For wildlife watching in Arenal, by far the easiest and best way is to go on a river safari float ride. The most popular river for a boat ride is the Rio Penas Blancas, only a 20 minute drive from La Fortuna.
Rio Penas Blancas runs through the Tilaran Mountain Range and though some parts of the river has high class rapids, a good portion of it has very calm water, perfect for a leisurely boat ride. It’s an incredible place to see monkeys, caimans, reptiles and birds while floating down a beautiful lush river.
Penas Blancas Safari Float
We got picked up at 8 AM and by 8:45, we were already floating down a river as the drive to Rio Penas Blancas takes barely 25 minutes from La Fortuna town. The beauty about this tour is that you are in a raft, not a boat with an engine so you can get closer to the animals without disturbing them.
And without the loud sound of a motor, you feel like you’re miles deep into the jungle as you only hear birds chirping, monkeys howling and the river running all around you.
Here are some photos of the river and animals we saw.
As we glided down the river, Hugo, our guide pointed out the first animal of the day: a heron.
Even though I brought my 400 m lens with an extender on a Canon 80d, we were able to get super close to the heron with spooking him because we were on a raft. We weren’t more than 6 feet away from this guy!
And that was how it was for the entire boat trip. We got so close to some White Faced Monkeys (who are incredibly curious and smart), that we thought they were going to jump in the raft to steal our cameras!
It was a perfect day out on the river. Sunny but a little cloudy so it wasn’t terribly hot. Not very windy so the river was very calm. The water glowed green from the reflection of the trees towering over us, providing incredible scenery the whole way.
We were also lucky to see a caiman sunbathing, bats, Jesus Christ lizards, howler monkeys, a 2-fingered sloth and my favorite encounter – a sleeping porcupine our guide somehow saw in a hole.
When we reached the end of the tour, we got out and walked to a nearby local house to have some juice and snacks. The family who lives there made us natural fruit juice (starfruit that day), fried plantains and yuca bread – all homemade. Delicious and super refreshing way to end a lovely day out on a river surrounded by exotic wildlife!
About the tour
- They have two tours: morning and afternoon. Pick up time in morning is around 7 AM, afternoon is around noon (depends on your hotel, times may vary).
- The kind of boat they use is the same for white water rafting, it is an inflatable raft.
- Bring a hat, sunglasses, camera. You can wear any kind of shoes since you will not be getting into the water and the river is very calm.
- You can wear shorts and a shirt, you don’t need to wear long pants if you don’t want to. This area is hot.
- You won’t be paddling, only the guide paddles. They may ask one member of each boat to help them paddle a little bit but the water is super calm.
- The river is shallow and they give you life jackets.
- There are crocodiles and caimans in this river but the guide does not go straight up to them. You will not fall out of the raft either since there are no rapids or waves. Life jackets are mandatory as a safety precaution, not because you will be swimming or going in the water.
- The boat ride is 2 hours. Since it’s only a 20 minute drive, this is an excellent half day morning tour and you will have the rest of the day to do another tour if you want.
Watch a video of the Rio Penas Blancas safari float!
If you have more time and don’t mind a longer drive, I recommend going on the Rio Frio Safari Float (Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge).
It is a longer drive from Fortuna (1.5 hours) but our tour operator partner is the only one who operates a safari float on this specific section of the river so it’s a bit more expensive. Additionally, Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is one of the most pristine refuges in Costa Rica and there is no public entrance so you will be one of the very few who have ever visited this part of the country. I wrote a post about the Rio Frio Safari Float (called pure nature safari) here.
We have a 7% discounts for both tours you can get here!
However, if you don’t want to spend all day or more money, the Penas Blancas Safari Float is an excellent option.
Read more things to do in La Fortuna and Arenal here!
If you happen to be in Manuel Antonio and would like to do a similar tour, the Damas Island mangrove boat tour is excellent. You can also kayak through the mangroves!
Robin Waldon says
Love your blog, from reading about Pure Nature Rio Frio Safari I believe our group of 18 would not be able to do this tour. Is this correct?
Sammi says
Hi! Yes they definitely can. You can select the 10+ option and then enter the rest of the groups information in the comments and 10+ box.
Deanna says
Hi Sammi! How does this safari float compare to the Palo Verde boat tour?
Sammi says
The safari float is done on rafts, Palo Verde is on a motorized boat so the safari float is much quieter, feels more natural. This particular safari float is done in the tropical rainforest, so you have chances to see other mammals like sloths and white face monkeys. The Palo Verde boat tour is done in dry tropical forest so no sloths, mostly howler monkeys. Can see animals like bats, iguanas, river birds, caimans/crocodiles in both rivers (more in Palo Verde for caimans/crocodiles)
Melissa Roth says
Hi Sammi–
Have you done the Penas Blancas tour in the afternoon? We may not be able to do the morning one and wonder how different it may be.
Sammi says
Yes we have also done it in the afternoon, it is hotter and in the rainy season, there are some more possibilities to rain a bit so bring a rainjacket and waterproof items. I definitely recommend the morning as it’s clearer and drier generally and usually animal activity (at least for birds) is more in the morning. In rainy season, it can start getting darker/cloudier around 4 PM or so. Then depending which month you’re visiting, it can rain a lot more in October as October is our rainiest month.
zaki says
what to do in la furtuna area just to hang out
no trail or attraction. any ideas?
Sammi says
Yes we have loads of ideas in our blog post Things to do in Arenal and La Fortuna
alina says
Hi, if we are staying at Bio Thermales Hot Springs, which safari tour would be closest to us if we were to drive there on our own…the Penas Blancas Safari float or the Rio Trio (pure nature) safari float?
Sammi says
I’m not sure where bio Thermales hot springs is but Penas Blancas is about 30 minutes from La Fortuna.
Jenny Vargas says
Which boat/rafting tour would you recommed for spotting mammals if we can only do one? We’ll be in La Fortuna and in Quepos in December. We live in Florida so we have mangroves and crocodiles/alligators here, but no monkeys or other mammals. We’ll have an SUV and don’t mind driving a bit. Thank you!
Sammi says
Both tours in Fortuna and Manuel Antonio will give opportunities to see monkeys
Brian Ahearn says
We are going to La fortuna early December and I as planning on doing the safari rafting and the falls(without a guide) which one should we do first in the morning?
Sammi says
I would do the safari float first in the morning
Mandy says
Hi Sammi, is the safari at Rio Penas Blancas actually inside Arenal?
Sammi says
It’s at a river about 30 minutes outside La Fortuna
Sammi says
Hi Bruce, we really like Jacamar for nature tours in La Fortuna and we also have a discount
Bruce says
Which company do you recommend? There seem to be so many to choose from. Thanks!
Alexis says
Yes, does anyone have a company for this float trip that they recommend?
Sammi says
You can book the float trip here and get our discount for the tour: https://mytanfeet.com/special-deals/la-fortuna-arenal-tours-discount/
Geo says
Hi Sammi,
Our family will be staying in Arenal area and wanted to see if I book this tour for us. We have a 2 and 6 year old. Will they take kids that young?
Thanks,
Geo
Sammi says
Hi Geo! The minimum age for this tour is 4 years old, for the 2 year old, you will need to book a private tour. The price for the private is $102 USD per adult and $36 for the child.
Prin says
Hello Sammi,
I noticed that there was only three people in your raft, including the guide. Is it always that way or can we join other groups?
Sammi says
Hi Prin! It’s an open tour so they’ll take as many people who want to go and each raft holds up to 5 people and the guide.
Sammi says
Hi Christine! Jacamar does operate that one, we haven’t done it though.
Christine says
Can you recommend a safari river float closer to Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste? Jacamar Naturalist Tours offers one on the Corobici River. Have you been on that trip? Thanks!