This is a must do for those coming to San Ignacio - This was an amazing experience. My wife even described as spiritual. You will get close up to the waterfalls, you’ll enjoy bathing in the waterfall natural pools and the river. The guides take great care for guest safety and experience. And they are also excellent grillers. We would do this again and again if we could

Best adventure fun in San Ignacio - So much fun! A couple of the hikes were challenging but well worth it! The pontoon ride was so much fun. A lot of people from all over getting together and having a great time. The food was excellent. The crew is so helpful on the hikes. I wouldn’t have been able to do them without Giovanni’s help! A must in San Ignacio.

Relaxing and fun BYOB adventure for city slickers who want to explore the Maya jungle - What an incredible way to spend a day in nature, getting to know the Maya jungle from the Macal River. If you are spending time in Western Belize, this trip is a must do (second only to the ATM tour). For context, we are 2 out-of-shape mid 30s/40s city slickers from the concrete jungle of Chicago who were looking for a fun way to explore the Maya jungle. That said, we were intimidated by horseback riding tours and night hikes advertised at our hotel. When we came across Jungle Splash Eco Tours, we were thrilled for the opportunity to not only experience nature from the safety of a boat but to also learn from local legends about the fauna, the history, and the future of Belize. Our guide, Robert, has lived on the surrounding farmland his entire life, and his pride in sustaining and promoting the ecosystem for many generations to come was evident. Listening to his first-hand stories of discovering Maya treasures as a kid in the mountains was as special as seeing crocodiles and monkeys! Plus, he knew all the perfect vantage points for the perfect photos ;) It was truly the trip of a lifetime. You'll never regret committing to a day on the Jungle Gypsy with Robert and crew! Here are the full details of what to expect: From San Ignacio (we were picked up at our hotel), you'll drive about 15 minutes to Daisy's Market. Here, your guide will stop for about 10 minutes to pick up food for the day. Pro tips: 1) let them know here if you have any dietary restrictions. I'm vegetarian and they picked up extra fruit and veggies for me. 2) if you want to have a few drinks, pick up some beer or spirits here. There is a cooler with ice and a bottle opener on board the pontoon. The guides will also have soda and water, but we were on vacation and wanted some adult beverages. From Daisy's, you will drive 12 miles over rocky mountain roads deep into the jungle. The guides do the trek every day so they are pros at navigating the winding road, but expect it to be bumpy! You'll have the option to stop at the owner's farm to use the restroom about 35 minutes into the drive, but we declined so I can't comment on them one way or another. The drive took about 45 minutes from the store. Once you arrive to the river's edge, you'll hop on to the pontoon. Don't expect a luxury boat - the pontoon is a few hand-crafted wooden panels sitting atop 2 floating pontoon tubes. The boat is part of the experience! The water levels were low on the day we visited, so our guide put a wooden plank out from the bank to the boat to make it easier to board. We set sail into the jungle and immediately saw several swallows and a crocodile. Our guide quietly approached the sunning croc so we could get lots of photos. We never would have noticed him ourselves! After sailing for about 15 minutes, you'll reach your first stop of Rio Frio Falls. We stripped down to our bathing suits, water shoes, and phones (for the gram of course), and started the ~5 minute hike to the falls. This is the stop where water shoes are highly recommended. My boyfriend wore sneakers and took them off for the final creek crossing and swim, but he would have preferred water shoes for the rocky creek crossing. The swim into the waterfall was such a refreshing cold plunge to start the day. After the swim, we hopped back onto the boat and journeyed deeper down the river to where the dam is. Our guide pointed out fauna and caves along the way and explained the history of his family's farm. We were highly entertained! After about 90 minutes, we circled back to stop #2: Sandpaper Falls. This was by far our favorite stop! Calcium deposits over the years have calcified vegetation and trees (and even slow moving snails) into hard surfaces that you can easily climb. You feel like spiderman crawling up the rock surfaces with your bare hands and feet. Coming back down, I did get a bit of vertigo as my brain could not compute that wet rock was safe to walk down, but our guide was very patient in helping me down. We ended this stop with a fun slide down into a fresh pool of cold water. As a reward for the trek, we ate lunch docked under the rumbling falls. The team served roasted chicken, sausage, fried beans, grilled potatoes and veggies, homemade tortillas, and fresh papaya. These were truly the best potatoes I've ever eaten! After lunch, we journeyed another ~15 minutes to a beautiful twin waterfall. We didn't disembark here, and instead drove the boat straight under the falls. Be prepared to get wet at the front of the boat! From there, we circled back to our starting point, with our guide noting other animals along the way like a red-capped manakin, howler monkeys calling in the distance, and a baby crocodile tanning in the sun on the river bank. You'll disembark where you began and begin the journey back to your pick up spot, sleepy and content from a day well spent in the Maya jungle. For those of you like me who appreciate an agenda, it was roughly: 8:20: Pick-up 8:20-8:40: Drive to Benque Viejo 8:40-9: Shop at Daisy's 9-9:45: Drive to river bank and board boat 9:45-10:15: Boat out for gentle wildlife watching 10:15-11: Hike and swim at Rio Frio Falls 11-12:45: Float along river to Dam 12:45-1:45: Hike/play at Sandpaper Falls 1:45-2:15: Eat lunch 2:15-2:30: Boat to Twin Falls 2:30-3: Boat back to starting point 3-4: Drive back to hotel/San Ignacio

Awesome unique experience - This was the best day of our trip. Giovanni is awesome and made our experience a great time. I would definitely do this again. We had a bbq lunch prepared for us that was really good. We got to go up to the top of a waterfall and cruise around the river.

The road to the pontoon... - The road to the pontoon was not great, but the activity was amazing. We were the only boat on the lake, the waterfalls were amazing and Giovanni was a great host, he made a super tasty meal right on the boat with the charcoal grill. Very memorable trip.

Great pontoon experience - Amazing guides. They were very knowledgeable and funny. Food was great. Views were beautiful

Wonderful day - Wonderful guide, beautiful area, delicious food,adventurous. Swam up to waterfall and hiked waterfall.

Outdoor zoo! - The hiking back to two of the waterfalls is fairly strenuous and requires very good balance. The pontoon boat is a good place to relax if you don’t want to hike and climb. The staff were pleasant and helpful. Lunch was very good! The van we took to the launch was a wreck but it made it both ways without breaking down. My kids said this was their favorite part of our vacation.

Recommended 100% - Wonderful experience! Take the boat and be amazed by the views of the jungle, full of different shades of green, birds and even we were lucky enough to see a crocodile. Bathe in the eaves of three beautiful waterfalls and enjoy a prepared lunch on board: a delicious barbecue with roasted vegetables, exquisite! Our guide, informative, friendly and excellent cook. Ultimately, the experience has everything: adventure and relaxation. I recommend it 100%.

Great Adventure-Great Fellowship - It was a day full of experiencing natural wonders in Belize. We enjoyed getting to know and learn much from Giovani. So personable. And we became quick friends with a wonderful family of six from Idaho. That made the experience at the three falls so memorable!