elizabethlA7154FM
22 Apr 2023
We loved this all-day excursion, and would definitely recommend it if you're looking to see several beautiful natural sites in Puerto Rico. Our guides, Paola and Luis, were so kind and funny and did a great job leading the group. We loved having an active day after a day of laying by the pool, and we feel like we got to be a part of something really special. Given that we were staying an hour away from the rainforest, we felt like this was a really efficient way to see the opposite site of Puerto Rico all in one day.
There were a few things we wish we had known in advance that would have helped us be a bit more comfortable throughout the day:
Our start time was listed as 9:30, but we saw in the guidance that pickups could be as late as 10:30 in our area. I texted the company to confirm, and they said that our pickup time was 10:10. We were staying in Condado, so we were picked up at the Marriott, which was just 10 min down the street from our hotel. So if you don't get specific guidance from them on your pickup time, I'd recommend confirming via text. The company uses those large, 15-passenger vans to pick everyone up. After 2 more stops nearby, we got on the road and headed to a large fruit stand to meet the other van (we had 16 people in our group plus guides).
The guidance said to eat a large breakfast beforehand, as you won't have dinner until 4 pm. While that's true, we had the opportunity to get a snack at the fruit stand and the guides offered us snacks during and after the excursion, so don't worry about going hungry.
After stopping at the fruit stand, we got back on the road and headed up into the mountains to the area where we would park to enter the rainforest. The scenery was beautiful, but be prepared for narrow roads! Once we parked, we hopped out and dressed in life jackets and helmets to begin the hike. One really important thing we wished we'd known - it was recommended that we not bring anything with us on the hike (which soon made total sense!) so while we had packed for a "day of hiking" with camp towels, water bottles, and a daypack, etc., it really wasn't necessary! Everything we brought with us stayed in the van, so our recommendation would be to bring whatever you need - don't worry about having to carry it. But when it comes to what you're wearing, don't just be prepared to "get a little wet and muddy" - prepare to be submerged in water/swim!
We hiked 1.5 miles (mostly) uphill to get to an area of the river where there is a natural pool, a waterslide (in the rock), a rope swing, and several high rocks to jump off of. It's all optional, but super fun. Most of the afternoon was spent playing in this area. We took part in all of the activities - the water slide, the rock jumping, and the rope swing - all of which you will do in whatever you are wearing (shoes, life jacket, and helmet included). We'd recommend wearing minimal jewelry or accessories (one traveler lost a big hoop earring during a jump) - we had on hats and sunglasses and really did not need the hats (because, helmets). Determining what to wear for shoes was the hardest part. Given the terrain and the climbing we did, I would have wanted hiking shoes... but given that we swam in them, I would have wanted water shoes (which were not allowed). One of the women in our group said she purchased $30 shoes on Amazon that had a good grip but could get wet... so if we did this again, we'd look into something like that. As it was, we wore older running shoes that we ended up throwing away before our flight home, which was fine, but admittedly the tread wasn't ideal in slippery places.
Also, I learned the hard way - maybe hold your nose before you jump off a 15 ft rock... I still have water in my ear from where it went up my nose, lol.
By the way, your guides will take pictures of everyone during this time, so no need to bring a camera - the pictures turned out great!
After you play for a while, you head back to the van and get taken to dinner, which is maybe 10 min away. We sat outside - it was lovely - and had one of the best meals of our trip. Here's where I might recommend something different from what the official guidance says - it recommends bringing a change of clothes, so some folks changed before dinner. But, you will get completely soaked later on, kayaking, which means you will ride home (for the better part of an hour) soaking wet. Because of this, we waited to change until after kayaking, which meant I got a little wet/chilly during dinner. So our advice is - bring two changes of clothes! If I could do it over again, I'd change before dinner into dry clothes and sandals... then, after kayaking, I'd switch clothes again.
Kayaking was lovely, but we didn't get started until 6:15 and we arrived at 5:30 (it was just down the street from dinner), so be prepared to wait a bit and maybe have a beer (they have little stands on site). When we went, the plankton were "low-glow," but we still were able to see them. And, the guides did a fantastic overview of the constellations and the animals in the area, so we still felt like we got to appreciate nature, even without a lot of luminescence.
By the time we finished kayaking, we were pretty tired - it was a 2-hour adventure so it was close to 9 by the time we headed home, which took 45 min-1 hour. We did change into dry clothes before we got on the road but it was a little tricky to do so in a tiny bathroom stall, so we'd recommend something easy to slip on, given you'll still be damp, and not too many layers (if I had known, I might have brought a dress that would have been easy to pull over my head, versus the tight shorts I brought!).
We were exhausted, a little smelly, and so happy by the time we returned to our hotel. Thankfully we were headed home the next day so we packed all our wet clothes into plastic bags to travel and tossed them straight into the washer when we got home. We are so, so glad we did this and we made some incredible memories we will treasure for years to come! I hope the advice above is helpful, and I hope you enjoy!