Ian Anderson's Caves Branch Adventure Co

Until Caves Branch, I had never seen a resort on Trip Advisor that had 0 bad reviews. But now I understand why. This place is incredible. If you are looking for adventure this is the place. We stayed in a Jungle Suite and then a Jungle Bungalow. The rooms are nice and are surrounded by the rain forest. With only screens on the windows, you hear all the sounds of the jungle - but with the soothing rain and other sounds it was peaceful and we slept well. We tried to stay in a tree house, but they were all booked. We saw the tree houses during our stay - and they looked very cool, so if you have the choice I would opt for a tree house. You are in the jungle - so long sleeves and bug spray are a must. Most of the bugs stay outside the room - but not all. Somehow we made it through our stay without a single mosquito bite. The pool and hot tub were very nice and the food was better than we expected. But, the main reason you come here is for the excursions. We did two excursions - the first day we did the one where we floated for a bit down a river and then spent the rest of the time exploring a cave, with equal time hiking in the cave and the rest tubing through the cave. Our second tour was the Waterfall Cave - which I believe is their most popular tour. It was amazing! We were worried because it was a 5-sweat level on their intensity scale. Having completed it - I think the 5 rating is proper. This was a rigorous hike through the cave, followed by an intense, and somewhat terrifying climb up several waterfalls at the end. After you climb up the waterfalls, you then get back down by jumping off of the top of each into the small pools below - all in the dark cave with only your headlamp for lighting. My sons and I climbed the waterfalls, but my wife was able to do the entire hike through the cave and just skip the last intense part of climbing the waterfalls. The inside of the cave was spectacular - with each chamber having its own unique feel - it felt like we were in a Sci-Fi movie and each room was like a different planet. The best part about these excursions was that they are exclusive to Caves Branch. So when we were on each excursion we had 7 people our first day and 9 people our second day - and we had the caves entirely to ourselves. No crowds. No waiting for other groups to pass. Just our small group and two private guides - and miles of caves and river to ourselves. This was such a privilege. The guides are absolutely incredible, they are very knowledgeable about the surroundings, extremely friendly and helpful, and very well-trained - we could not have made it to the top of some of those waterfalls with our Justo helping us through it. The resort then has a wonderful community feel, where after a fun day of excursions everyone spends time together in the hot tub and at dinner sharing stories and making recommendations for each other for the next day's adventure. You need to bring two pairs of well-tread sneakers. One to wear around the hotel - and one to wear on the excursions. The sneakers you wear on the excursions will get completely wet - and will not dry in the rain forest. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime family vacation. If you are looking for a more adventurous experience - you will love Caves Branch.