Can an activity be relaxing and exhilarating at the same time? Turns out, Rio Celeste Tubing Tour in Costa Rica is exactly that!
We loved tubing on Rio Celeste for its blend of adventure and tranquility, complemented by beautiful scenery, and can recommend this activity for your trip to La Fortuna or Bijagua.
So, in this post, we are going to walk you through every detail of what to expect from this tubing tour, and of course, will also share our personal experience of tubing on Rio Celeste.
Rio Celeste Tubing Tour: Quick Overview
🎟️ Which Tour to Book? We went on this Rio Celeste Tubing Tour and had a great experience.
✨ Tour Highlight: Longest river tubing in Costa Rica, on Class I and II rapids of the beautiful Rio Celeste.
🕰️ Tour Timings: 9:00 am, 1:00 pm.
✅ Tour Inclusions: Equipment, Guides, Insurance, Traditional Lunch.
🚗 How to Get to There: Self-drive. Check our Costa Rica car rental deal.
How to Book Your Rio Celeste Tubing Tour
🎟️ You can book the Rio Celeste Tubing Tour here →
⏰ To accommodate for change in travel plans, it allows free cancellation for up to 24 hours before the tour.
Here are a couple of things to note before you book the tour:
✅ Children can participate in this tubing tour, but the minimum age is 4 years.
✅ For high season months of December to April, we recommend you to book in advance as spots can fill up quickly.
Rio Celeste Tubing Tour: Our Experience
🌟 To summarize, here are what we liked about our Rio Celeste Tubing:
⏳ A long tubing ride: They say, it’s the longest tubing in Costa Rica. It seemed never ending, and we loved that!
🌳 Immersive experience in nature: Gazing at the rainforest and spotting wildlife while tubing down the river, and listening to the sounds of nature, it was complete nature immersion.
🪖 Professional and friendly guides: We appreciated that our guides were playful and friendly, yet kept an eye on all tour participants and their moves and turns, ensuring everyone’s safety at all times.
🥘 Lunch included: The included lunch is a simple typical Costa Rican meal in a rustic restaurant with nature views.
For details of our Rio Celeste tubing experience, keep reading.
Check-in
We had booked the afternoon slot for our Rio Celeste tubing. So, right after arriving and checking in at the reception, we were directed to the restaurant, where our lunch was served.
It was a typical Costa Rican lunch of chicken, rice, beans, salad, yuca fries, and was accompanied with a glass of fresh cas juice. You also have the option of purchasing other beverages.
Get Ready
After finishing lunch, our fellow tour participants and we started preparing for the tubing tour.
Indranil and I changed our footwear to water shoes, applied sunscreen, and packed one bag with only the things we could need right after the tubing, such as towels, phone, car key.
This is the bag we would leave in their transfer vehicle, before getting into the river. For all our other belongings, we kept them in our rental car and locked it.
➡️ Related Reading: Should you rent a car in Costa Rica?
Transfer and Gear Up
Our ride, a minivan was already waiting in front of the reception. This vehicle transferred us from the tour office to the tubing starting point.
Once we arrived, the guides introduced themselves, briefed us about the tour and safety guidelines, and helped us all put on the gear, life jackets and helmets.
But before that, one of the guides pointed to a tree next to our tour briefing spot. High up on that tree, there was a sloth!
It was already an exciting beginning to our tubing tour.
Tubing on Rio Celeste
After the briefing, the moment had arrived to experience the rapids of Rio Celeste.
I have to share something – in case, someone reading this feels the same about tubing on Rio Celeste.
🏊🏽 Being a beginner level swimmer, I was a bit apprehensive about letting myself be completely in control of the flow of a river for a couple of hours.
But turned out, all my worry was unnecessary.
The moment I sat on the tube and starting meandering down the river, I started grinning. And throughout the course of the tubing, I felt elated.
Rio Celeste river tubing is a balanced activity of lively adventure and peaceful relaxation.
There were moments of thrill when gentle rapids thrusted us forward, and there were slow stretches of the river where we drifted under the rainforest canopy.
The river is crystal clear and as the name suggests, bears a unique blue color. On a cloudy afternoon of our tubing, this color was more pronounced in some stretches than others. The water felt cool and refreshing, perfect on a humid day.
Midway through the tubing, we also paused for some jump and swim and playful acts in the river.
It was a very long tubing ride, and by the end of it, we felt delighted and fulfilled.
We had just added a new favorite to the list of things to do in Costa Rica.
To Conclude
Like all Costa Rica water activity based tours, in this one too, there was some add-on optional adventure at the end: jumping off a wooden bridge into the river, Rio Celeste. I chose to sit out of this one, but of course, Indranil went for it twice!
Once everyone was done with their jumps, we boarded the minivan. I liked that clean towels were already wrapped around all the seats so they don’t get soaked in water dripping from all of our wet clothes.
The minivan took us back to the tour office reception and parking. After changing into our dry clothes, we started our drive back.
📷 Tip: One of the guides took photos and videos on a GoPro. You can ask at the reception for them to be sent to you.
Rio Celeste Tubing Tour: Planning Logistics
We went on this exact Rio Celeste tubing tour. So, to help you plan yours, let us dive into the details of some of the logistics, such as timing, pricing and route.
Tour Timings, Pricing, Inclusions
Rio Celeste tubing tour typically lasts for about 3 to 4 hours, making it an ideal half-day adventure from La Fortuna or Bijagua.
Here’s what you need to know in terms of the timings, pricing and inclusions:
| Timings | 9:00 am, 1:00 pm |
| Duration | 3 – 4 hours |
| Price | 65 USD per adult 55 USD per child (4-10 years) |
| Group Size | Maximum 15 participants |
| Included | ✅ Equipment (tube, helmet, life jacket) ✅ Bilingual guides ✅ Insurance ✅ Traditional Lunch. |
| Not Included | ❌ Transportation ❌ Tips |
🍽️ For the morning tubing tour, lunch is served after the tour, and for the afternoon tubing tour, lunch is served before the tour. So, if you book the afternoon tour, plan to arrive at least half an hour early.
Tour Starting Point and How to Get There
This Rio Celeste tubing tour is offered by Onca Tours located in Katira.
📍 Here is the Google Maps location.
You have to get to the tour company reception office on your own as they do not provide transportation. However, from there, they will take you to the tubing tour starting point in their vehicle.
Since this location is not connected by public transport, the best way to get to the tour company office is by driving.
🚗 Get a free quote here for your rental car in Costa Rica.
For doing the Rio Celeste tubing tour, we suggest basing yourself in either of La Fortuna or Bijagua. Check out:
Here are the estimated drives to get to the Rio Celeste Tubing Tour starting point:
| From | Distance | Time Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| La Fortuna | 66 km/ 41 miles | ~ 1:30 hours |
| Bijagua | 22 km/ 14 miles | ~ 40 minutes |
Renting A Car in Costa Rica
🚗 Car Rental Company: We recommend Adobe Rent A Car, a 100% Costa Rican company with transparent pricing and no hidden fees.
💰 Car Rental Deal: Reserve rental car here and get 10% discount and other freebies (no promo code needed). Read details here.
📃 Rental Car Insurance: Understand 3 types of rental car insurance in Costa Rica
Read this: Should you rent a car in Costa Rica?
⚠️ The last stretch of the road is not paved. However, a 4X4 is not required. A high car should be good enough.
➡️ Related Reading: Do you need a 4X4 rental car in Costa Rica?
Tips for Planning the Day
Want to pack in more into this day of adventure? Plan your Rio Celeste waterfall hike on the same day of the tubing activity.
📍 Rio Celeste tubing tour starting point and Rio Celeste waterfall hike entrance are less than half an hour’s drive apart.
Note that the chances of rain are higher in the afternoon, and the magical sky blue colors of the Rio Celeste shines brighter in sunlight. In fact, you may not be able to see that striking blue color if it has rained for a while.
So here is our recommendation:
- Morning: Visit Rio Celeste Waterfall
- Afternoon: Rio Celeste Tubing Tour
For the tubing tour, even if the river is not at its colorful best, the activity itself is enjoyable and fun.
On the other hand, the main draw of the Rio Celeste waterfall is the sky blue color and we feel, if you do not get to see that color, the waterfall visit may not feel as charming.
✔️ Having said that, if you are staying in Bijagua, and do not have a rushed itinerary for your Costa Rica trip, consider splitting these two activities over two days, doing both during the first half of the day.
What to Wear and What to Pack for Tubing Tour
What to wear:
- Wear comfortable quick-dry clothes, such as shorts and a top.
- Wear water shoes or sturdy sandals, as the rocky banks can be slippery.
- Apply sunscreen.
What to carry:
- Leave valuables behind.
- Keep a change of dry clothes.
- Bring cash for tips.
Plan Your Trip: La Fortuna & Bijagua
- Things to do in Bijagua
- Kakao Lodge and Gardens Hotel
Travel Resources
- Flights: Skyscanner
- Hotels: Booking.com | Expedia
- Tours: Viator | GetYourGuide
- Travel Insurance:
- Heymondo (get 5% off)
- SafetyWing Nomad Insurance
- eSIMs:
- Transfers: Bookaway. Code PARADISE5 for 5% off
If you enjoy reading our free travel guides, tips and stories, you can buy us a coffee and help us create more such travel planning tools for you. Thanks for supporting Paradise Catchers.
Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase or a booking through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you.
