What to do and see in State of Roraima, State of Roraima: The Best Budget-friendly Things to do

Reviewed By Daven82 - Brisbane, Australia

Spent nearly 6 full days at the lodge, plus 2 days travel time...depending how many other guests you join / $$ you want to spend, there are 3 options for the river transport from/to Manaus...the communities 'fast' speedboat, their slow private boat, or slow public river boat plus speedboat. I went upriver in the speedboat with 4 other guests - 2hr drive to Novo Airo then 8.5hrs by speedboat to the village. Return trip was a couple hours by speedboat to Myora on the Rio Negro then overnight on the public boat. For the transport someone from the community meets you at your accommodation in Manaus. He didn't accompany us on the trip upriver as I had expected, but 1 of the other guest going up could speak Portuguese and had been to Xixuau before. Accommodation in basic but comfortable huts, split with a room each side of a breezeway, and each room has a separate toilet & cold shower behind the hut. Single or double bed, with mossie net, and a deck at the front (take your own hammock though). Meals are in the main Maloca, for guests and the communities main lodge staff.. Each guest/couple are assigned a guide that takes them on all their outings during their stay. Activities depend largely on time of year and water levels. In August there is still a lot of water so most trips were canoeing through the flooded forests. Saw 5 species of monkey in the first 2 days, grey and pink river dolphins, caiman on the night canoe runs, heaps of bird-life, and 1 small anaconda. The guides are awesome and can do various animal/bird calls to try attract wildlife, and they will spot things long before you do.. There are some walking tracks, but not done at night time. Each guide seems to have their own track into the jungle from the village/lodge (also used for their other income - Brazil nuts) and other tracks upriver. Seems to attract mainly Italian tourists, with the community being supported by a Italian NGO and Emmanuela living on site. All 6 other guests while I was there were Italian, which at times left me feeling frustrated as most meal/evening discussions were in Italian. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming. The Xixuau community staff / guides don't speak english so you arrange your activities for the day/next day with Emmanuela during meals. I was probably overly cautious when planning the trip, as it was my first trip to Sth America and I had read too much online about 'dodgy' tour operators in Manaus etc, but would highly recommend this place for a jungle trip and you are also supporting a small river community and encouraging their interest in protecting the forests.