Holiday Reviews
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same trip can have different views!
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Venezuela beach hotel, independent reviews
 Reviewed 14 Apr 2006 by Gordon Young |  |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Venezuela is a fantastic place to go for a holiday. Most memorable was the local people's capacity to drink beer from 9.00 am onwards, so when in Rome... The Islands of Los Roques were amazing to look at but, Grand Roque is pretty dull, very expensive and overrun with Europeans.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Tips to others, go to Choroni/Peurto Colombia, great beach, good value and lots of fun. We stayed in an old Hacienda and went on guided walks in the mountains where we saw loads of birds and a Sloth. The w/as are VERY popular with locals and it gets lively...
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
We stayed at a so called Eco Lodge in Ocumare which I found mentioned on your website. The owner Viktor is very helpful. However its green credentials are pretty poor (full blast A/C etc), as is its linked lagoon lodge. But the latter is still worth a visit we had a great time there.
4. Any other comments?
Overall the Caribbean coast of Venezuela gets four stars. For a beach holiday with opportunities to view wildlife it is hard to beat. Plus you can get cold beers for 30p a pop. I am not going to move there but I would definitely go back.
| Reviewed 16 Jan 2008 by Maureen Vernon | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The snorkelling and peaceful time at Cienaga which we did on two out of the four whole days we stayed at Dice Lodge in Ocumare village but this was expensive as it cost $120 dollars for both of us for each trip. The best part of this trip was the last boat trip back when the sea was rough and the boat was bouncing up and down - a bit scary because I'm not used to it but I loved this!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The village was described as 'a quiet seaside town, untouched by world tourism'. While it is true that the village is untouched by world tourism, the village is not quiet and during the night it is very, very noisy. The noise of disco stereo's thudding and car stereo's thudding went on until about 3.00 am and on the last Saturday night we were there it actually went on all night. Unless you want to join in the disco scene, then I'm not sure that this lodge is for you. It was certainly the noisiest place I have ever stayed but the people at the lodge were very nice, the food was reasonable and so we 'made the best of it' because it was not the fault of the lodge. It is a very noisy village at night and the lodge seems to be situated in the centre of the night's activity although it is definitely not a part of it.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, there were local people working at the lodge and every effort was made to ensure the impact on the environment was kept to a minimum.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We enjoyed the holiday because my philosophy when going on holiday is to accept the situation, even if it's not as I thought it would be, and to focus on the exciting and new parts of our experience. So, even though it was horrendously noisy, we enjoyed the people at the lodge, the trips we took to Cienage and the forest, eating different food and the whole experience of seeing a small part of the country for the first time.