Costa Rica Coast to Coast – Rafting Towards the Caribbean

by Alan Cole · Monday, May 25th, 2026

Costa Rica Rafting Adventure

After another night at the Pacuare River Camp, it was time to get moving again, continuing ever onwards towards the Caribbean coast. So, after breakfast, it was back into our rafting kit and onto the Pacuare River for a full day on the water, including some proper Class IV rapids through lush rainforest and narrow gorges.

We all had turns in the packraft before swapping back to the main raft. I’m not entirely sure which I enjoyed most, although the packraft was definitely wetter! We had no major mishaps, although W did fall out of the raft once. At one point we also all jumped in for a planned swim, floating down a small rapid just for fun.

As the river widened, we passed beneath an old bridge and then a larger road bridge where local children were playing in the water. The calmer sections also gave us time to look out for wildlife as we drifted downstream.

There were plenty of birds, including green kingfishers and the much larger ringed kingfisher. We also spotted beautiful roseate spoonbills standing on a sandbank, their pink plumage glowing against the muted colours of the river. Several types of egret stalked the shallows, toucans flew overhead, and we even saw capuchin monkeys moving through the treetops.

It started raining for a while, so lunch was postponed briefly. When we eventually stopped on a muddy, shingly bank, it felt surprisingly chilly as Doty and Alfonso laid out another impressive spread on top of the overturned raft.

Camp

From here, it wasn’t far to our next camp. The rafting had seen us cover 15 miles down the Pacuare river today.

We exited the river and walked a short distance through a banana plantation where hundreds of poison dart frogs leapt out of our way before emerging into yet another immaculately maintained campsite.

As with the Pacuare River Camp, there was a large communal area with a kitchen, dining tables, and an upstairs section filled with hammocks. Toilets and showers were scattered around the site, along with a number of raised covered platforms, each with spacious tents set well apart for privacy. Mine in particular was tucked away around a small bend from the others.

Like most days on this trip, we arrived at camp at around 2 pm, leaving plenty of time to relax during the afternoon. Not long after getting settled though, Doty announced that he’d finally found a sloth.

So far they had remained surprisingly elusive despite Doty insisting they were everywhere. Sure enough, after a short walk back into the banana plantation, there was a two-toed sloth hanging lazily in a banana tree. Not exactly the rainforest setting we’d imagined, but she seemed perfectly content there. Closer inspection revealed that she also had a baby clinging to her.

Dinner was another relaxed and fairly subdued affair as some of the others still weren’t feeling 100%. The evening followed a similar pattern, with everyone disappearing off to bed early once again.

Meanwhile, I wandered slowly around camp watching frogs and toads emerge as darkness fell. Shining my torch into the grass revealed hundreds of tiny spider eyes glinting back in the reflected light.