4-Day Ultimate

The most popular trip we offer: All inclusive, all the activities

This is the most popular trip that we offer. And for good reason.

The very best of the Pacuare and Turrialba

A day of canyoneering. Two days of whitewater rafting. Pacuare ziplining and our Tarzan swing. Exploring Linda Creek and Salta Falls. And the list goes on.

Quick Facts

Trip Cost: $655

San Jose Pickup: Included in the trip fare

Trip Length: Four nights & four days

Minimum Age: 12 years old.

Lodging at a glance

Nights one and two are spent at our Turrialba Vista

Nights two and three are spent at our Pacuare Eco-Lodge

Meals are all included starting with dinner on the evening before (day 0) and ending with lunch on day 4

Adventures at a glance

Five rappels down Silencio Creek

Approximately 50+ rapids, split on day one and day three

Our zipline is the largest on the Pacuare and we have the only Tarzan Swing

The waterfall is 27 feet / 8 meters and jumping is optional (but encouraged!)

2023 Pacuare Rafting

“You fit a ton (of adventure) in on this trip” – Google Review

4-Day Ultimate Highlights

The evening before your trip, arrive at our Turrialba Vista. The next day, which is day one, we’ll canyoneer Silencio Creek, which is just a fifteen minute walk from the Turrialba Vista. After another night at the Turrialba Vista, we’ll wake up on day two and we’ll spend the day rafting Class II and III rapids on the Pacuare River, rafting to our eco-lodge. After spending the night, we then tackle our zipline course and then after lunch, hike to our private waterfall for a jump and swim. We’ll then spend a second night at our eco-lodge and then, on day four, we’ll paddle out, rafting Class II, III, and IV rapids.

Trip Itinerary

Day Zero: We’ve found that nearly all of our guests who book this trip, schedule it for the very beginning of their Costa Rica vacation. By doing this, they eliminate the need for an expensive rental car for the duration of the 4-Day Ultimate, saving them hundreds of dollars. Because of this, included in the 4-Day Ultimate trip fare is a shuttle pick-up in San Jose, either at the airport or at your hotel. The drive from San Jose to Turriabla isn’t far, typically 1.5 hours but depends on San Jose traffic. Depending on your timing, we will stop along the drive at one of our favorite restaurants for an authentic and delicious Costa Rican lunch. After, the driver will drop you off at the Turrialba Vista, the starting point of the 4-Day trip. Later that evening, dinner will be served and you’ll go over the upcoming itinerary with your host.

Day One: On day one, we’ll have a delicious breakfast and then we’ll start the trip with canyoneering down Silencio Creek, which is our local creek just down the road. This is an exhilarating, half day excursion that does not require any prior experience as our guides will be with you every step of the way. Silencio Creek includes 5 rappels down waterfalls, with the tallest being 70 feet/21 meters. In addition to that, some waterfalls we slide down, landing in cool, deep pools. After canyoneering, we’ll have lunch and then you’re free to spend the afternoon relaxing at the Vista, or exploring Turrialba. Later that night we’ll do another dinner at the Vista and we’ll prep you for your rafting trip that starts the following day.

After breakfast, we’ll shuttle you to the Pacuare River, to start the rafting portion of your trip. The rafting on the first day consists of some great Class II and Class III rapids along with stopping for a delicious lunch on the river prepared for you by your river guides/chefs. After lunch, we will paddle another 40 minutes to the Pacuare Outdoor Center eco-lodge. Here you’ll take a 10 minute trek through the jungle to get to our lodge which features breath-taking views of the Pacuare River canyon and surrounding mountains. Once you get settled into your room, you can enjoy the views or you can join us for our Tarzan Hour. We do this with all our groups at 4PM. During the Tarzan Hour, we take you to our Tarzan Swing which is a three minute walk from the lodge and cabins and you get to experience one of the most adrenaline pumping Tarzan swings you will find in the Americas. This is a great activity for the afternoon and if you’re not up for the rush you can watch from our viewing area while enjoying a cup of coffee or simply relax at the lodge. In the evening we will have dinner prepared for you while you listen to the rainforest come to life as the sun dips and the night begins.

The next morning on Day 3, you will wake up to the sun rising over the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Our lodge has views in the morning directly down the canyon towards the Caribbean. The mornings offer the true essence of the rainforest as the mist rises off the mountains. You can spend the early morning sitting in the rocking chairs outside your cabin or come to our main area and get ready for a hearty Tico breakfast. Today we have a full day of fun and adventure. We will start out by completing our zipline course, which features five different ziplines ranging from 30 meters to 620 meters. Not only are they long and fast but they offer the best views you will find anywhere of the Pacuare River. Then we will take a three minute hike back to the lodge where we will have some lunch and an hour of downtime. After lunch, we’ll take a trek through the jungle to one of the most pristine waterfalls you will find on the Pacuare River. This waterfall features a 25 foot jump, which your guide will show you how to do. Afterward, we’ll walk back to the lodge and hit full relax mode with a chance to reminisce about the full day of adventure.

On Day 4, we head back to the rafts and tackle the whitewater. We’ll enter the famous Pacuare Canyon, which is a gorge that features Class III and IV rapids and breathtaking scenery.

The canyon rock walls rise straight up 200 feet and we’ll pass by waterfalls that fall 150 feet into the river. This truly is a magical day from start to finish. Halfway through the day, we’ll stop for another riverside lunch served by your guides.

Once lunch is finished it’s back to the rapids, split up with a gorgeous float through the famous Dos Montanas canyon section. Following that, the river winds its way into the town of Siquirres, where we reach takeout. Here you will have the chance to change and shower into some clean clothes and say farewell to your guides.

Why the Pacuare

“ …perhaps the greatest, family-friendly jungle raft trip in the world.”

Paddling Life Magazine

July 23, 2015

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Taylor Cooper

March 21, 2023.

We cannot possibly write a review that would reflect the incredible time we had with this company on this adventure. We took our two 16 year old boys with us and absolutely had the best two days we have ever had. We are pretty avid rafters having done the middle fork and main of the salmon and many other beautiful rivers so we have seen many rivers and this blew them all away. The constant action, beauty, wildlife, hikes to waterfalls on the side creeks were amazing. The lodge itself will take your breath away. And of course the zip line was off the charts too. If you are considering adding this to your Costa Rica trip, DO NOT hesitate. Do it and you will have the BEST TIME!! Thank you!!

Leah Coil - Camden

March 7, 2023.

10 out of 10. This was one of the BEST trips I've ever been on. Luigi was our guide and he was amazing, as well as our river guides - Max / Kenneth / Andres! The hotels we stayed at were beautiful and the adventures were spectacular. I highly recommend POC and look forward to my next trip with them.

Sarah Reimer

March 5, 2023.

The beauty and adventures on this trip were incredible, but I truly feel it was the POC staff/guides that brought it to a whole new level. Everything they did was with such great love. It was very sad to say good bye to all our wonderful guides, Rafael, Johnathan, Fernando, Max, and Luis. We only spent one day with Luigi, but he was wonderful and incredibly knowledgeable as well. They will forever hold a special place in my heart! Everything was seamless and they thought of each and every detail. The guides were multifaceted; knowledgeable about their culture and land, they can white water raft, they prepared some of the best food on the entire trip, they dance, they sing, they play musical instruments made out of kitchen gadgets, they are humorous and silly. We had a diverse group of people on our tour and for not knowing most of them, we all got along so well that we even spent our "free" time together. This trip was a good balance of adventure and relaxation. My personal favorite was the POC lodge. To be immersed in the rainforest overlooking the river with no connection to the outside world was the reset that I needed. I also enjoyed seeing and learning about the less touristy places in Costa Rica. I would highly recommend this trip!

Kelly Honeycutt Fait

February 24, 2023.

This was a wonderful stay. Tom and his family are friendly and accommodating in every way. The rafting experience was personal, extraordinarily beautiful and FUN. We would highly recommend!

Kirstie Harrison

February 12, 2023.

Our stay at Pacuare Outdoor Center was one for the books!!! They took care of us from the moment we got out of the airport and the entire staff is amazing! They truly make you feel like family and have made our stay in Costa Rica everything we could hope for! We stayed between Studio Hotel in San Jose, Turrialba Vista and the Rio Vista Lodge and all 3 accommodations were beautiful and photo-worthy! The home cooked meals were phenomenal and the adventures were entirely too much fun! We spent our time seeing volcanos, canyoneering, rafting, ziplining, toured Nortico (cacao plantation), and tons of time soaking up all the beautiful Costa Rica views! Rafa was our tour guide throughout our whole trip and he was the absolute greatest! He was so friendly and knowledgable and I never want to travel without a guide again! Thank you SO much Tom and Ana for having us out and sharing your beautiful place with us!!! I’m already planning my trip back for summer! PURA VIDA and see you soon!!!

Ray Harmon

February 12, 2023.

If I could give more stars I would, that is how good the river guides Max and Kenneth "Cookie" truly are. From showing up at the headquarters in Turrialba meeting the masterminds behind the operation, kind, courteous and welcoming is best perception I have. They pointed us down the road to Max, Cookie and Fernando our guiding care takers for our three day adventure. We were greeted warmly and directed as needed. Once in the water it was pleasant to leave modern conveniences behind. The lunch they prepared riverside on the boat table was gracious and beautiful. A few more rows after we arrived at an oasis in the rainforest. A short hike up the mountain side the trail was groomed with wild flowers manicured to mimic a five star resort. The tin roofed open air kitchen, dinning and lounge deck overlooked the river bend down below and tropical forest rising to the top of nearby mountains. The sounds of birds, bees and other noises insects filled missing audio link to nature. Some time was given to get comfy find our screened in hut. Adjacent was our own toilet, shower and sink with running water. The deck around the hut had more views to awestruck the beauty into your brain. I felt at ease and relaxed. The large meeting area gave way for happy hour and snacks. The crew were kind to make some coffee for us. There were several more people we met that stay behind the scene to keep this place in it's prestige condition, they were as kind as our guides. We enjoyed the sites and sounds of local wildlife and the setting sun light. Dinner was of local fair, Max would serenade us while preparing the meal. The next day was a blast with breakfast before ziplining over the mountainside. At the end you have the Tarzan swing, it comes highly recommended! A quick return to lunch at the sanctuary. We fell into deep rest pushing our hike-to-waterfall time back a bit, we needed the snooze. The 2 mile hike up and down hill over rocks was great, elderly and less active people need more assistance and should be forthright with their shortcomings. Max and Cookie both attended with us and helped my mother to make it there and back. They went above and beyond to keep her safe. I enjoyed the swimming hole and Max showing me the jump off points from the falls. We had a good play time before returning to camp for yet another amazing dinner. We spotted wildlife along the way of all activities we learned so much from Max. The last morning we had an early breakfast, they adjusted the schedule do to our unique situation. We departed paradise in the jungle. We paddled well through the remaining rapids. Cookie and Max started an acapella song and dance that kept us going and gave us more to smile about. Other groups from different outfitters seemed to be enjoying their journey much less than us, I was happy we made some camaraderie with our guides. I highly recommend these guides. This last day was spectacular, surroundings and rapids were more aspiring. Our lunch again made riverside was delicious and presented beautifully. As we continued to rock down the river with paddle high fives and acapella music, we did not want to leave. This was the best part of my visit to Costa Rica. At the pullout the team took care of the boat items. We changed at a riverside restaurant with showers and bathrooms for guests. I was surprised with a birthday cake from the crew, it was very nice of them to sing me happy birthday and share some cake. I cannot be happier with my experience with this group from start to finish.

William Harmon

February 11, 2023.

This was an amazing experience! The scenery was beautiful both on the river and the lodge. The hospitality performed by our guides, Max and Kenny, through the 3 days tied everything together to make this a wonderful trip. Could not recommend this company and the guides more.

Stephanie Harmon

February 11, 2023.

From the first meeting with Mario, Tom & Russ, to meeting our guides, Max, Kenneth "Cookie" & Fernando, we experienced a new world of the Rainforest with rafting, zip-linning and hiking. It was a great time, the food was delicious and the eco-lodge was so comfortable-hard to believe I was roughing it!! I appreciated the care the guides gave me, as an older adventurer (67), during the hikes and zip-linning. I would highly recommend the 3-day trip to anyone as I'm so glad I took this trip! Thank you so much!

Albon Shaw

February 8, 2023.

What an amazing experience!! We did the 2-day white water rafting. After a little confusion with the meeting place, which was handled extremely well by the folks at POC, we met our guides. Max & "Cookie" were absolutely amazing!! Max's knowledge and sharing of information about the region and the things we saw was amazing and Cookie was always smiling and giving great energy. The lodge we stayed out was EPIC with an amazing common area and wonderful cabana/room. We got to do some of the zip-line & the tarzan swing, both are great and a wonderful addition the overall experience. The food was excellent, and we really enjoyed the whole experience.

Steve Nyhof

February 3, 2023.

POC is simply the best. I have been whitewater kayaking for almost 30 years and have paddled in a number of countries. The people at Pacuare Outdoor Centre run a top-rate professional operation catering to a wide variety of groups and individuals, and they do it in style. We booked months in advance from our home in Australia. POC communication was easy, fast and demonstrated flexibility and responsiveness to our queries. We knew we had found the right partner organisation. My family of 4 (kids aged 18+20) booked a 1-day canyon descent and 2 days of packrafting. No one else in the region appeared to offer solo packrafts. This was important to us as we prefer the control and skill-building that comes with it. Our private tour with POC was superb. We lodged with Tom and his family at their B&B about 15 minutes outside Turrialba. So much fun. Games of pool. Glorious sunrises looking out over the valley. Our best mattress experience by far in 2 weeks at various Costa Rican destinations. And the best: the dogs. Special mentions to Shaq, Rocky & Fraser. The meals prepared by Maritza were the best local meals we enjoyed on our trip. Gracias Maritza 🙂 The canyon was so much fun: 5 waterfall abseils over about 3 hours. A very local company indeed, Johan and Ariel of Infinity Green Tours were professional, safety focussed and fun. Pura Vida! A mid-canyon fresh fruit snack beside Johan's aunt's house provided energy and a nice break half-way along. Then we were honoured to be invited to Johan's house where his mother had prepared a lovely lunch. Our first day of packrafting was on the Pejibaye River. This was our warm-up day. Our head guide Luis "Luigi" gave us one of the better whitewater briefings I've experienced: comprehensive but not condescending. Then we paddled the lower part of the river, which was fairly continuous class II/II+. This was a great time for the guides to reinforce basic skills. And a bit of surfing. The Kokopelli packrafts proved to be compact, responsive and surprisingly stable. What I liked best was the format of the day. After running the lower part of the river (a bit over an hour), we drove upriver and ran a slightly harder section followed by a re-run of the lower section. This was psychologically important; while the lower seemed intimidating on the first run for my family, it was just easy and fun on the second. It was a great opportunity to re-examine fear in light of very recent experience. POC had recommended running the Lower Pacuare for the next day, spending the night at their on-river lodge and rafting down the grade IV rapids the next day. We explained that we really wanted to packraft individually. POC was amazing in adapting their plan to honour our wishes. We instead ran the Upper Upper Pacuare - a wonderful boulder-filled 10km stretch with fairly continuous class II+/III. The one IV we portaged. POC was flexible in letting me kayak the day while the rest continued in the packrafts. It was a perfect level-up on the day before and everyone had a blast. We ran it in 'expedition style' with a defined order; Luigi leading 2 of our team, followed by Cookie leading the final 2. It was a very well ordered arrangement allowing everyone to follow clear lines down the rapids. A special shout out to Cookie, our kayak safety guide who was so much fun on the rivers. POC took care of all our transportation needs during our stay; it was so convenient and the drivers were reliable and safe on those crazy mountain roads. We didn't make it to POC's lodge on the Lower Pacuare on this trip. It looks amazing and surely represents a compelling reason for our return one day. If you are Turrialba-bound, consider POC for your adventure partner; you are unlikely to regret it.