Question about River Tubing

[Kim]

We are travelling with someone who is not too physically fit and we wondered how do you get on and off the tube? Would this be difficult for her? I understand there is a seat or bottom to the tube so there would be no chance of falling through. Is there an area that she could wait if she was unable to participate while we partake?

[gramshup]

We had not physically fit people in our group and they helped them into the tube. It does have a bottom so you stay in and it never gets really wild anyway. Don't know about a place to stay if you don't go. We were with Phil Lafayette and anyone that didn't want to go could stay with him but we all went.

[lik2cruz]

To anyone who has done tubing in Jamaica- How wet do you get while riding the tubes? How long does this last? How strenuous is it? We will be traveling with 2 young children and 2 grandparents. Any help would be great!

[TheWog]

like2cruz - the tubing is more of a slow ride down the river. Its not like rapids or anything. I don't believe you will get too wet unless you get out at the end in the water. We haven't actually done it yet, but will be going in January. I have heard it is fine for all ages. I think it lasts about an hour or so.

[CruiserJill]

You'll definitely get wet from the waist down, so you need to wear a swim suit. You'll stand in about waist deep water to get in and out of the tube, and it's possible you'll get even more wet.

No rapids or anything, but this was a fun, leisurely trip. We had a great time!

[happy1]

I managed to get into the tube from shore by leaning backwards, so didn't get wet throughout the ride. The guides do an excellent job of gauging who needs more assistance. For example, someone in our group didn't swim, so they were never far from him in case he required assistance. I wouldn't hesitate to take my children or grandparents if they have the physical agility to comfortably stand in waist deep water & learn back into the tube.

[FirstTimeOnABigShip]

We went tubing at Ocho Rios just last week. The water is fairly high right now so the ride took only about 30 minutes instead of the usual 45 minutes. Still it was so calm that no-one was going to fall out. The guide stayed close to keep us safe. We also got in and out without getting wet and only got wet rears from sitting on the wet fibre glass bottom of the tube.

Book with a local operator though rather than through the ship so that you get a personal guide instead of just being part of a large group. Also its much cheaper. We used A-Z Planners [email="Belinda@a-zjamaicaplanners.com"]Belinda@a-zjamaicaplanners.com[/email] and would highly recommend them.

[miclane001]

My husband somehow managed to fall out of his tube and got a few scrapes on his legs. Our guides (there were two of them for a group of 9) were great about watching over anyone who needed a little extra help. If the children and grandparents are in good physical condition they should not have any problems. You will get wet. While there are no real rapids, there are a couple of places where the water gets kind of fast. A woman with our group who could not swim was terrified but the guides made sure she made it down the river without any mishaps.