Rafting the Rio Grande

Bamboo rafts were the working transport of the Rio Grande valley, carrying bananas down to the coast, until the actor Errol Flynn, who owned land nearby, started racing them for entertainment in the 1940s and turned the trade into a passenger business. The rafts are around ten metres of lashed bamboo with a raised seat for two, poled standing at the front by a captain who has usually been doing it for decades. The trip runs about ten kilometres and takes two and a half to three hours through the valley below the John Crow mountains, past bathing spots, a lunch stop and villages, ending near St Margaret's Bay.

What you actually see

• The raft trip - three hours downriver, poled from the front.
• The Rio Grande valley - the deepest and greenest in Portland.
• The captains - many with decades on the river and a full commentary.
• The swimming stops - shallow spots along the way.

When to go

December to April is drier and the river most predictable. After heavy rain the river runs high and trips are suspended. Morning departures avoid the afternoon heat. Rafts are priced per raft for two people, not per person.

Honest expectations

It is three hours sitting still in the sun with no shade beyond a hat, and some visitors find it long. The river is low in dry spells, which means more scraping and pushing. Captains work for tips on top of the fare and the ask can be direct. Arranging a car to meet you at the end is essential, since the finish is ten kilometres from the start.

Nearby

Port Antonio is half an hour; Reach Falls is an hour east.