Whitewater Rafting on the Pacuare River in Costa Rica

San Jose, Costa Rica

Experience the adrenaline-charged thrill of whitewater rafting on the Pacuare River! The scenery while rafting is simply unique. The tropical vegetation and power of the waters will transport you to a Central American fantasy world. This one-day adventure battling class III and IV rapids is an unforgettable Costa Rican experience not to be missed.

While in Costa Rica, head out rafting (approximately 3-4 hours) on this perfect tropical river, which due to its scenery and rapids has been declared one of the five best rafting rivers in the world. This is a trip of pure magic, unsurpassed beauty, wildlife and exhilarating fun.

The Pacuare River borders the Talamanca mountain range, home to native Cabecar Indians, jaguars, monkeys, sloth and an incredible variety of birds, butterflies and reptiles. Known as one of the most beautiful rivers in the world, you'll enjoy a day filled with adventure as you raft down the Pacuare River. You'll have time for a relaxing lunch, before heading out on the river again for the last leg of your whitewater rafting experience.

USD $99.00

Review by:   taylan.ilhan,    July 2017
Extremely fun activity with 3-4 hours of rafting in an enchanting jungle. No experience needed. Our guide, Kevin, was an expert rafter and a super nice guy. Highly recommend it.

Review by:   Paul P,    July 2017
This daytrip was the highlight of my two-week stay in Costa Rica. We tackled nearly twenty miles in one day, most of it rapids, and finished up with a leisurely float through a beautiful gorge. Our group of three rafts was accompanied by a man in a kayak with a good camera. He took hundreds of pics, available for sale at a reasonable price. He emails you digital copies. I had mine before the bus was back in San Jose. I would recommend the two-day overnight package. They stop at various spots along the way for short hikes, swims, repelling, and camping overnight. Unfortunately, they only accept double-bookings and I was traveling solo. :-

Review by:   Edna C,    May 2017
It was a wonderful experience! Exciting rafting on the Pacuare River, never a dull moment with level III and IV rapids and the beautiful scenery. Our guide was very knowledgeable and informative. The breakfast and lunch were delicious.

Review by:   schbeir,    March 2017
Best entertainment value! Long drives to and from San Jose but the scenery is beautiful and Matthias is a walking encyclopedia. Breakfast was excellent! River was at its lowest in early March but rapids were still fun. Had a nice picnic on the river bank as well! Great value!

Review by:   Adrienne A,    January 2017
The whitewater rafting was VERY fun, and VERY long. You didn't leave there feeling like you only had a short ride. We had 3 full hours on the river, and excellent guides that made it fun for our 13 and 16 year olds too. Biggest frustration was not the fault of the tour operator, but they probably could have made this more clear before hand. Ours was a 13 hour day from San Jose pick up time. 13 hours, for 3 hours on the river. That part sucked. The rest of the time was making pick ups, stuck in traffic, driving, or dropping people off and a bit of time eating breakfast and lunch. That part was a huge bummer. 5:20am pick up, and home just after 6:00pm.

Review by:   Pamela G,    October 2016
The greatest!_br/_ So much fun and adventure. Guide was amazing Kevin is da bomb._br/_ Totally worth it, you will have the time to enjoy nature, laugh,feel a little scare but the time of your life getting wet.

Review by:   Ours,    July 2016
Fun fun fun! Long day def worth it!

Review by:   Brad C,    July 2016
Loved every minute of it. So much fun.

Review by:   Kate d,    July 2016
Me and my sister had never gone before and had an okay time. Out of the whole time on the rapids it was actually only exciting for 15% of the time. I think we had an off day though, we had only arrived the night before to CR and didn't gel with our trainee raft leader and our small group wasn't very fun.

Review by:   dtemp99,    June 2016
This was the best river we have ever rafted on. Our guide, Ray, was fantastic and he pointed out key points along the way. The trip is long and involves a great workout but well worth the money and time. When we return to Costa Rica in the future we will definately go down the Pacuare River again. It was the highlight of our trip!

Review by:   Tmsantan,    May 2016
This was an amazing trip and would recommend to anyone. I was on a boat with an older person and made the trip that much harder for everyone on the boat including the guide. Our guide was awesome Johnathon. We went during the end of the dry season but it still had not rain so a lot of the rapids where shallow but still a great trip.

Review by:   Esteban J L,    March 2016
Great experience!!! Would do it again definitely

Review by:   Valerie R,    February 2016
Thrilling ride! I can't wait to do it again! The tour guide was awesome.

Review by:   viator,    February 2016
Great staff! had a great time! I highly recommend this experience.

Review by:   Rob F,    November 2015
What a day!! We did this on day one of our holiday in Costa Rica .. and what a welcome it was!

Review by:   Robert G,    October 2015
This was a wonderful trip. The guide on the bus gave us great information about what to expect and what to do on the river. He also gave us information about the country. Our guide on the river was very good he made the trip fun and exciting. I felt well taken care of the whole time. I have always wanted to do this and I am glad I did.

Review by:   Andrina O,    June 2015
LOVED every minute of this tour! we started off the day with a 6:15am pickup at my hostel in san jose. then we drove an hour and half to the tour company's operations center for a good hearty breakfast. after that, we drove a little more to the pacuare river with class 3-4 rapids. my friend and i did this at the end of may, during rainy season so the rivers were full of water and super fast moving. apparently, the water levels were so high and fast that we finished the course in 2 hours, instead of the usual 4 hour it takes to traverse the course. after getting absolutely soaked and knocked down by massive rapids, we went back to the operations center, took a shower in their well-kept shower facilities and ate a delicious lunch. also, there's a photographer in a kayak taking pictures of all the participants on the course- my tip is to purchase the photo package with your raft members- it's around 10/person and they will send you a link to the pictures online where you can then download. this is my first time doing whitewater rafting- it was intense and an adrenaline-filled adventure and i would totally do it again in a heartbeat!

Review by:   Mary M P,    May 2015
Excellent guides, food was great! Had the best time. This was my 2nd time with this company. Will do it again.

Review by:   Sam G,    March 2015
Fantastic trip. Didn't know exactly what to expect, but turned out it was 27km of some of the best rapids in the world. Beautiful scenery. Our guide Mathias was one of the most professional and reassuring guides I've ever met in any adventure sport. A must.

Review by:   Katie F,    February 2015
Our whitewater rafting tour was one of our favorite things we did in Costa Rica. Our tour guide was personable and knowledgeable and kept us safe. We had so much fun! Beautiful scenery and a good length of time I think we were on the river for about 4 hours. The river was kind of low at the time we went February, but it wasnt too low or too high, so we had medium-sized rapids. So fun. The only advice I would give is to eat a lot at the breakfast they provide or bring a snack for right before you get on the water, because we did get pretty hungry by the end but they provide a late lunch after the raft trip. We would definitely recommend this to anyone traveling to Costa Rica.

Review by:   Jenn,    December 2014
Rapids, food, and tour guides were amazing! The river is gorgeous!

Review by:   coabey,    December 2014
Excellent adventure. The guide (George) was fully bilingual and extremely knowledgeable of the area's wildlife.

Review by:   Tina S,    April 2014
Whitewater rafting was brilliant! I went in the dry season so for my first time doing this activity it was perfect for me so it wasnt "too extreme". The tour guide was briliant and spoke great English and was a really nice guy. The food on the day was great, I have nothing negative to say :)

Review by:   Sue L,    March 2014
My husband and I had a blast! We had Reynaldo as our guide and he was fantastic! This was our first time river rafting and took to it really well with the help of Rey it was a team effort. My husband and I worked really hard and due to low waters it definitely a work out. We saw an incredible waterfall and Rey taught us about the flora and fauna in the area. We were feed an incredibly delicious lunch 3/4 of our way we stopped on a little dry bank where they catered fresh fruit and sandwiches. We even saw some indigenous Indians that live in the area! Due to this river rafting trip we are hooked and will be booking more river rafting trips in our future adventures.. Big thanks to Ray!

Review by:   brookeb,    April 2013
This was my favorite adventure in Costa Rica!!! It is adrenaline packed and visually beautiful. Our tour guide was Christian and he made the river a perfect experience combining his knowledge of the river and surroundings and his good time attitude. If you do not book any other tour book this one. It is a must do!

Review by:   Sandeep D,    January 2013
Excellent tour, good views and guide

Review by:   Alexei G,    December 2012
It was wonderful! Highly recommend to all!

Review by:   Daniel C,    October 2012
amazing experience!!! i cant describe in words how much fun i had on this trip.. the tour company was prompt and was amazingly helpful and knowledgable, the area was gorgeous i cant stop recomending it

Review by:   Richard C,    September 2011
Had an amazing time. Ray is a great tour guide and we had "Chino" as our raft guide. I told him I would tip him extra as long as I didn't fall in the water. We were both very happy at the end. A must do for Costa Rica travelers looking for adventure.

Review by:   Mark B,    May 2011
I've been on half a dozen whitewater rafting trips in the last few years and this one was the best by far. Our guide was great.

Review by:   Lisa N,   United States of America, June 2010
I usually use Viator because I do these excursions on a layover and am by myself..always feel safe and know I will get a quality trip.However this time the company man for the rafting group who was like the leader was unprofessional and actually rude..I know there are other companys that do this trip mayby Viator should use them insted. But The river was Beautiful and Clean !!!, my raft guide was great and to food was wonderful

Review by:   LUIS M,    June 2010
Excellent

Review by:   Carol M,   United States of America, March 2010
Excellent

Review by:   LUIS M,    March 2010
Excellent