Rio Celeste Waterfall Hike & River Tubing ComboÂ
This is a combo tour through a small local company. It starts with a visit to Tenorio Volcano National Park, home to the Rio Celeste Waterfall, for a 2-2.5 hour hike.
Rio Celeste Waterfall Hike
The Rio Celeste Waterfall is the main attraction in the Bijagua area. It is an absolutely stunning waterfall with bright blue water. In our opinion, it is one of the most beautiful in Costa Rica. The river and waterfall get their color from a chemical reaction that occurs naturally between volcanic minerals.
To reach the waterfall, it’s an easy-to-moderate hike through Tenorio Volcano National Park.
The first part of the hike to the waterfall is fairly easy. It’s about a half-hour long, and you access the falls by walking down a steep, but well-maintained, set of 250 stairs. Normally, you can view the waterfall from a platform at the base of the stairs. However, as of early 2026, the viewing platform is temporarily closed due to storm damage. You can still walk partway down the stairs to get a view and take pictures.
Continuing on, you will come to other sights like the tenideros (point in river where it turns from clear to blue) and blue pool. The second part of the trail is moderate in difficulty.
Your bilingual naturalist guide will take you along the trail to see the waterfall and other points of interest mentioned above.
Along the way, they will point out interesting plants and animals that you may spot in the mix of tropical rainforest and cloud forest. The guides we use are locals from the Bijagua area so they are very familiar with the ecosystem and knowledgeable about the area.
Rio Celeste Tubing
After the hike, you’ll have lunch at the tour company’s office, then continue on to the second part of the day: river tubing.
Since you can’t swim in the waterfall at the national park, this is a really fun way to experience the Rio Celeste.
Most of the tour is a relaxing float trip where you can take in the beautiful blue water and lush rainforest from an inflatable inner tube, but there are some small rapids for a little excitement (rapids are Class I-II). You tube about 4 km (2.5 miles) total.
Note that if there has been recent rainfall, river levels could be higher, making for a faster ride.
The operator that we use for this river tubing tour is a local company that is very safe and fun. The guides will help navigate each section of rapids, and they do a great job keeping track of everyone on the river. Helmets and life vests are provided.
*Keep in mind that when tubing, you’ll be on your own tube and will sometimes need to navigate your way around the rocks. Of course, there are guides to assist you, but it’s a different type of experience than whitewater rafting (when you’re with a guide on a raft).
Note that if there has been recent rain, the river may not show its blue color.
IMPORTANT: Please note that the tubing tour will be cancelled if river conditions are deemed unsafe by the tour operator due to recent rain. We will notify you a day or two before your tour date if this is the case. You will receive a full refund.Â
Cost of Group Combo Tour: $110 per person adults, $95 per person children under 10. Rates plus 13% tax.
Offered: 8:30 a.m.
Duration: 6.5 hours (approximate) (2-3 hours hiking, 2 hours tubing + time for lunch and getting from the national park to the river)
Includes: Bilingual naturalist guide, national park entrance fee, and lunch before the tubing tour.
Transportation: Transportation can be arranged for an additional charge. Please request it when making your booking and we will email you with the cost.
If you self-drive, you will meet the guide at the national park in the morning (parking is available for about 3,000 colones or $6/day), then follow them in your own car to the tour company’s office for lunch and tubing. Their office is about 20 minutes away.
Minimum Age for Tubing: 8
For more information on the hike, read our post Rio Celeste Waterfall: Essential Tips.
Have a question? Send us an email at bookings(at)
Return to Bijagua/Rio Celeste Tours
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Nevin Gilchrist (Verified Customer) –
Tour of Rio Celeste was great! We saw several species of snakes and then even got to watch a sloth move around the trees on our way out! We got a little unlucky that the rain changed the colour of the water (more to a dull green than the vibrate blue we saw the last time we visited).
The tube adventure was epic!! We simply laughed for the first 20 minutes of the actual tubing it was so fun! Lasted much longer than we expected, which was perfect as we didn’t want it to end! Guides were great and they got some awesome videos and pictures of the group, which they shared for free.
Thanks again to Two Weeks in Costa Rica! Another perfectly planned day which included two different service providers! Much appreciated!
Mary Sotolongo (Verified Customer) –
We had two excellent guides on this trip – Gorge for the waterfall hike and Antony for the tubing. Booking, payment, and meetup/pickup was seamless. Gorge was very knowledgeable and his humor made the tour even more fun! Antony was superb in guiding us through the rapids – where we were safe and had a ball. Rio Celeste is beautiful and well worth the trip.