run. But the principle of telling one the truth is what is at issue: all inclusive means just that: ALL inclusive :-)
Again, Roraima was a spectacular place and should not be missed; and while the tour with Conexion Tours (and Frank) was quite mismanaged, the beauty of the place shown through. I would just be wary of the company - and stick with another which comes more highly regarded and recommended!
