The rafting trip on the Rio Balsa was great fun! My fiance & I had never been rafting before so we were a little nervous. The tour guides, Brian and Carlos, were very knowledgeable, funny and made us feel very safe. The safety kayak person, Rocky, was great too. He took my water camera with him and took pictures of us the enitre trip down river. I highly recommend bringing a water camera, but make sure to buy in the States and bring it with you as they are very expensive once in Fortuna (We paid about $20 for the water camera). Great transportation, fresh fruit at the end of the river, and the homemade Costa Rican lunch were all great additions to this must do rafting trip!

Last week while in Costa Rica I did the white water rafting "Rio Toro" trip with Desafio Adventure. Our rafting trip was absolutely amazing! The rapids were intense and our guide was so much fun while still being maintaining safety. I would definitely recommend the Rio Toro rafting trip with them. One thing to note -- contrary to how many things seem to be in other places, in La Fortuna if you buy trips like the rafting tour it is much cheaper to buy with street stands than with the actual company. The actual company will sell the trip for the marketed price of $85 but the street stands will give it to you for much less -- we got ours for $75 and were jealous to learn that other groups got the same trip for only $60 after bargaining down (we didn't realize bargaining was really an option for these tours). So, bargain down and enjoy! It was definitely worth it even at $75 or $85 though - a full day of action packed fun!

Check out Desafio's website and just fill out the online form to start your vacation plans. Greg will email you back with some information to get everything confirmed once you send him the credit card authorization form. Once you get the confirmation invoices (he will send you one for each activity you signed up), you know that you are good to go!

We scheduled the "Volcano Hike with Baldi Hot Springs" (may 24) and "Canyoning with home-cooked lunch" (may 25). We could have scheduled the SkyTram/SkyTrek with them as well, as we found that prices through Desafio is not inflated compared to if you were to purchase the activities directly from SkyTrek.

Since it is now the rainy season, we were totally rained in during our volcano hike. But Elmer promised lava sighthings with rum cocktail, and he delivered! ;) The Baldi Hot Springs was nice (a bit strange with the loud music), but since the entrance fee is sooo cheap compared to Tabacon, it's a must-go! I recommend that you get it with the volcano hike through Desafio because you would then avoid the extra transportation cost to get to Baldi on a different day. Also, I saw inconsistent (inflated) Baldi prices while walking around La Fortuna.

Canyoning with Carlos was AWESOME! I won't lie, it's scary, but trust me, it's not bad once you've convinced yourself to lower yourself below the platforms. The crew (we had three guides) was funny, professional, knowledgeable. At no time did we question our safety or the quality of the equipment. Carlos promised us a great home-cooked lunch, and he didn't lie! One of the best meals we had in La Fortuna. p/s the ride up to the canyoning start point behind the 4wd pickup truck could cause a little bit of motion sickness. ;)-

We would definitely use Desafio again. All hotel pickups were on-time and in reliable vehicles. The activity groups are in small, manageable sizes for personal attention.

WE spent 7 days in Costa Rica, and went on many different adventure tours. The Desafio rapelling or "canyoneering" tour was one of the highlights of the trip. The guides were very good and careful and we never felt that there were any safety concerns. The course was absolutely beautiful, and the lunch at the end was terrific. My only complaint is that there were were not more waterfalls to tackle! These guys run a very solid operation, I highly recommend them.