River Tubing

[msweezie99]

I saw someone's pics on the tubing, a few questions for those that have done it. It does look rather slow paced, are you allowed to get out of the tube and swim some, along side the tube, or is the water shallow, could you get hurt? I can just not see my fish...err daughter sitting in the tube without jumping in and out and around. Are there any sights you are seeing along the way?

Thanks for your help

[runner1909]

Where are you considering tubing at? We tubed last week at YS Falls and it was great. But we all moved along as a group, and no, no one got out of their tube and swam. We were going toward a destination. It could be different at other places though.

[BarbaraSails]

We went on a river tubing excursion in June of 2004. Our excursion was booked through RCCL. It was a fun time and cost $68 pp. At the time, we did not know about booking independent of the ship. I don't regret it, however.

The bus picked us up at the pier along with about 30 other folks from the ship. I'm guessing it was about a 45 min drive.

The river was slow and shallow. They tied our inner tubes togther in groups of four (not expected, but not a problem). We were allowed to get out twice, once to take a dip in a pool area and once to swing from a cliff on a rope and let go! Boy, that was fun!!!

At the end, we were brought back as a group via a big truck through some orange groves. It was a pretty rough, adventurous ride.

All in all, the experience was great and the guides made it quite interesting.

[msweezie99]

I'm not sure where the tubing is, I am assuming it is all in the same area, for $20 PP, through the tours offered by Phil Lafayette and Oriville Taylor that others are talking about, is there more than one place? I am also getting different answers on rope swings, UMMMM.

[msweezie99]

maybe I should have said out of Ochos Rios....

[TheWog]

When are you going??? We are booked with Peat Taylor in a few weeks and I can fill you in when we return. I don't think you swim around. I have heard the river is pretty shallow. I have heard they will stop you at one point to serve refreshments, but may depend on the day. I have also heard conflicting answers on the rope swing. I do not think it is the one at Ocho Rios, but I could be wrong.

How do you like this weather the last few days. Almost feels like FL in January.

[pringle]

Originally Posted by msweezie99

I'm not sure where the tubing is, I am assuming it is all in the same area, for $20 PP, through the tours offered by Phil Lafayette and Oriville Taylor that others are talking about, is there more than one place? I am also getting different answers on rope swings, UMMMM.

I went river tubing with Phil's tour for $20pp. You cannot stop and swim. While the river is a slow moving ride and is shallow and not dangerous, there IS a current that keeps the tubes moving at all times. There will be a river guide (or more) with you depending on your group size. The guides get people out of jams when they get off track and get stuck in the sides. There is no time or place to stop for refreshments. The trip down river lasts about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Hope this helps.

[msweezie99]

Hi Wog! You are pretty close to me, not feeling like FL anymore, look out your window this morning, LOL!! Nothing like a snow day, can shut off the alarm and sleep a few more hours.

[TheWog]

Originally Posted by msweezie99

Hi Wog! You are pretty close to me, not feeling like FL anymore, look out your window this morning, LOL!! Nothing like a snow day, can shut off the alarm and sleep a few more hours.

Yeah tell me about it. I came to work while the rest of the family is at home with a snow day. I want to be home with hot chocolate and in my sweats. Oh well.

[joesafety]

We just returned from Jamaica and went river tubing on the White river. There is only a couple of spots where the water is deep (4-5 feet). But the guide is always there. You will get wet in a couple of spots that have some rapids. Half way down we stopped at a place for a cold Red Stripe and a pepsi for the kids. Our guide was Rambo and he was great. I would highly recommend this tour.

[msweezie99]

Hi, when you went tubing did you get to swing off ropes? Did you book with the ship or an off site tour, and which one??

Thanks

[mermaid40]

Joesafety
when you said "some rapids", how bad are the rapids?? Is the river tubing safe for grandparents that are coming with us?

Was the water cold?

Thanks!

[wckdtrix]

We booked our River Tubing through the ship. We had a great time, I felt safe the entire trip. When we got to the "rapids" the guides were there on each side of the river to push us away from the rocky sides...so there wasnt any real danger of getting hurt. The current pushes you along the entire way...they give you a paddle, but you will mostly use that to push yourself away from the banks, and lowhanging tree branches.

[joesafety]

The rapids are not bad at all. you get wet when you go through them and yes the water is cold but nothing unbearable. We took our 8 year old on the tour. not sure of the grand parents. I guess it would depand on their age. When you go through the rapids the guide is right with you and he had the four of us hold hands during the faster part of the trip and let us float on our own in the slower parts. We did not have any type of paddles, we just used our hands to steer.

[joesafety]

Forgot to mention, we didn't see any rope swings or anything like that as the water is only 2-3 feet deep in most places. Also, we booked our trip directly with A-Z Jamaica Planners and the tubing was included in the tour we chose.