Balsa River Rafting: Scenic Adventure with Lunch

Following briefings from your trained guides, refine your rafting abilities prior to starting this river expedition. Journey down the picturesque and thrilling Balsa river. Halt during the journey for lunch, fresh fruit, drinks, or to cool off in a refreshing dip in the Balsa River.

Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights

Experience the excitement and adrenaline of the white water tour on this half day adventure!! Located at 50 minutes from La Fortuna, Balsa River provides an excellent setting to enjoy rafting for whole family. Get wet and wild through rapids such as ¡“Magnetic Rock” and “Dredges”! A 15-minute break in the river allow us to taste delicious tropical fruit…

What's Included
  • Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
  • Professional guide
  • Equipment: Raft, Paddles, Rafting Vest and Helmet
  • Driver/guide
  • Snacks
  • Lunch
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Beverages
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels only)
What's Not Included
  • Alcoholic drinks
  • Gratuities
Additional Information
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult and must be a minimum of 8 years old to take this tour
  • May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
  • Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
  • Weather dependent. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there is flooding or other government river closure….
Location
WAVE Rafting Costa Rica
Avenida 331
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
5.0
(484 Ratings)
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Juliet
Apr 14, 2025
Awesome experience with a brilliant guide - I couldn’t recommend this experience more highly. The entire family absolutely loved it. I was a little concerned at first, mainly for my three children (twins aged 11 and a 13 year old old) but our experienced guide Moises was incredible and made me feel more confident about the entire thing. He gave us some safety tips to begin with and always gave clear instructions during the trip. Some rapids were quite challenging, but we definitely felt safe with Moises guiding us through them. My husband and children loved the larger rapids. The fruit snack halfway down the river was a real treat too. Afterwards we all enjoyed a cold drink in the sun before hopping in the bus and driving to lunch.. a typical Costa Rican meal.. absolutely delicious. The coffee was great too. A great day out! Thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Qun_w
Apr 13, 2025
good organization,... - good organization, friendly staff, nice guide, exciting activity. guide came to pick up us on time , and give us safety training and useful information. really recommended!
Review provided by Viator
Ian
Apr 10, 2025
Exciting, brilliant value and service - This was a great day out for all of our family - including our 8-year old and older family members - the guides and captains were amazing between us we had Christopher and Kervin both of whom were funny, safety conscious and made sure we had an amazing time. The pick up was in time and very professional. The lunch afterward was really great and the beer after the rafting when we were getting changed was much appreciated. Can't recommend this more!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Matthewri6997ur
Mar 31, 2025
Family Rafting with Wave Expeditions - Went for a half-day Wave Expeditions rafting tour down the Balsa River, with our family of 4. Dylan (Djlan) was our rafting guide and he was excellent! We all had a great time and the rapids were just right for first time rafters. Super fun! Thanks to the Wave Expeditions team for a perfect adventurous day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Andrea
Mar 31, 2025
Fun white water rafting trip! - Our family of three (2 adults and 10yr old) really enjoyed the white water rafting. Our bus guide Moises and bus driver Roberto were great. Gave some information on the drive, time to relax, and time for any questions. Our raft guide Marcos helped us have a great trip down the river! It has a good mix of rapids and calm between to rest and a couple times to swim for a little bit. There was a midway break for fresh fruit (watermelon and pineapple for our trip, both delicious). It is a good workout, but didn’t leave us sore the next day (we’re all fairly active and in pretty good physical shape). At the end there are areas to change and use the bathroom. Water shoes are a must (better than water sandals) and don’t pre-apply sunscreen to the back of your legs, found that out too late and makes it harder to stay in the raft! Also, they recommend no sunglasses unless you have a sports strap to keep from losing them. We didn’t see a ton of animals (we went early afternoon and it was pretty warm) but the guide was knowledgeable about a lot of the plants and trees and pointed those out. We saw a few different species of birds, lizards, and a porcupine. Would definitely recommend this rafting excursion!! Thanks Wave for a wonderful experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen
Mar 23, 2025
Wave Rafting - Excellent Experience - My family of 4 (two adults and 15 and 11 year old) did white water rafting in the Balsa River. Our tour guide Christopher was great. It’s a lot of work but also lots of fun. Everything was well organized and efficiently run by the tour guides. Great photography, too!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
2travelersatheart
Mar 20, 2025
Highlight of our time in La Fortuna - Family of five, kids ages 10-14, had a great experience rafting with Georgo down the River. Probably the highlight of our whole trip! Our guide was kind and encouraging to our youngest who was nervous. Georgo also kept it fun and exciting for the older brothers. The fresh fruit was delightful and seeing wildlife along the way a bonus. We highly recommend this tour company and our great guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ted
Mar 19, 2025
JORGE IS THE BEST RAFTING GUiDE!!! - Jorge’ is the best guide ever! He took our class 2-3 rafting trip to another level with his energy. I highly recommend this adventure! We had six in our boat and one who could not paddle and we still had an amazing time and experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Z8091vikristians
Mar 18, 2025
What a blast! WAVE Rafting rocks! - What a blast! We had an amazing time in Costa Rica and this was one of the top highlights! WAVE Rafting is amazing. They made such a fun day for us. Our host Jairo was hilarious and kept everyone smiling. Our guide Jorge was the best! He was so good with my kids. We are definitely doing this again. Loved the organic farm and the sugar cane demonstration too! An incredible day! Thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mdgambill
Mar 11, 2025
Highly recommend! - It was my first time rafting and I was in good hands with my guide Juan Rosales. He kept us safe and upright. He also pointed out cool wildlife along the way.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $82
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).