River tubing safe for non-swimmer - please help

[ccblend]

Really wnat to try this but am worried as one is a non-swimmer. Is it safe? How fast do you go, how rough are the rapids, do you tip over, are the guides good? Thanks so much for the help.

[Dagny]

The guides will take excellent care of you - they race back and forth helping the tubers and you will be fine. I would mention to them your status as a non-swimmer just so you can enjoy that little bit of extra care. It is not a wild ride, but it is exhilarating and beautiful. If you can let yourself relax enough, you will love it.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I think they will be fine. The ride is just fast enough to be fun but not scary. There aren't any real rapids, just some ripply areas. The guides do indeed take very good care of you; ours were in the water more than not, keeping the tubes together, away from branches, the bank, etc.

 

I suppose it is possible to tip over, though no one in our group did. Most of the river seemed to be about waist high at the time we went, though I'm sure there were deeper pools. If someone had fallen in, the guides would have been right there. I also don't know if it is higher or swifter at certain times of the year, or after big rains.

 

We took 4 kids under the age of 6 and they had a blast and begged to do it all again. Each of them rode with an adult. Since all the adults in our group were good swimmers, we didn't ask about life jackets, but maybe they are available. You could ask, or bring your own.

[ccblend]

Thank you so much. Can you recommend a tour company to make reservations with? Thanks again

[MCManders99]

Just got back from river tubing and there are life jackets available. The guides were great. They ask if anyone needs a jacket before going. My father is partially disabled, he wears bilateral braces and had no problem with tubing. They had a special guide for him that stuck with him the whole way and watched over him. It was the best. Nobody flipped over the whole trip. You'll be ok, just make sure the guides know that you can't swim.

 

We booked with Phil Lafayette. We did Dunns River and tubing. I am sure you can book just the tubing with him as well. His website is http://www.phil-lafayette-tours.com/

 

If you have any other questions let me know

[ccblend]

thank you for responding. I feel much better and am going to take the plunge.................

[QTMichele]

You'll have a BLAST! The tubing was a great part of our tour (we used http://www.KnowJamaica.com with Marva as our guide). Nebr.cruiser described the river well :), but I'll add that most of the river is quite shallow - just a few feet deep. There are some deep spots, but those are located in very slow moving areas of the river.

 

Good luck deciding upon a tour guide. I hope you use Marva (we just loved her!). :D Let us know what you decide to do and send us a review when you return. :)

[QTMichele]

You'll have a BLAST! The tubing was a great part of our tour (we used http://www.KnowJamaica.com with Marva as our guide). Nebr.cruiser described the river well :), but I'll add that most of the river is quite shallow - just a few feet deep. There are some deep spots, but those are located in very slow moving areas of the river.

 

Good luck deciding upon a tour guide. I hope you use Marva (we just loved her!). :D Let us know what you decide to do and send us a review when you return. :)

[nrane26]

Tubing is a lots of fun, but remember this is a real river...not exactly custom designed for tubing... when we went there were about 15 people with 2 guides... The guides were GOOD... our guides name was Rambo and the name definitely suits him! The river is NOT shallow all the way through... and the current is pretty strong! I am a decent swimmer, but my tube tipped over and i took a plunge... and the spot where I tipped the water was close to 7 feet! And swimming in a river with strong currents is not easy... I honestly panicked when I went underwater a couple of times... Also I was trying to swim against the current, which was pretty dumb... but I was one of the first ones and everyone including our guide were behind... so my initial reaction was to swim towards them... Even though I couldnt swim against the current, it definitely slowed me down enough where a girl offered her hand... I grabbed her tube... and then another guy came in and offered his tube... so basically i was floating with the help of 2 tubes... Meanwhile Rambo caught up with us... he had grabbed my tube and brought it near me... I jumped on it immediately... also the flow had died down somewhat and the water was about wait deep... I was visibly shaken by the whole experience... Rambo calmed me and helped me get back on the tube... After that it was quite smooth... Once we were done with tubing Rambo told me that I was very lucky... I tipped at the worst possible spot (one of the few spots where the flow is very strong AND its deep) there was a good chance of injury because of sharp rocks in the water... Luckily there were no accidents... jut managed to get a couple of scratches on my back! I am not trying to scare you in any way, just sharing my experience... dont let go of your tube under any circumstances!