Three nights at Rios Tropicales' Lodge lets you truly experience this incredible eco-lodge, the mystical Pacuare, and participate in our unique sustainable tourism offerings, deep in the rainforest.
Make a difference on your vacation! The Pacuare 4 Day trip offers all the whitewater action of the famous Pacuare rafting adventure, with three nights and two layover days at our sustainably built Rainforest Lodge, overlooking the river.
The Pacuare River is rated one of the top rivers in the world for a host of reasons. You’ll get to explore the intimate nature of the rainforest from the river perspective. The warm water, cascading waterfalls, and opulently lush rainforest with its brilliantly colored plants, animals, and birds make this trip exquisite for your senses. Add in the exciting Class III -IV whitewater rapids and you have a tropical adventure packed with rich experiences that last long after you’ve returned home.
Our multi-day trips treat you to an exceptional adventure vacation experience combining rafting on the Pacuare with a stay at our remote eco-lodge, tucked in the rainforest on the banks of the river. Our Rios Tropicales Lodge, complete with electricity and hot showers thanks to our hydro-powered clean energy generator system, is a model of eco-tourism and sustainable business practices. Our lodge invites you to relax, explore, and enjoy Costa Rica’s natural paradise. It's all quality time - your way - at its very best. The longer you stay, the more refreshed you return to your daily routine - we guarantee it!
From our lodge you can choose to experience zip lines through the canopy, rainforest hikes with naturalist guides, tours to our reforestation project and tree-planting, horseback riding to a local community with tours of their sustainable farming and conservation practices, relaxing in a hammock overlooking the warm Pacuare River, reading your favorite book, bird watching, or sustainable development insights. The best whitewater of the trip awaits you below the Rios Tropicales Lodge. From our eco-lodge setting, we offer tropical cocktails every afternoon at 5pm, open air dining with wine and exceptional meals, more stars than you can imagine, and the vibrant sounds of the jungle.
Day 1 - Class III Rafting to the Rios Tropicales Lodge
You'll depart San Jose early in the morning, traveling east towards the Caribbean and crossing the amazing Braulio Carrillo National Park. You will arrive at our Rios Tropicales Operations Center for a hearty “Tico” traditional Costa Rica breakfast, and with time to change into clothing for rafting, and shop for any last minute needs in our handy outfitter’s store. You’ll then depart for our private rafting put-in on the Pacuare River in San Martin. There your professional guides will load your gear into dry bags, prepare all the rafting equipment, give you a complete safety and paddle instruction talk. The first day's Class III rapids welcome you to the Pacuare gorge's charm as you raft deep in the heart of primary rainforest. While your guides prepare a hearty picnic lunch on the riverbank, you'll enjoy a walk through the jungle to an enchanting waterfall and pool to swim.
Before you know it, you'll arrive at our unique Rios Tropicales Lodge where you can spend the afternoon relaxing, hiking or soaking in our waterfall and pools. Nestled in the jungle on our 1,500-acre private reserve, the lodge offers you all the comforts you need in "Cabecar Indian" style bungalows. Private single and double rooms are spacious and completely provided with fresh linens and comfortable pillows and beds. Don’t worry about bathrooms - our lodge enjoys modern, clean bathrooms and hot water showers, thanks to our self-sufficient mini-hydro-plant that generates all our electricity. We built our lodge as a sustainable eco-lodge, including the building materials, waste management system, recycling practices, and the clean, renewable energy that powers the entire facility. You’ll get the chance to settle into your rooms, than come on down to our open air dining area, where our guides prepare fresh appetizers and our guest-acclaimed “famous jungle punch”. As the sun dips behind the hills and the twilight fades, you will be treated to a delicious freshly prepared dinner with candlelight and wine. Ahh, this is adventure vacationing at it’s best!
Day 2 - Layover day at the eco-lodge: Rainforest canopy tours, hikes, relaxing and more
Don't worry about wake-up time. The beauty of the light through the forest, the sound of toucans and the smell of coffee will get you going. This day is designed to enjoy the lodge and its natural surroundings. Unlike other nearby operators, we offer you a unique opportunity to experience the wonders of the rainforest canopy on our zip line course at no additional cost. It’s free as part of your vacation package. Our four distinctive platforms blend in seamlessly with the natural surroundings, giving you an amazing perspective of life in the roof of the jungle. In addition to our canopy tour, you can choose a variety of hikes - a 4-5 hour hike high into the Pacuare Reserve; a 2-3 hour hike to nearby waterfalls and pools, or short walks near the lodge. Our spacious property offers limitless places to get away from it all and just relax and enjoy nature. Just a short walk from our dining area, we have a sheltered hammock area that makes for the perfect spot to catch up on your reading, sip a cocktail, or just relax and take in the stunning beauty of this amazing retreat. The noises of the hustle and bustle of city life will soon be a distant memory, replaced with the soothing sounds of the tropical rainforest that surrounds you. An optional tour on this day could be hiking to the nearby Bajo Tigre community, with a chance to learn from local community members about their sustainable subsistence farming and environmental responsibility. Your bilingual river guide will accompany you and interpret along the tour. We are pleased to offer you access to this tour, which is completely managed by the Bajo Tigre Community. Their tour fee goes 100% to fund their community needs. Experience a side of the Pacuare few people know!
Day 3 - Making a Difference on Your Vacation: Rainforest Reforestation and Sustainable Farming
At the wonderful encouragement of our guests and supporters, we now offer a four-day Pacuare vacation package where the extra layover day at our idyllic eco-lodge allows you to directly participate in our ongoing conservation and environmental sustainability programs. The Pacuare Basin has faced many threats over the years- including deforestation, erosion, water contamination, and proposed hydroelectric dams on Area Rivers. Rios Tropicales has been at the forefront of efforts to oppose these dams, protect and reforest land, and educate the local community and visitors of the need for conservation and sustainable resource management. For more information on these efforts and our progress to date, please visit Rios Tropicales’ Sustainable Business Practices, including Fundacion Rios Tropicales, our involvement with the United Nations tree-planting campaign, and our partnership with Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento Forestal (FONFIFO), our community development initiatives, and more.
After a gentle awakening to rainforest sounds, the smell of rich Costa Rican coffee, and a hearty tropical breakfast, we’ll head to the sustainable farming and reforestation center deep inside our private preserve on the Pacuare. Our expert guides will take you on a 45-minute interpretive nature trail hike, pointing out numerous species of flora and fauna along the way. At the top of the trail, you can choose to ride the rest of the way to the center via a tractor-drawn cart or on horseback, an exciting way to see our beautiful preserve. Upon arrival at the center, you will have the opportunity to work hands-on with our reforestation project, planting a variety of exotic trees and learning about the benefits and challenges associated with our rainforest reforestation project. You can tour our sustainable tilapia farm and even choose to catch your own dinner right there! After our tour we will return to the Lodge where you can spend the rest of the day enjoying the views of the spectacular Pacuare River, visiting nearby pools and waterfalls, or relaxing in a hammock on our wonderful jungle deck. Cocktail hour arrives on the dot at five o'clock as usual, followed by another gourmet meal (your Tilapia perhaps?) prepared right in front of you. Sleep well, as the next day brings with it the biggest rapids on our final rafting day on the Pacuare!
Day 4 (Last Day): Whitewater Action! Class IV Rafting on Lower Pacuare
After yet another serving of Costa Rica's tastiest Coffee and a hearty breakfast, we will pack up and load the rafts in preparation for paddling down the Pacuare gorge past gushing waterfalls, serene pools and pounding rapids. A snack stop by the riverside lets you explore more waterfalls and natural waterslides. An adrenaline-packed afternoon running rapids like Upper and Lower Huacas, Cimarron, Dos Montanas and many more, is enough to get any adrenaline junkie's heart pumping!
We will have transportation waiting for us at the take-out in the town of Siquirres, where we will board our bus for the short shuttle to our Operations Center just a few miles up the road. We will have a hearty hot lunch waiting on us upon arrival. Showers, changing rooms, cold and hot drinks, snacks, a bar, and souvenirs are all available. On the return drive to San Jose you'll enjoy remarkable views of Braulio Carrillo National Park and Irazu Volcano.
Lending a hand in reforesting the Earth is a high impact way for you to contribute to helping make this world a cleaner place for generations to come. If every visitor to Costa Rica planted one tree, we’d be able to reforest entire tracts of rainforest continuously. Trees play an enormous role in combating global warming, as they use carbon dioxide and release life-giving oxygen. We invite you to take part in our conservation efforts to preserve Costa Rica so future generations can enjoy our country too. |  |  |  | | | TRIP DETAILS: |  |
|  | | Cost: $460.00 / person | | Included: • Professional bilingual guides
• Ground transportation from all the major hotels in San Jose (Roundtrip). Additional transportation available from Arenal and Puerto Viejo for a small fee.
• Rafting equipment (paddle, helmet, PFD)
• Meals four days except dinner on the last day
• Breakfast pre-trip and hot lunch post-trip at our Cairo Operations Center
• Spacious, spotlessly clean changing rooms with showers
• Private room lodging at Rios Tropicales Lodge (See Lodge section for options)
• Canopy Tours on zip lines
• Guided Hikes
• Plant Trees and community visits | | Difficulty: Moderate. Class III-IV Rapids
• Class III Rapids: include high irregular waves; narrow passages that often require complex maneuvering.
• Class IV Rapids: Include long, difficult rapids with constricted passages that often require precise maneuvering in turbulent waters. | | Who Can Go?: • Minimum age:14-years-old. Please contact us directly for options for younger kids.
• Participants should be in normal health and physical condition.
• Swimming experience is required.
• Some rafting experience is recommended. | | Recommended Gear: This list represents what you will need on the river. Space on the raft is limited. It is important not to bring anything extra and make multiple use of items.
• Insect repellent (1)
• Long light pants
• Long sleeved shirt
• Personal medications
• Personal Toothpaste and toothbrush
• Rubber-soled shoes that can get wet (tevas, tennis shoes, river shoes, booties or similar)
• Shoes (2 pairs, one to get wet and one dry)
• Socks
• Sweater or Sweatshirt (for cool evenings)
• Swimsuit/swim trunks; or t-shirt and shorts of a quick-drying material
• Towel for lodge bathrooms and post-trip changing
• Waterproof sunscreen lotion (SPF 15 or higher)
• Windbreaker (Optional) | | | Reservation & Cancellation Policy: If reserved through a travel agent, a voucher must be presented before boarding. If reserved directly in our offices please provide invoice. In order to receive full refund for your cancellation you must cancel before 4 p.m. the day before trip departure. Please be on time at your specified pickup hotel, NO REFUNDS FOR NO SHOWS. Partial refunds may be issued for circumstances beyond our control. |  |
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