I feel bad giving this an average rating - overall was a good experience. The reasons we gave this an average rating is because the description wasn't exactly accurate as to what we were lead to believe. There were multiple safety issues and the tour itself was way more than the "mild-moderate activity level" it is rated as. We arrived at the check-in which is just on the side of the street in front of a juice store (which was fine) but the tour was overbooked. We squeezed into vehicles for an hour-long drive. This probably needs to be handled differently. We were lucky to be in a car with own seatbelts, but the other car was over-full.
The other issue our family had was the lack of appropriate life-jackets for everyone. While we are all avid swimmers, life-jackets are required and certainly appreciated but they were ill-fitted and had been well used. Everyone made do with what was available but I might recommend you bring your own - especially if you are a bigger adult.
As far as the mild-moderate activity level is concerned - with our group of about 15, not one of us, young or old, realized the difficulty of this excursion. You will be hiking on tiny little paths up and over tree branches and sheer cliff drops off to the side with no railing. Be prepared to swim thru dark caves (minimal flashlights) and busted shins as you crawl thru rocks and the river. You will be climbing up slippery cliff sides, thru small openings and, in our opinion, dangerous areas.
The good news - the water is refreshing, the cliffs and caves are beautiful. It is definitely a one of a kind experience. We had two guides - one that was not able to go on the tour due to an injury - but our guide was helpful and knowledgeable. Spoke broken English but was enough to help us thru.
I wish I had read the reviews deeper before I booked. While we did make it thru this tour mostly unharmed (many bruises and a hurt toe) I wish I had read a little further to understand better what this was. You definitely need amazing water/excursion shoes, a lifejacket and waterproof case for your phone if you choose to take it. The cliff jumping (minus the first one you have to jump off of to get into the river) is optional and was beautiful to see. I was mostly concerned for my 11 year old daughter and my husband who has a bad knee. If you have any type of joint injury, I do not recommend this tour. My 11 year old surprised us by powering thru but the slippery cliff climbing and muddy trails with nowhere to slide too but down into the river or more rocks, was enough to scare any parent.
I just feel that the description of this experience needs to updated. It is not accurate in my opinion. Overall was a positive experience and now we have bragging rights. It is a challenge and if you are up for that, I say go for it. Just be aware of your own limitations because it is a lot of climbing and maneuvering in and out of small spaces.
Ask KadFamilyTravels about Cave and Waterfall Exploration Adventure in Puerto Rico
marlon s, Owner at I Work Where You Vacation PR, responded to this reviewResponded 3 days ago
Ma’am I’m gonna be perfectly honest, you talk as if your 11 year old is a baby…. We’ve had 5 year olds do this with no problems…. We were not overbooked and didnt over fill the vehicles, you and your husband didnt fit well on accord of your size, nothing we can do there. Your husband, as you very well said, had an injured knee coming which was not disclosed to us until we were already down in the canyon. We are not privy of all your medical issues it is up to you to let us know. Moreover, and sorry to say this but, you where totally out of shape and this adventure is not extreme, your body made it that way! To anyone reading this please take it with a grain of salt as everyone’s fitness level will influence your experience. If you have difficulty walking up and down hills and uneven terrain, dont go on hikes thru a tropical rainforest. This adventure is family friendly. Ive had people as old as 77 do this activity but they stayed active and in shape their whole lives. Dont blame it on the adventure!
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
