Grenada River Tubing

[cruisedave]

I will be sailing the Golden Princess in a few weeks and I was wondering if anyone has done the Grenada River Tubing excursion and what they thought.

 

Thanks!

[AZPam]

Well, I was hoping to get some recent info on this too. If nothing else, I can reply after we do it in about 3 weeks.

[AZPam]

We are currently on the Golden Princess and today is our last sea day, so thought I would post my thoughts while they are fresh in my mind.

 

It was raining when we arrived in Grenada, but being from Phoenix and having just gone thru a spell of 143 days of no rain, we didn't mind so much. When we met on the pier, they guides told us there was a 50-50 chance of doing the tour. With the rain, the river was rising and it if got to a certain level, it would no longer be safe. They gave us the option of canceling right then and there and getting a full refund. OR, we could take the 45 minute taxi ride to the river spot and if when we got there the river was to high, we would get at 50% refund. BUT, if we got there and got into the water, no more chance for any refunds. We decided to take our chances and off we went. About half the group cancelled, which was fine with us. It was a very beautiful ride, but be prepared for very narrow streets and crazy drivers.

 

When we arrived, it was just coming down in buckets. We were dripping wet within about 2 minutes of stepping out of the taxi, but the river level was still fine, so we got our helmets, life jackets and a quick briefing and off we went. The rain just added a whole different element to the tour and we thought it was just fun. Couldn't stop laughing! It just seemed so crazy in the rain.

 

The guides help you into the tube, so no problems there. They then point you in the right direction and off you go. They had probably a dozen in the river helping at all times. When you hit the small rapids, if you are going the wrong direction, they point you the right way with a splash or two. After the first series of rapids, there is a rope across the river that everyone grabs on to stop and wait for the guides to get ahead of us for the next series of rapids. It was very well organized and helpful and I was never scared. And if you could see the yellow streak down my back, that says something!

 

Unfortunately, it continued to rain so about a third of the way down, the guides decided it was getting too dangerous. We could tell the river was moving faster and was getting all brown and churned up. We had to get out and climb the hill side back up to the road. It reminded me to climbing Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica! Water was rushing down and they helped us up. It was a little disappointing, but still the tour was well worth it! Once the taxi's found us they broke out the rum punch and the tip box too. They worked hard for the time we went down, so naturally still got a tip from us, but not everyone, which was sad.

 

All and all, it was a great tour that I would recommend to anyone. They did say there was a 230 lb weight limit, but there were quite a few well over that who still went down. There was also a 4 or 5 year old with us who was quite terrified and had to sit on his Daddy's lap, so I don't think I would take anyone that little. Maybe 7-8 and up.

 

I'll be home on Saturday night, unfortunately, so if there are any questions, maybe I can get to them on Sunday in between all the laundry!