One of the best tours in La Fortuna is a wildlife watching river safari float.
These wildlife watching excursions cruise down calm rivers on inflatable rafts, giving you some of the best odds of spotting wildlife like monkeys, birds and iguanas.
For most travelers, the best La Fortuna safari float is the Peñas Blancas tour as it has the shortest travel time from downtown Fortuna and the cheaper option. For a more exclusive, quieter experience, then the Pure Nature Safari Float tour is the better option.
We'll break down in detail both tours below.
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The Best La Fortuna Safari Float Tours
The best safari float in La Fortuna is the Peñas Blancas Safari Float because it is only about a 25 minute drive from town.
Peñas Blancas Safari Float Tour Companies
These two tour operators are the biggest and oldest in La Fortuna, both running their own Peñas Blancas Safari Float tour: Canoa Aventura and Jacamar Naturalist Tours.
Both safari floats are on the Peñas Blancas river, but they operate in different sections.
Similarities
- Each company has their own "put in" location with their own base camp.
- Both are about a 20 to 25 minute drive from La Fortuna downtown.
- 2 hours float time on the river.
- Both safari floats are on inflatable rafts.
- Both companies offer a morning (~8 AM) and afternoon (~2 PM) tour. Tour times are around 4 hours for both.
- English and Spanish bilingual guides included.
- Both are very family friendly!
Wildlife
The wildlife is similar for both Peñas Blancas safari floats, such as white face monkeys, howler monkeys, Jesus christ lizards, iguanas, sloths, toucans, bats, aningas, coromorans, kingfishers, crocodiles and caimans
Differences
Jacamar's tour includes a local house experience, stopping by a local family's home after the tour to have traditional snacks and drinks.
Their tour company philosophy focuses heavy on naturalist guiding and interpretation and seeing wildlife and nature is the main focus. Some of their guides have been employed by Jacamar since it's inception over 20 years ago.
No paddling required on the guests part. If any, the guide may ask one person to assist for just a couple of easy strokes.
Check out our Jacamar Peñas Blancas Safari Float photos below and click the link: Peñas Blancas safari float tour with Jacamar to read our full blog post, see more photos and watch our video.
Canoa Aventura's tour includes a short cacao (chocolate) presentation after the safari float, with a tasting and snack included.
Canoa Aventura, while seeing nature is important, also focuses on the adventure and cultural aspect on the tour and employs a much younger workforce. Each guest receives a paddle and are required to paddle at times.
Below are our photos from the Canoa Aventura Peñas Blancas safari float tour.
Prices
The rates are very similar for both companies.
Jacamar starts at $89 USD per adult and $66 USD per child. We offer a discount for this tour when booking through Mytanfeet - book your Peñas Blancas safari float tour with Jacamar and get our 7% discount in the link!
Canoa Aventura starts at $87 USD per adult and $55 USD per child. We offer a 10% promo code with Canoa Aventura. When you go to check out, enter “mytanfeet” for the promo code!
Our Personal Experiences
We have done both Peñas Blancas safari floats in La Fortuna with Jacamar and Canoa Aventura.
Wildlife: We saw wildlife on both tours, though Mother Nature will do what it will do. There are no guarantees for wildlife viewings, but you will see something at least.
Guiding: Jacamar for me, wins. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable. He constantly pointed out and talked about wildlife. During quiet times, he would continue sharing information about the plants and ecosystem of the area, which I personally liked.
Our guide for Canoa Aventura was good, but I actually spotted more birds than him and his interpretive guiding was more basic. He didn't give any extra information about the plants, fruits, La Fortuna or Arenal so it was really silent when we weren't spotting wildlife, which some people may prefer.
The float: We had to paddle a lot more with Canoa Aventura. Each person had their own paddle and their section of the river was more fast flowing than I expected in March (driest month).
With Jacamar, we didn't have to paddle at all. Only one person assisted our guide a couple times during the tour and the river seemed slower moving.
Overall
Since the price difference isn't huge, you will have a good experience with either operator, but the main difference is the additional cultural part from Canoas Aventura. Also, their base camp is a tad closer to La Fortuna so the drive time is shorter.
If you don't plan to do a separate chocolate and coffee tour in La Fortuna or anywhere else, then go with Canoa Aventura. Their short coffee and cacao presentation at the end is very fun. Get 10% off your tours with Canoa Aventura with our “mytanfeet” promo code!
If you want more of a focus on the nature and wildlife, then go with Jacamar's Peñas Blancas Safari Float. I felt like their guides had better guiding interpretations and elaborated much more on giving information.
Tour Capacity (how many people)
On our tour with Canoa Aventura, there were around 10 rafts at the same time. When we saw monkeys in the tree, all of us crowded on the riverbank looking at them. This was in March.
With Jacamar, we had around 6 rafts in July and the guides did a good job separating us. The most we had was two rafts looking at one animal at the same time.
Book your Jacamar's Peñas Blancas safari float in the link and get our discount!
Pure Nature Safari Float
Another option for a safari float in La Fortuna is a tour called Pure Nature Safari Float that only Jacamar operates.
The Pure Nature Safari Float is an excellent option for those who want a more exclusive, intimate safari float experience.
As mentioned earlier, the Peñas Blancas safari float is the most popular in La Fortuna and the tours can get crowded during the high tourism season (December to April).
Highlights
- Float is on Rio Frio River, which feeds into the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge
- Visit to a traditional house for homemade snacks and to meet the local Costa Rican family
- Max 5 rafts at a time
- Max 6 people plus guide per raft
- 2 hour float time
Disadvantage: Longer travel time, about 1.5 hour drive per direction. If you have younger kids or just don't want to sit so much in the car, then you should book the Peñas Blancas safari float tour instead (20-25 min one way drive time).
There isn't a full dock for boarding the raft. It is mostly a dirt path you must walk on to the riverbank and the guides help you onto the raft. At the exit, there is a ramp with a handrail.
Price: Due to the distance and exclusivity, it is more expensive than the Penas Blancas safari float. The Pure Nature Safari Float cost starts at $108 USD per adult.
Wildlife: Similar, though I have seen a greater variety of wildlife on the Pure Nature Safari Float including a sloth climbing down a tree, a river otter, a Green Ibis, juvenile sloths, baby crocodiles and more kingfishers.
Below are some photos of our Pure Nature Safari Float experiences. Click the link to see more photos and watch our video!
Book your Pure Nature Safari Float in the link and get our discount!
Book your Peñas Blancas safari float (Jacamar) in the link and get our discount!
Not sure how to plan your days in La Fortuna? Get our 1, 2, 3 and 4 day La Fortuna itineraries in the link!
Best La Fortuna Safari Float FAQ
Which La Fortuna safari float is the cheapest?
Canoa Aventura's Peñas Blancas safari float is the cheapest, starting at $87 USD per adult and $55 USD per child. Get 10% off your tours with Canoa Aventura with our “mytanfeet” promo code!
Pure Nature Safari Float starts at $108 USD per adult. Jacamar's Peñas Blancas safari float starts at $89 USD per adult. We have a 7% discount for Jacamar's Peñas Blancas safari float which you can get in the link.
How much is the drive time for each safari float?
Both the Peñas Blancas tours are about a 20 to 25 minute drive one way from La Fortuna. The Pure Nature Safari Float is about a 1.5 hour drive one way.
Which safari float has the least crowds?
The Pure Nature Safari Float is the least crowded as the tour operator caps it at 3-5 rafts at a time. Jacamar and Canoa Aventura's Peñas Blancas's tour will take as many clients as booked, up to 10-12 rafts at a time, with 4-6 people per raft.
Which safari float is best for families with young kids?
The Peñas Blancas Safari Float tours are the better choice for families with young kids or long car ride concerns, since the drive is only 25 minutes compared to the 1.5 hour drive per way for the Pure Nature Safari Float.
The Pure Nature Safari Float and Jacamar's Peñas Blancas safari float has a minimum age requirement of 4.
Canoa Aventura's Peñas Blancas safari float has a minimum age requirement of 3.
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