Batey Adventures — Attraction in Utuado

My wife and I are celebrating our 30th Wedding Anniversary in Puerto Rico. Everywhere we visit, we like to do some hiking and kayaking. We have visited Puerto Rico many times because we have family there but we have never kayaked there. I found Batey Zipline Adventures and decided my wife and I, had to do it. It did not disappoint. My wife and I are 52 years old, we are in pretty good shape and my wife does not know how to swim; I say this to let you know that you can do the Kayak and hiking trip without knowing how to swim because Batey Adventures provides you at check in, a helmet with a head lamp, a flotation vest, and a tour guide who is with you all the time. Once checked in, the tour guides (our guides were Edwin and Jorge) provide you with a safety talk. Then you are taken on a van ride for about ten minutes to the entrance of the trail where you will hike to the kayaks. The hike is an easy hike but can be slippery if it rained the day before. Participants should were closed toe shoes, preferably a combination hiking/water shoe with good grip. Once you reach the river, the tour guide(s), set up all participants in their own kayak (no tandem kayaks are available). If you have someone in your group who does not kayak on their own, the tour guide will tie their kayak to theirs and lead you through the river tour. Here, we turned on our head lamps and kayaked through 1,000 foot cave. It was amazing. The cave had very cool geoformations and bats flying back and forth. The cave leads to an area where you will find natural spring water. Here, one can swim, drink from the natural spring water and eat a snack if you want. Also, the tour guides showed us different plants, etc native in the area. They also found volcanic rock, which they made a mask for anyone who wanted a face mask, like you would get at a spa. Once you have spent some time there, you kayak back through the thousand foot cave and back to your kayak starting point. There you leave the kayaks and continue on your hike through the edge of the river and through the river to experience different caves on the river. There are two more spots where one can swim. The second spot we hit, the water was deep and the tour gude, Edwin, assisted my wife, by helping her float until she was at a spot where she could stand on her own. Edwin and Jorge were very knowledgeable of the terrain, plant life, and mountain region. They shared many interesting facts about many things throughout the hike and kayak trip. All in all, the long River Kayak and hiking trip took us from about 8:50am to about 1:30pm. Know that they do not rush you. They allow your group to explore, swim and ask questions. Once you get back, the tour guide drives you back to where you parked. There they have facilities for you to change clothes, buy gifts for family, friends or self. You will have a great time. I highly recommend this activity if you want to see a part of Puerto Rico that is not considered touristey. Thank you Edwin and Jorge for a...

Let's start by saying you need not dd any other tour or search for any other tour. This is the one! For what you get for the money you cannot compete. The tour guides were awesome. Edgar and Edwin were super friendly and knowledgeable. Along the tour there will be things that will casually pop up and they will have much knowledge of them. Plants animals etc. We were a party of eight including three young teenagers and they all said it was the best thing they've ever done. BTW, no cell service so good quality family time . You start out with a small explanation and a hike to the zip lines. The zip lines are not overdone where they're two miles long for example but you do plenty of them and you get different types. Some are faster, some are higher, longer, droopier, etc. You trek across a suspension bridge that runs over a beautiful River. You also repel down a rock wall cliff which was a little scary at first but everyone did it. The tour guides make you feel comfortable and safe. Once the jungle adventures are done you head down to the river where you kayak and swim. You kayak into a dark cave with headlamps on. You get to see plenty of bats. That was very cool! You get to hang out and jump off of rocks into deeper parts of the river. I do recommend bringing some type of trekking shoes, or closed toe hiking sandal, etc. which helps you grip onto the rocks and walking in the river. Also it's smart to have some type of small drawstring water resistant backpack for some snacks and water(energy bars, granola bars, etc.). This is a must. It's a long day of adventures and you ARE in the jungle. There are NO concession stands. After the canoeing the basic tour is basically over but I HIGHLY recommend the extended tour. This was the icing on the cake. It's a little more intense for the average person but it really felt like an adventure. Track downriver along the banks and in the river. In some parts you have to swim in some deeper pools to get downstream, but, you do have life vest on which helps a lot. You also stop and drink some natural spring water seeping from the limestone. You make it to another cave where the sights are undescribable. You then hike up the hill quite a ways to make it back to your original starting point. Like I said what you get for the money is uncomparable. It's definitely the highlight of my trip to...

The cave and kayak tour was my favorite day of our week-long trip in Puerto Rico. Edwin was the main guide and it was interesting to see all that he taught us about the flora, fauna, and caves that we experienced. This area was his childhood stomping grounds where he went with friends to swim, catch crawdads, and picnic on the banks of the river, so he knows the place intimately. He greeted the locals that we passed by (one man that was using a machete to harvest some taro in his yard, another was an elderly lady). The bridge crossing, kayaking in the cave, and drinking the spring water was amazing, but floating down another section of the river to a larger cave was even cooler. We took our 12, 10, and 7-year-old kids. The 12 and 10 year olds loved the exploring and adventure of it all and felt totally safe the entire time. Our 7-year-old was in a kayak with me in the cave and was fine and enjoyed the experience. When it was time to float in the river she was very nervous, but between us wearing life-jackets and me holding onto her, she did great and ended up enjoying it a lot. We floated through 2 sections of the river, each time being in the water for only about 5 minutes or less. My kids are pretty strong hikers, so the hiking and climbing over rocks wasn't an issue for them, but it might be for younger kids that aren't as experienced. Edwin was cheerful, professional, patient, and encouraging with the kids and we felt like we could ask him questions and he would know the answers. I would highly recommend this tour and would even do it again if we ever return to...