There are myriad ways to bond with your friends and your family. It can be the usual weekend dinner, a drink at the bar, or a trip to the nearest national park. These are all quiet, reserved methods of deepening your bonds with your loved ones.
However, there’s a different approach that will probably leave you and your loved ones feel more alive thanks to the adrenaline rush. That is, going together on an adventure!
However, an adventure will more effectively strengthen your bonds if it allows you and your companions to work together, right? Search no more, for white water rafting offers just that!
To get you started with your trip plans, here’s our guide to give you an idea of how much does white water rafting cost:
Average Water Rafting Price
The average water rafting price depends on the kind of rafting trips your group prefers to try. A guided single day trip may cost you from US$25 to US$115; a self-guided rafting trip US$55 to US$200; and a multi-day guided rafting trip US$400 to US$1,300.
Choosing among the types of rafting trips will depend on the difficulty imposed by the rivers. The American White Water Association created a rating system to determine river difficulty.
According to the scale, classes 1 to 3 has moderate rapids that are safe for rafters whether they have a guided or not. Classes 4 to 5 has powerful to very violent rapids thus group assistance for rescue is necessary. Class 6 has extreme and exploratory rapids that may be difficult even for expert rafters, thus runs for these rapids are rarely attempted.
Variations on Water Rafting Price
Costs for rafting price varies depending on your rafting destination and the company that offers tours. Before deciding where to go, you can check different white water rafting websites and compare their prices. Choose the one you can afford and can provide you excellent service.
To give you a rough idea on how much the price varies, here’s a list showing white water rafting costs per person in 2015 in the South Fork American River and Middle Fork American River, as posted by White Water Connection:
- South Fork American River Rafting Trips
- Half-day trips: US$95 (weekday), US$115 (weekend)
- Half-day trips (youth): US$85 (weekday), US$103 (weekend)
- One-day trips: US$129 (weekday), US$149 (weekend)
- One-day trips (youth): US$116 (weekday), US$135 (weekend)
- Full river: US$140 (weekday), US$160 (weekend)
- Full river (youth): US$126 (weekday), US$145 (weekend)
- Two-day trips: US$295 (weekday), US$310 (weekend)
- Two-day trips (youth): US$265 (weekday), US$280 (weekend)
- Middle Fork American River Rafting Trips
- One-day trips: US$145 (weekday), US$175 (weekend)
- One-day trips (youth): US$130 (weekday), US$158 (weekend)
- Two-day mid/south combo: US$325 (weekday), US$375 (weekend)
Additional Costs
Note that the above prices only involves the rafting tour itself. A group of friends or family going to a rafting trip will have to prepare a separate budget for transportation to get there. Moreover, some companies also offer other activities apart from the rafting trips, and each activity comes with a separate fee.
For example, the Outdoor Adventure Rafting (OAR) in Tennessee offers land activities such as low rope course, rappelling and rock climbing that each cost US$16, rappel/rock climb combo which costs US$31, and paintball which costs US$35.
Accommodations can also add to the cost. Some tour guides offer camping accommodations which can cost up to US$10, bunkhouses to accommodate a larger group size which can cost from US$100 to US$200 and pavilions which can cost about US$25.
Some tour guides might also offer shooting photos of your group while rafting. If you want to acquire a piece of preserved memory from your adventure, you can go allocate US$20 for each photo, or US$40 for a CD.
Rafting Discounts
Getting discounts while enjoying the trip will make your adventure a tad more fulfilling since you can save a penny or two. You can cut down on costs by opting to pay only for the rafting trips and giving less priority to other activities offered in the rafting area.
You might also want to check on water rafting discounts given by different companies. Breckenridge White Water Rafting, for one, offers discounts on several trips. Some of them include a 20 percent discount on rafters booking a trip during the month of May, a 50 percent discount for kids ages 2 to 12, 50 percent discount on raft and zip packages for those who book early before the summer, among others.
Your group size can also help reduce the cost. Large group trips may reduce the total cost from US$2 to US$10 per person. National parks can also give you discounted or free parking.
White Water Rafting Abroad
Some groups or families may also go the extra mile by traveling outside the United States to experience the feeling of rafting abroad. You can also end up like them as you might be enticed to see majestic photos of people riding on the rapids white water rafting tour guides outside the US posted on their websites. You might end up saying to yourself that you want to go there, too, no matter how far!
Some of the top white water rafting destinations outside the US according to a 2010 National Geographic list include the Rio Upano in Ecuador, Futaleufu River in Chile, North Johnstone River in Australia, Sun Kosi River in Nepal, Coruh River in Turkey, Noce River in Italy, and Zambezi River in Zimbabwe.
To know how much does white water rafting cost in these places, you can check websites of rafting tour companies located there. Compare rafting prices, travel costs, and the safety of each destination, and choose what you think is best for you, your family or friends, and your budget.
Enjoying Adventure While Ensuring Safety in White Water Rafting
It’s not enough to know how much does white water rafting cost to declare yourself prepared for the rafting trip. Most importantly, make sure that you had researched on your destination and contacted the tour guides so you can receive assistance.
Upon arrival and preparation for the rafting activity, you should also check your safety gears if they’re durable enough to keep you safe. Also, do not forget to bring a first aid kit in case of injuries.
Make sure your adventure will only leave you with happy memories. Be safe on your trips!