There is a lot of debate about the best way to visit Angel Falls, either by air or by land (really river). I have just returned from Venezuela and had the benefit of doing both and they are both wonderful but different experiences. I will summarize both and list the pros and cons of each and you can decide.

First by air. Most people fly to Cainama form Peurto Ortez in commuter planes that fly regularly once a day. Cainama is a asphalt strip by a big lagoon where most good lodges are situated. The flights to Angel Falls are usually from Cainama and the pilots sit around playing dominoes in thatched huts until they think its time (usually 11am and 2pm when the weather is best) and then they look around for their passengers and take off in old beat up Cessnas. The flight is not too bumpy and the fly bys are spectacular. The pros are 1. The scenery from the air is amazing. You get to see the top of the tepuis, the whole grandeur of the waterfall etc. 2. The trip is pleasant and there is no long journey involved. The cons are 1. The view from the air is less dramatic because you are far from the waterfall and it looks small. 2. The windows of the Cessnas are glazed from age and your view is reduced by up to 50% and 3. The trip is all too short.

By river can be done in a one day trip. My wife refused to overnight in a hammock camp and I found that there is a one day excursion everyday from Cainama through Waku Lodge but you do not have to stay at the lodge. You get up at 4am and leave by 5am in a motor canoe up the Carrao River. You stop at 8am for breakfast and then continue up the Churun River. By 10am you are at Rotan Island where you can see the falls. Then you hike for 1.5 hours uphill to the base of the falls. After you come down, there is lunch and you get back to Cainama by 6pm. The pros are 1. When you are at the bottom of the falls, it hits you how spectacular they are. 2. You can spend an hour looking at the falls and the clouds roll in and out and even swim in a pool at the base. The cons are 1. Its a bloody long day. 2. The rainy season means rain there and back. 3. The trek up to the falls was tough for me but not for the young people in our group. 4. I got over 90 insect bites despite the gallon of DEET I put on my legs.

After I came home, I decided the river trip was better because of the time I could spend enjoying the experience. You can decide.