Cagayan De Oro White Water Rafting

 March 1, 2015

White Water Rafting is one of the most popular activities to do in Cagayan De Oro. In fact, our guide told us that they had guests who went to Cagayan De Oro (CDO) just to do the white water rafting and then left just right after doing it.  It has always been in my list to try it out so now that I had the chance to do it, I grabbed it.

I wasn't able to research much about the different white water rafting services. I just got a referral from my friend and texted the number she gave me and then booked for our activity. We booked the advance course with The Red Rafts but BEWARE I do not recommend them. I suggest you go with First Rafting Adventure because they are the pioneer of this activity.

According to our guide, these people were actually mountaineers and they just started doing the white water rafting as a hobby. Soon, people got interested in doing it as well and then later on, it became a normal activity in CDO.

The rafting prices are pretty standard and the price given to us by Red Rafts are as follows:

 Difference between Basic Course and Advance Course

 According to our guide, the term "advance' in the course just denotes that the course is longer but the rapids might not be harder than the basic course. That was actually what we experienced. We took the advance course and the rapids were just pretty simple. The harder rapids were those at the end of the course which was also part of the "Basic Course" package. During the advance course, you will just start at a higher or farther part of the river so that you will cover 10 more rapids, and after that, you will reach the part of the river where the basic course starts. The endpoint for the basic and advance course is just the same.

The Rafting Experience

We asked the Red Rafts to pick us up from our house in CDO and then they came in front of the village gate with their jeepney. Red Rafts do have a facility where you can take a shower and change after the activity. You can also keep your belongings in their lockers and they promise to keep them safe. While we were in the jeepney, our guide told us to leave all our belongings in their lockers because according to him, it is very unsafe to hold anything in our hands. He told us that aside from the fact that we need to paddle, our cameras might fall into the rapids and then it will be forever lost. But as soon as we got to the river, we realized it was JUST A SCAM so that we will get their lousy photo and video coverage. TSK!

When we came to the jump off site, we were first oriented of the different paddles that we will use along the course. The back paddle, front paddle and fast front paddle. You will also be oriented on what to do in case you fall in a rapid and things like that. After the orientation, we asked the guide to take a picture of us before starting the rafting. After taking the first picture, he found out that he forgot the memory card of the camera!!! So he had to go back to  the lockers and then he will just meet us at the jump off point of the basic course. This means that we will have no pictures while we pass along the 10 rapids of the advance course! I was so disappointed because we were not given the proper service which we paid for.  I was hoping that they would at least give us a discount but they didn't. They still asked for 1500php (which I found out was overpriced. A group of 5 should only cost 1000php). Aside from that, they asked another 500php from the couple who joined us in the tour. We were really ripped off. When I googled them after the activity, I found out they have a bad review in tripadvisor regarding their service. Apparently, they do not really give good service to customers. They actually made us feel like they just wanted to get money from us but they do not want to give the proper service. In short, nadaya kami. Also, we didn't get our money's worth because the photographer was really lazy. He didn't take as much pictures as he should. They said it was supposedly like 15 pictures per rapid but that NEVER happened. Furthermore, the quality of the pictures were VERY POOR. The pictures were blurry or the framing was not right. Really disappointing service.

Again, I suggest you go with First Rafting Adventure because they are the pioneer of this activity. We also saw them while we were rafting and the camera man is not lazy in taking pictures. The team just looked so cool.


The rapids were not as wild as the guide described to us while we were in the jeepney. There were many parts that were very scenic and the river was calm. You can even swim in the river and it was like a pool. The place was very calming and it was a great getaway from the busy city life. For me, the route for the advance course was more beautiful and scenic than that of the basic course.

Here are some of the acceptable pictures and video our guide took for us:

All in all, we had a great time in the river because it was really very scenic and calming. Most part (90%) of the river was calm so it is not true that you will have a hard time holding on to your things.  It's ok to bring your cameras if it is waterproof or just bring a dry bag if you want. We enjoyed the experience but I do not think we will do it again.

Tips:

1. Wear rashguard and leggings. You will be bathing under the sun for four hours and you don't want to get sun burned. Even if you put on sunblock, your skin still might get burned at the end of the course so better be prepared with your outfit.
2. Waterproof everything in case you will be bringing your things.
3. You can tell your guide to not topple the raft.
4. You may bring food and drinking water.
5. Text or book with the agency first before going so that they can reserve the day for you. It is also good to ask them where will be the meet up point and how to get there coming from your hotel.
6. If you want to book an afternoon session, I think it is feasible to start at 1P.M. Their main concern is that the "natural light" should still be there when you are rafting. You should be able to reach the end point by 5PM.
7. Do some stretching first because your muscles will get sore after paddling.