Barton Creek Cave Tour with David’s Adventure Tours

Barton Creek Cave is a must-see thing to do in San Ignacio! This remote mountain cave is one of the largest river caves in Belize and is full of unique, intricate formations. The openness of the cave varies from huge cathedral ceilings to narrowly canoeing between draping formations. In addition to being a fascinating geologic feature, there is evidence that Barton Creek Cave was used for Mayan ceremonial purposes. Artifacts include pottery shards and human remains that date back to about 1,800 years ago.

Barton Creek Cave tours are only done on canoes or kayaks. This makes for a very relaxing experience as the canoeing is very soft on the still waters. Gently cruise atop the jade colored waters as your guide points out the beautiful formations, visible Mayan artifacts and shares detailed history and information about the cave itself.

And there’s no better person to explore it with than David from David’s Adventure Tours. Not only is David an incredibly positive, intelligent and humble man but he is also the founder of Barton Creek Cave and he has played a major role in its protection and conservation.

Keep in mind that my phone pictures inside of the cave do not do it justice!

Visiting Barton Creek Cave

To enter Barton Creek Cave, you must book a tour. You may not explore this cave independently. Usually for us, those words would cease any further research. But one day while we were out and about in San Ignacio, we met a very friendly man working at David’s Adventure Tours named Giovanni. We organically ended up hanging out and talking for awhile. He wasn’t trying to be pushy or sell us anything, it was just friendly casual conversation. Then, a couple days later we met the man himself – David Simpson. He too was extremely laid back, welcoming and conversational. We got to talking about Barton Creek Cave and his passion, appreciation and deep respect for this special site was unmistakable. And apparently very contagious because we now felt the need to see and experience it!

David Simpson is the founder of Barton Creek Cave and it is protected and only respectfully explored because of his efforts. He knew that this cave was special and should remain preserved as living cave that can continue to share its rich history and beautiful features for years to come.

Let the Barton Creek Cave Tour Begin!

Barton Creek Cave is accessed by a bumpy dirt road through Mennonite lands. And all along the way David is pointing out trees, birds, facts about the area and other noteworthy observations. David is full of information and makes conversation easy.

The canoe tour through Barton Creek Cave begins by boarding the canoes and traversing the unusual blue water towards the wild and welcoming cave entrance. Before entering the cave, David recognized the bird sounds we were hearing as toucans. We had yet to see toucans on our Belize trip. So we waited a minute or two and there they were! Two beautiful toucans flying overhead. We entered Barton Creek Cave with smiles on our faces already!

As you peacefully glide through the cave, David’s Adventure Tours equips each canoe with a powerful spotlight that illuminates the beautiful sights within the cave. Expect plenty of stalagmites, stalactites and sparkling calcite crystal-like formations. These formations are millions of years old but thanks to the conservation efforts, Barton Creek Cave is a healthy, living cave. Meaning these formations are still growing and the cave is constantly changing.

Don’t forget to look up as there are many cathedral like areas within the cave that extend extremely high.

One thing that I loved about the Barton Creek Cave tour was the mix of tall, cavernous sections and tighter narrow sections. Seeing the formations hanging from the ceilings, cool calcite formations along the cave walls and weaving through the narrows made this chill canoe tour exciting and engaging. Once we could go no further, we carefully turned the canoes around and peacefully floated back to the light. Don’t forget to turn off the spotlights to take a moment to appreciate the darkness of being this far underground.

Barton Creek Cave tour is a beautiful glimpse into the areas geologic and cultural past. Not only will the cave canoe experience forever remain in our memories, but David is one of those people that you just can’t forget. Thank you David for being such a positive part of our adventures in Belize!

Practical Information

David’s Adventure Tours Contact: WhatsApp# +501 666 6971

Cost of Tour: $150 BZ / $75 USD

Length of Tour: The Barton Creek Cave tour departs from David’s Adventure Tours at 9 am. It takes about 40 minutes to get to the cave. You will then spend about 90 minutes in the Barton Creek Cave! And you will go about one mile deep into the cave then of course, one mile back out. After the exploring the cave by canoe, you will have a chance to swim in the beautiful river in an area outside of the cave.

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What to Bring: Camera and maybe a water bottle for the car ride but besides a camera you do not need to bring anything into the cave.

What to Wear: Dress comfortably for sitting in a canoe. Sandals, shorts, shirt (maybe long sleeve if you’re prone to getting chilly). If you plan on swimming at the end of the tour through Barton Creek Cave, wear your swimsuit! There are restrooms that you can change in before or after the tour. But there won’t be anywhere to change between exiting the cave and the swimming opportunity.

Thanks for Reading!

We hope this article was helpful in helping you decide if a Bartons Creek Cave tour is for you. And if you do choose to canoe with David’s Adventure Tours, tell him Shane and Katie said hi 🙂

There’s nothing like exploring new places! We have many Belize articles to come but in the meantime, check out these cool adventures at home in the US:

• Backpacking Missouri and Fancy Pass Loop
• Bumpass Hell + Cold Boiling Lake and Crumbaugh Lake
• Hilton Lake Trail
• Oasis on Black Canyon Trail

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