Canoe into Mystery: Barton Creek Mayan Cave Expedition

Alex was our guide. He did a fantastic job. He was extremely knowledgeable about the caves and has worked there for many many years. The cave canoeing was easy--the guide did all the work. The geology and archeological visuals were awesome. The ancient stories are also incredible. The amazing thing to me was how calm and peaceful it was inside the cave--so quiet and the sounds were soothing. Quite relaxing I'd say.

Rommel was a great guide! He gave great information about Belize, Barton Creek, and Big Rock Falls. The chicken, bean and rice, coleslaw, chips and salsa were delicious! I definitely recommend doing both Barton Creek and Big Rock Falls. Barton creek was so peaceful and beautiful! Rommel answered all our questions about the cave and vegetation. Big Rock Falls is beautiful! The trail to big rock falls has a lot of steps, but so worth the view. We loved getting to swim around the waterfalls. September was a good time to go for us. The weather was cool and cloudy, but no rain, we got lucky!

Our guide, Angel, was great. The canoe cave tour was a nice adventure for my daughter, 5 year old granddaughter and me. Angel explained the Mayan history and culture thoroughly and answered our many questions. It was very interesting to learn how the ancient Mayans used the caves for various rites and rituals. The stalagtite formations were incredible to view as we canoed below them. The last 4 mile ride to the cave was on a rather rugged road, but Angel took great care driving to the destination, including crossing the river. Overall, this was a very enjoyable experience for us.

We wanted to explore more of the beauty of Belize and found this opportunity for cave canoeing at Barton Creek Cave. We were able to meet our guide in the center of town and he took the two of us into the hills and jungles to the south of San Ignacio, along a bumping and scenic dirt road to the beautiful grounds outside the Barton Creek Cave Entrance. We were given flashlights and headlamps, and settled into our canoe. The creek is not extremely deep (at this time of year anyway) and we quickly found ourselves in complete darkness except for the light we'd brought. The cave is full of amazing rock formations - stalactites some stalagmites, bat holes, curtain formations and some Mayan artifacts. The air was cool and moist, a nice break from the heat outside. Our guide provided a wealth of information about the history of the cave, of Belize, of the Mayan people, and other things. The canoe trip went perhaps a mile into the cave system before we were blocked by hanging rock formations from going further. After we returned, we had the opportunity to swim in the delightfully cool waters at the cave mouth before enjoying snacks and hearing about our guide's experience working for the forest service in Belize. This is a great way to spend a half-day trip out of San Ignacio, and a chance to experience caving from a canoe.

Rommel was a fantastic tour guide. He picked us up promptly from our hotel, had interesting information to share with us about the area on the way to the caves and had all the details prepared ahead of time so we felt well taken care of. He knew some history and Mayan facts about the caves along with cultural information and made sure we were safe while crossing under some tight spaces. Afterwards we hoped to see a bit of the local area and he drove us around and pointed out interesting cultural spots for our interests. Would highly recommend. We felt like we got a private tour with everything we could have hoped for. Thank you!

A must do tour. Marlin was an awesome guide!! We were dealing with the flooding from Nadine and was hoping that as the weather improved that this tour would be available. Marlin made it happen with his stories and knowledge of the history of the area, to helping my daughter (with a bad knee) and myself cross a river that we were unable to drive through. He took such great care of us. This tour was a highlight of our trip to San Iganico. Thank you Marlin.

This is a nice trip for the price and our guide was Marlin. He picked us up from the hotel and started the tour right away, talking about Belize and interesting stuff we passed on the way to the cave. We had a great time, the cave was very cool. We swam in the river after the tour and it was very refreshing.

Barton Creek is a short 30-40min drive San Ignacio. The caving experience itself is about an hour. Pretty place, worth seeing in my opinion.

We enjoyed the morning, from getting picked up from our hotel on time to just listening to our guide talk about Barton Cave as an important Mayan archeological site as we paddled in. He answered all our questions and was very kind to help us figure out how to paddle and navigate the environment. This activity also helped us get used to the heat because after our tour in and out, we cooled off in the creek. It is a really nice pls e to ease into the environment if you are not used to the heat. Refreshing!

Awesome tour. Guide picked me up where I was staying. Gave us good instructions and had good equipment. Nice tour and explanation of things. Definitely an awesome cave!