Published on Oct, 2024
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!
