Duration: Full Day · Price: From $140 USD per group of 1–4 · Difficulty: Challenging
About this tour
The Pacuare River is classified by National Geographic as one of the top five rafting rivers in the world — and once you're on it, the designation stops feeling like marketing and starts feeling like understatement. The river runs through a 60-kilometer gorge that road infrastructure has never reached, which means the dense jungle on both canyon walls looks exactly as it did a century ago: unbroken green canopy interrupted only by waterfalls, and above it, an occasional resplendent quetzal or sunbittern crossing from one side to the other.
The Class III and IV rapids come in sequences separated by long, calm stretches of flat water where your guide points out blue morpho butterflies along the bank or a poison dart frog on a mossy rock. The rapids themselves have names — El Dos, Magnetic, El Cimarrón — and your guide walks you through each one's characteristics before you run it.
Your guides are professional Costa Rican river guides with multiple seasons on the Pacuare. They are calm when things go sideways, expert swimmers, and deeply funny in the moments between rapids. A riverside lunch of rice, beans, plantains, and fresh salad is included at a local camp mid-river, eaten with your feet in the water.
What's included
- Certified river guide
- All rafting equipment (paddle, helmet, life jacket, wetsuit if needed)
- Riverside lunch
- Round-trip transportation from Turrialba or San José
- Dry bag for personal items
Not included
- Gratuities
- Personal travel insurance
- Alcoholic beverages
- Photos and video (available for purchase)
Good to know
- Minimum age 12, minimum weight 40kg
- No prior rafting experience required
- The river can be cold in the morning — wetsuit recommended Nov–Mar
- Secure all loose items before launching
- Free cancellation 48 hours prior