What‘s Included

Reviews

• Amazing!!

  Amie L,

  Oct 5, 2024

  5.00

  We had such a great tour with Andrei! The boat ride to the Falls was definitely the highlight of the day! First you will drive ~2 hours to get to the jump point for the Falls. On the way, Andrei was kind enough to stop at a roadside bibingka stall in Pila to let us watch it being made and try this delicious Filipino treat! Once you get to the jump point for the Falls, you are led to a long wooden boat that holds ~2 people. It’s about a 2 hour journey to the Falls, navigating multiple rapids, with a rest break half way (only going to) where you can purchase (with cash) snacks and drinks. We were asked if we also wanted to purchase food and drinks for our boatmen and we kindly obliged. It was a very reasonable price. Once you get near the falls, you will transfer to a large bamboo raft that holds ~8-10 people and 2 different boatmen pull the raft along a rope to take your under and behind the Falls to a cave where you can swim briefly. These boatmen were a bit pushy about tips. However, our main 2 boatmen never asked. We did feel it appropriate to tip all of them because the work was so strenuous navigating the boat through rocks and narrow paths by hand/foot. Overall it was exhilarating at the Falls, but also a peaceful and beautiful journey on the way to/from. At Hidden Valley Springs, you get to eat a wonderful buffet of Filipino food and enjoy relaxing pools. This was a welcome respite after our Falls adventure. (It was about an hour between the two and then, due to traffic, another 2 hours back to Manila.) Andrei was fantastic! He was very accommodating and shared many things on the way about the varying cities and Filipino cuisine and culture. I recommend wearing a swim-suit, with clothes over it, and water shoes. You will get soaked. You can change into dry clothes after you finish at Hidden Valley Springs. I also recommend a waterproof phone pouch so you can take pictures/video along the way. The boatmen are also willing to take pictures for you! Andrei was also great about telling us what to bring and taking pictures as well. 10/10 think this trip was worth the price, especially because we were the only 2 on the tour and Andrei was so kind as to make it very tailored to us!

• Really fun day of adventure and relaxing, but wouldn't pay this much again

  Lauren A,

  Apr 9, 2024

  3.00

  Overall, this was a really fun day and Seana and the driver were both lovely but I don't think this tour is worth the price point ($240pp) which is why I'm giving 3 stars. Seana was very communicative and picked us up promptly at our hotel and during the first part of the drive, we had a great conversation and Seana shared a lot of information about Filipino culture. The tour was myself, my partner, and one other solo traveler and the van was very comfortable for our group of 3 (plus Seana + the driver). We had a couple issues on the canoe trip to Pagsanjan Falls. First, the three of us shared a canoe which was uncomfortable given that we were all tall. Given the price of this tour and the relative price of the canoe portion (online suggested it's $20pp), it would have been nice if my partner and I had our own canoe because it was extremely cramped and uncomfortable sharing such a tight space with someone we didn't know. Also, our boat started breaking apart about half way into the tour and rusty nails and screws were sticking out, along with shards of splintered wood. It felt extremely unsafe. We convinced another oarsman to trade boats with us, but they requested 500 pesos as a 'rental fee', which we paid because we didn't feel safe going down the rapids in our boat. Seana was going to follow up with the Ministry of Tourism to report this, but we didn't hear back about a resolution or possible refund. The Hidden Valley Springs was beautiful and a really wonderful way to spend the rest of the afternoon. I especially liked the short (~30 min) hiking trail to the waterfall and exploring the grounds. The buffet lunch was also delicious and the amenities at the resort (locker room, showers, etc) were really nice. We really enjoyed this tour, but we felt it was overpriced for the experience.

• PAGSANJAN FALLS

  ShiuKiang,

  Nov 2, 2023

  3.00

  The upstream canoeing experience is exhirirating experience if you're a first time kayaker. The tour de force was "rafting" behind a large waterfall, nothing to compare with the little tug going behind the Niagara Falls in America off or a short track behind Huanggousu in China of course but nevertheless very enjoyable!