Arenal Rafting, La Fortuna de San Carlos

We had Yader as our guide for the journey to the river and Jason for the rafting. Both were great and made the experience so much fun. Very enjoyable activity and the pictures were a great purchase, looking through them has been really funny

First and foremost, our guide, Braulio, was so much fun and made our trip a blast. This was my first white-water rafting experience and it was worth every penny. The group starts at a central location in La Fortuna before you all hop on buses out to the Balsa River. The bus ride is about 1.5hrs one-way, but there is a stop part-way through at a roadside tourist shop and we even stopped the buses at one point to get out and look at some sloths. The rapids are loads of fun, but not really intense or scary at all. Most of the guides will also be able to point out wildlife to you along the ride (the second half of the river is calmer and slower so there is plenty of time where you're not paddling). The stop for fresh fruit was a little lack-luster, but the lunch after getting back to La Fortuna was very good! At the end, your raft can purchase pictures (they have guys in kayaks stationed throughout the ride to snap shots) for only $40 which is very cheap once you split it up.