White water rafting in Costa Rica

[Gmagold]

Has anyone done this excursion? If so, how strenuous was it? Do you think it is to much for a couple of out of shape 60 yr olds?

[umbluemusic]

I believe there is a Costa Rica board this would be better in, but I'm an out of shape 29 year old who white water rafts and it is really a pretty strenuous thing. Have you ever rafted before? What class are the rapids on the excursion that you're considering?

[moki'smommy]

I don't regret for a minute that I did it on the Colorado river in my 20s. However...I'm now in my 60s and would not think of trying it at my current stage of lack of physical abilities.

[camofwilliamsburg]

In Costa Rica you will be on class 2 and possible 3. You should find no problem with this. A few years ago we went and my parents who were 81 and 85 did just fine..... but I have been blessed with parents who do not act or look or feel their age.

[chrysalis]

We did it and has a great time. Would do it again in a heart beat. Really loved it.

 

Just wished that I owned a waterproof camera at the time.

Edited November 3, 2015 by chrysalis

[cibaygirls]

I did this a couple years ago and loved it. Me and DH were 40 at the time, but there was a wide range of ages and skills levels. It was not too crazy rapids but very fun, and the lunch afterwards was fabulous. Each raft had a guide with you the whole time telling you what to do.

[avcruz]

Where in Costa Rica is this excursion and when?

My husband and I booked the one in Puntarenas in April a few years ago, and it was the end of the dry season. The river was so shallow that we never really saw any "white" water and in a couple of places my husband had to get out and help the guide drag the raft across sandbars! All in all it still was a nice excursion though - we saw lots of wildlife.

[partybarbie]

DH and I took this tour in March of last year. Unfortunately, there were a few problems. March/April is the end of the "dry" season. The drought was so bad, that general population was only receiving water to their homes for 4-5 hours per day. This led to many water rights protesters, whose primary mission was to close all major roads and bridges until the local authorities turned the water back on.

 

What should have been a 90 minute bus ride to the rafting area, turned into three hours. Instead of rafting first, then eating lunch, we had to reverse order. This meant that in the heat of the afternoon, all of the animals along the river were hiding and sleeping. One needs to be there in the morning to see any wildlife. Secondly, there was no reason to worry about the rapids because the water level was so low, there were no rapids.

 

After the tour, it was another two hour bus ride back to the ship.

 

Now if one goes in November (the end of the rainy season) one may have a totally different experience. Even though I don't blame Princess, a five hour bus ride, with minimal air conditioning, did not make for a very fun day.

 

While I firmly believe that people have the right to protest, if I had known about the protesting and road closures in advance, I would have picked a different tour that stayed closer to the ship.

[Gmagold]

We will be there early December, also it does not say what class the rapids are.

[partybarbie]

You will have more water in December than we had in March, but the description says "float trip" so I still wouldn't expect more than a class 1 or 2 rapids.

 

Also, even without traffic problems, on the seven hour tour, three hours are spent on a bus. Just something to consider. If this is your first visit to Costa Rica, I would pick a different tour.