When it comes to wildlife tours from La Fortuna, the Pure Nature Safari Float tour has quickly climbed to the top of my list of things to do in La Fortuna.
Safari floats are a great way to enjoy nature at its best, as you float down a slow moving river surrounded by rainforest.
If you’re ready to book this tour, check our Pure Nature Safari Float booking page that includes our discount.
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Pure Nature Safari Float Tour
The Pure Nature Safari Float tour from La Fortuna is an excellent option for those looking for a more exclusive wildlife watching experience.
- ~5 hour tour with morning and afternoon schedules available
- Operated by only one tour company: Jacamar Naturalist Tours, which we have a discount for in our Pure Nature Safari Float booking page
- On a inflatable river raft.
- Max 5-6 guests in a raft plus a guide, depending on the weight of the group members.
- Minimum age is 4.
- Requires a minimum of 3 adults booking the tour to operate.
- Includes round trip transportation from La Fortuna, bilingual English and Spanish guides, local snacks and bottled water.
- Possible animals to see: herons, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, white face monkeys, two toed sloths, three toed sloths, kingfishers, caimans, crocodiles, bats, iguanas, otters, lizards, hawks.
- ~ 1 hour drive from La Fortuna to the river put in location
Pure Nature Safari Float Tour
We arrived in Guatuso for the start of the rafting trip in the backyard of a local’s home, which sits on the bank of Rio Frio.
My first time, I went with a family of four so our group was small. It was just the five of us plus our guide so it really felt like we were only a very exclusive tour.
The other times, we were a total of three rafts.
Start of the Pure Nature Safari Float Tour
This nature safari isn’t like others, it’s on a raft instead of a boat with an engine and we were the only ones on the river.
Our guide did the majority of the paddling, navigating the calm waters to get us as close as possible to the wildlife.
With engines, you can’t get into the tight corners as you would with a small raft.
So there we were, the 6 of us on a raft, floating down this small but peaceful river when no more than 2 minutes after we pushed off, our guide pointed to the trees for our first wildlife encounter.
This juvenile three toed sloth was climbing down a tree right above our heads! Our guide got us into the right position so we could see him in full view as he clambered down.
As sloths only touch ground to go potty once a week, we caught him right in the act. We watched him climb down until he disappeared out of view into the bushes.
We hadn’t even been on the river for more than 5 minutes and we already saw one of my favorite animals in Costa Rica – the sloth!
From that point and on, I couldn’t wait to see what other exciting wildlife encounters we’d have.
We floated down the river, quietly admiring its natural beauty and wondering what other animals called these waters home. And we found out soon enough.
Wildlife on the River
We saw adult, baby and juvenile Jesus Christ lizards scampering on the water, male green iguanas in orange breeding colorations, a huge troop of white face and howler monkeys flying from tree to tree, an otter slyly slinking into the water, a caiman sunbathing and tons of birds including kingfishers, trogons and anhingas.
No matter how boat rides I’ve done before, Costa Rica still awes and impresses me!
Great Tour for Wildlife and Nature Lovers
The Pure Nature Safari Float is truly a wonderful tour for wildlife and nature lovers. It’s great for families as well, with kids who love animals.
The first time I did this tour, I was on a boat with a family with two young girls, around 8 and 10 years old.
By the end of the float, they were pointing out monkeys and iguanas!
They kept asking what everything was and would listen intently to our guide as he explained to them about each animal and their special characteristics.
Snacks at the End of the Tour
After about two hours floating down the river, we reached our get out spot.
Then we got onto the bus, and Jacamar drove us to a local’s house not too far away to give us fruit juice and snacks, a nice way to end the day before we headed back to La Fortuna.
The local family who lives there lives in a humble traditional house along the river bank, still living off the land.
They gave us homemade cheese, hand made corn tortilla, plantain chips and fried beans.
We also refreshed ourselves with freshly squeezed juice and some delicious coffee. Yum!
Pure Nature Safari Float Tour Video
You can watch a video of this exact tour below! Video is from 2018 but it is the same.
Other Things to Know About the Pure Nature Safari Float
- You can bring a small backpack on the raft, preferably waterproof in the rainy season
- Bring a good zoom lens for your camera! If you’re not a photographer, we HIGHLY recommend bringing your own pair of binoculars.
- ~1 hour drive from La Fortuna per direction.
- It is really hot and humid so bring sunglasses, a hat and sunscreen.
- I wore long hiking pants and KEEN sandals, but definitely bring mosquito repellent if you’re wearing shorts.
- Float time is around 2 hours on the river.
Tour Company and Discount
Our tour operator partner in La Fortuna is the only company that operates the safari float on this specific section of the river.
Book the Pure Nature Safari Float with our discount in the link!
Other similar tours
Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Los Chiles is a tour down a river in the refuge at the Los Chiles sector, on a covered motor boat. 3/4 day tour with lunch included. Book the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Los Chiles with our discount in the link.
If you’re in Manuel Antonio and would like to do a similar boat tour, check out the Damas Island Mangrove. You can go on a boat tour or kayak through the mangroves to see wildlife.
Read about other things to do in La Fortuna below!
La Fortuna waterfall: Beautiful waterfall in the rainforest. Easily accessible though requires over 400 steps to get to the bottom.
Horseback riding La Fortuna: Ride through valleys and rainforests for beautiful views.
Arenal Combo tour: 4 in 1 combination tour. Includes hanging bridges, La Fortuna waterfall, volcano hike and hot springs.
Balsa River rafting: Easy Class 2 and 3 white water rafting, only 30 minutes from Fortuna.
Penas Blancas safari float (similar to this one but closer to La Fortuna)
Susan says
Hi Sammi,
Your info is amazingly helpful, thanks! We will be in Arenal area for 3 full days in August. Two Adults and our 12 year old son. Here’s our itinerary draft:
Day 1: Proyecto Asis Volunteer in the morning, Bogarin Trail in the afternoon
Day 2: Safari on the Penas Blanca River in the morning, Arenal Volcano hike in the afternoon (1968 trail)
Day 3: Mistico Hanging Bridge Birding Guided Tour morning, Don Olivio Chocolate Tour afternoon
We are not renting a car so we will rely on tours and shuttle service. (after Arenal we’re off to Manual Antonio)
I know zip lining is spectacular – for various reasons we are skipping it this trip and we have been to waterfalls on other trips. We are staying at a hotel with hot springs on site so we are covered with the hot springs experience. We want some down time to relax at the hotel.
In your experience and opinion – would you recommend swapping the Penas Blancas Safari Tour with the Pure Nature Rio Frio Safari Float – and possibly skipping the 1968 Trail hike due to time. Or is there something else you recommend we cut out so we do the Rio Frio in place of the Penas Blancas?
Thanks!
Sammi says
I would personally do the Penas Blancas morning and Volcano hike in the afternoon, the hike is pretty nice and the Penas Bancas river offers the same wildlife watching experience as Rio Frio. Rio Frio is if you reallllly want something more exclusive and personal since there aren’t other boats or companies on that part of the river, Penas Blancas you will see more.
Susan Davis says
Appreciate your input, thanks!! We’d like to use Jacamar. Think they would do a combo tour with Penas Blancas + 1968 Trail? Do you know if they are they taking credit cards or pay pal only (we don’t use pay pal) Also – do you have a partnerships with a tour company serving Manual Antonio?
Thanks so much!
Rachel says
Thanks for all your awesome information! We are planning a trip for next winter and hoped to spend time in the Arenal area and probably at the coast near Jaco or Samara. I read your great articles on both. I’m wondering how you would recommend splitting the time? 5 day Jaco, 5 day La Fortuna? Etc.
We will be there for 10-11 days and are traveling with 4 adults and 2 kids (9&12) who love nature and hiking and also love a good chill beach. Thanks much for your thoughts!! ❤️
Sammi says
Hi Rachel, if you’re flying in and out of San Jose, the easiest beach would be Jaco/Manuel Antonio. I personally wouldn’t recommend 5 days in Jaco, I’d split it in between Jaco and Manuel Antonio. If you’re renting a car, there are a lot of other chill beaches in between though which are less touristy like Esterillos Oeste ad Playa Bejuco
You could definitely do 5 days in Arenal, there is a ton of things to do in that area and you can see a lot of the area.
Norman says
Hi
Interested in the Rio Frio safari tour.
We are (4) at the Arenal Paraiso Hotel in March and have a free day.
– Would we have to make our own way to the tour destination?
– How long would it take as we would prefer the morning tour?
Thanks for any info
Norman
Sammi says
Hi Norman, roundtrip transportation is included in the tour so you don’t have to drive to the river. The drive from la Fortuna to the Rio Frio river start is around 1 hour, and pick up is around 7-730 AM (will confirm the time when the reservation is made).
Sammi says
Hi Nicole, the drive from Tabacon to the tour is about 1 hour. It’s not really windy or bumpy, from what I remember it was mostly on a paved road.
Nicole Cook says
How far away is this excursion from Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa? Is the road there windy and bumpy? Thanks!
Marc says
My wife and I are in our early 60’s, active, enjoy hiking, swimming and kayaking, but have never gone white water rafting. Although the safari float sounds wonderful, we were thinking that we would like to try white water rafting instead. We would also book it thru Jacamar. Can you help us decide which excursion would be best for us?
Sammi says
Hi Marc, if you haven’t done white water rafting before, the one from Arenal is really nice! Not super crazy but crazy enough 🙂 Jacamar made a video of the white water rafting Class 2 and 3 rapids you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMag2Og4zVw
Yeison did that one last year and he had a lot of fun. I think that’d be a great tour for you guys to do since you haven’t done rafting before and the scenery is really nice.
Julia says
Super interested in the Rio Frio safari tour, but wondering if minimum age is still 8 yrs. old for this. We are traveling to Arenal area in 2 weeks with a 6 year old who would love this safari, but obviously will not book if age limit is 8. Thank you in advance!
Sammi says
Hi Julia! The minimum age is 5 so you can definitely go with your 6 year old, they will love it!
Peter says
Rio Frio is not listed as an option. Does it go by another name?
Sammi says
Hi Peter! Yes they call the tour “Pure Nature Safari” 🙂
Jeremy says
Hey guys,
Do you think it would be safe to bring a DSLR camera on this tour? I don’t plan on jumping in.
Sammi says
Hi Jeremy, yup bring it! I took the photos in the post with my DSLR and you don’t get wet at all. Don’t miss the awesome wildlife shots and bring your DSLR
Ryan Biddulph says
Hi Guys,
Love that sloth! We’re arriving by Puerto Viejo in 10 days. Living in Buena Vista on a house sit for 2 months in an off the grid setting. I look forward to seeing toucans and Howler monkeys and all of these fab creatures as our neighbors. Neat change up from the more suburban life of here in Granada, Nicaragua.
Ryan
Sammi says
Cool 🙂 I’m sure you will see plenty of wildlife in PV. Hope you enjoy your time in Nicaragua and CR!