Class 2-3 Balsa River Rafting: Swift Rapids Amid Costa Rica Rainforest from La Fortuna
4.9
242 Ratings
La Fortuna
Experience the thrill of Class II and III rapids as you paddle through the Costa Rican rainforest on a 2-3 Balsa River rafting tour. Look out for monkeys, sloths, and birds along the way, and enjoy a delicious lunch at Hunters and Gatherers restaurant. Hotel transport included.
Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Unnamed Road - Enjoy an amazing day rafting on one of the best family-friendly rivers int all of Costa Rica! The Río Balsa is located about 45 minutes from La Fortuna and offers exciting class 2-3 rafting and plenty of wildlife. A great adventure activity from La Fortuna.
What's Included
  • Local guide
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Use of safety equipment
  • Lunch
  • Photographer (photos available for purchase)
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Paddle through Class II and III rapids on this fun white water rafting tour down the Balsa River in Costa Rica. On this 2-hour trip downriver, your guide will lead you through the easy and exciting rapids that flow through Costa Rica rainforest. Keep an eye on the land and sky for monkeys, sloths, and birds. After rafting, reward your efforts with a scrumptious lunch at the famous Hunters and Gatherers restaurant next to the El Salto Swimming Hole and waterfall. Bonus: If you want to hang out later at the swimming hole, no worries. Hotel transport to and from La Fortuna area hotels and lodging is included.

  • Not recommended for people over 65
Location
Desafio Adventure Company
We are happy to pick you up at your hotel or rental home, but you can also easily fin dour office in the center of La Fortuna, 100 meters West of the Central Park.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(242 Ratings)
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Samantha_c
May 20, 2024
Great day - Great tour! We had an amazing day. Our guides Aurelio and Fluffy were awesome. It was the perfect amount of adventure. The balsa river is so beautiful and our guides were also able to point out wildlife during downtime. We had a fruit snack on river and some iguanas joined us! Ended with a delicious Costa Rican lunch, would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Kcamp47
May 11, 2024
Perfect For Almost Any Age! - Emmanuel (Fluffy) and Marcos gave us an unbelievable experience! Emmanuel was not our guide, but rode with us to and from. He is so high energy and full of smiles, it's impossible to be down with him around! Marcos was our guide and was extremely knowledgeable and kept everyone safe, while making it an unforgettable time. The class 2/3 rapids were absolutely doable for a beginner, but didn't skimp on excitement.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
X8826yuerikac
Apr 13, 2024
Thrilling Experience! - What a thrilling experience! Our raft guide Sarah was professional and personable. As 1st time rafters, she made us feel safe which allowed us to enjoy the experience! She even educated us on the surroundings. From pick up to drop off (which included a tasty lunch), we had the best time! I would definitely do it again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robert_n
Apr 7, 2024
Axcilerating rapids. - A very attentive and fun staff, well qualified , safety oriented, and very good fruit snacks and lunch served at their restaurant..
Review provided by Viator
Debbie
Mar 31, 2024
Really fun half day at la fortuna - Amazing our guide was super informative and experienced made the rafting feel safe and fun all the time it was our first time rafting and we had such a good time 10/10
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kimberly_b
Mar 30, 2024
This was so much fun! All... - This was so much fun! All the guides were amazing, the lunch was great. Definitely recommend even for a first time experience
Review provided by Viator
Jessicalc993hd
Mar 20, 2024
Great family experience - Wow! What an adventure! This was the first time my kids (aged 12 & 13) and I have ever done white-water rafting. My husband had done it before, but like 20 years ago. This was a great beginner/family experience. It was just the right amount of rapids/challenge. If we were to do white-water rafting again, we would go for the class 2-3 again. It was just right for us. Our guide, Antonio, was great. Really appreciated the fruit snack offered half-way through the trip. Part of the trip is really calm waters and we even got to get out and float alongside the boat for a while. The lunch provided afterwards was also really good (salad, rice, beans, chicken/beef). I also appreciate that they offer a picture package of your trip. It's great to be able to have pictures captured of our adventure when we couldn't very easily take any ourselves while out on the water. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daniela_p
Mar 6, 2024
Great rafting experience - Amazing experience , we were very lucky to have David as our guide , he was very knowledgable, chilled and ready for adventure. The only downside was the lack of communication prior to the tour as we weren’t aware about the equipment we needed to take. We did level 2/3 and it was a great place to have our first experience rafting. If you are lucky you can see sloths but the most exciting part are the rapids.
Review provided by Viator
Ott0
Apr 25, 2024
Fun, wonderful sights, some exertion, a bit too exciting at one point - The rafting was a bit too exciting at one point when our raft was pinned under a tree that had fallen from the bank. The current almost pushed our raft under the log, which risked scrapping all of us out of the raft. The incident may have been beyond our guide's control. Experienced guides were assigned to each raft. The fruit snack was tasty. Riverbank sights were identified and explained in English.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Angelpie10
May 7, 2024
Good. Could have been better. - The guide was friendly and he spent the 45 minute drive talking about the hazards of rafting and what to do in various scenarios of falling in so that you don’t drown. By the end of the journey I was seriously regretting booking this trip. The guide talked non-stop throughout the trip and I had a headache by the end of it. Anyway we got geared up and got in the raft. The first rapid was thrilling and not as bad as I had thought. We had maybe half a dozen good rapids where we got seriously splashed and wet and it was good fun. Then after about 30mins or so the rapids were minimal or we were just floating. We did little paddling and I felt like we’d paid a lot of money for a river raft ride. We stopped for a snack which was wholly unnecessary as we’d hardly done any work or burnt much energy. Then there was about 10 minutes of floating. We saw a sloth and interesting birds. After getting washed and changed we went for lunch at the same restaurant as yesterday. We’re glad we tried it but don’t feel it’s worth the money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 9 guests
1
Adult
June 2024
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