Never been rafting?

Planning your first rafting trip can be intimidating.  As a beginner you will probably have many questions: Where is the whitewater locations ? What do I need to know? Is rafting safe? Do I need to be experienced?


The best way to experience rafting for the first time is sign up for a trip with a reputable and professional rafting company armed with a little bit of rafting knowledge. If you are looking at trips in

Scotland please ask around Splash have been running rivers

since 1994 and have had thousands of clients. As a very small business word of mouth is responsible for the growth of our company.

If you are looking for that international trip of a lifetime speak to us and we will give you all the advice you need. Taking part in a one week or longer rafting holiday is a much bigger investment in time and money. If it is not one of our trips we will be able to tell you about rafting in the country and recommend what company to go with.

Rating the Rapids

First, not all rafting trips are created equal. Rivers can be relatively calm and benign or be raging maelstroms of whitewater and it is important to be aware of different rafting classifications for rapids and how the various trips are actually marketed to the public.

Rapids are rated on a scale of 1 to 6, with 1 being the easiest and 6 the most difficult. Any rating system is only a rough approximation of what you may actually encounter as rapids are greatly affected by river flows (volume) and other factors. Basic definitions for each class of whitewater are presented below:

Class 1:

Moving water with a few riffles and small waves but no major obstacles.

Class 2:

Bigger waves but no major obstructions in the channel.

Class 3:

Longer and more difficult rapids, hydraulics are bigger (waves, holes, currents). Some technical maneuvering is required but usually for a limited number of moves.

Class 4:

Steeper, longer or more heavily obstructed than Class 3 rapids. Usually, more technical and require many maneuvers. Scouting of rapids may be required prior to running. Swimming Class 4 is challenging.

Class 5:

Strong currents, big waves, boulders, restricted routes and powerful holes that can hold or flip rafts. Scouting is mandatory. Portaging around rapid may be required depending on river levels. Swimming Class 5 rapids is extremely challenging.

Class 6:

Considered unrunnable such as a large waterfall or an extremely violent section of whitewater with severe hazards. Risks include injury or loss of life. Commercial rafting outfitters do not provide rafting trips on rapids with Class 6 ratings.

River volume, water temperature, gradient and river hazards all play a role in determining the appropriate rating of a rapid. High water flows can easily increase the river class one or two levels so rapids that are normally Class 4 could increase to Class 5 or 6 levels.



Finding the Best River

Although rafting is available world-wide, certain areas are recognized as premier rafting locations:

Length of River Trips

In addition to river difficulty and location, you also need to know the different types of trips available and the length of a trip. In general, rafting trips can be divided into short-duration trips of 1-2 days and long-duration or expedition trips of 3 or more days. In Scotland all trips are a half day to a full day long.

Short duration trips include day trips and overnight trips, typically 1-2 days in length. A day trip is typically a rafting trip of 3 to 5 hours duration, though many trips are shorter or longer. An overnight trip includes one or more nights camping or lodging and one or two days rafting. Short duration trips can feature anything from Class 1 to 5 rapids, but most whitewater day trips provided by professional river-rafting companies feature Class 3 and 4 rapids.

Long duration or multi-day expedition trips are typically 3 to 14 days in length. Many rafting expeditions feature big whitewater whereas others may consist of slow-moving Class 1-2 water and the main highlight is the scenery. Others provide a mix of floating and whitewater.

Equipment Provided

The range of equipment given to clients varies enormously around the world as factors such as weather, length of trip, grade of trip, clients ability all have to be taken into account. In Scotland Splash provide the clients with the following equipment

River Tay and River Tummel - Full wetsuit, splash jacket, buoyancy aid, helmet, paddle

River Orchy- Full double skinned extra warm wetsuit which is reinforced, wetsuits boots,splash jacket, buoyancy aid, paddle.

On all trips Splash carry first aid equipment and extra warm clothing. We also carry satellite phones on our remote river orchy trip.

On all our trips and adventures clients need to bring, towels, swim shorts or costume. Trainers that can get wet and warm clothing for after the trip

Price of River Trips

How much should you pay for your rafting trip? As expected, pricing varies greatly by region and is subject to a number of factors. In general, companies price according to their level of experience and quality of trip. If an rafting company is charging much less than others in the market, it may indicate price competition, fewer frills provided, and possibly a lower standard of customer care. In Scotland all rafting companies are running the same rivers so the price you pay should be similar.

Because safety is so important, ask your prospective rafting company how long they have operated, how many trips or years have they operated on this river, what kind of safety record do they have and do they employ any special safety features on the trips. For example, on some rivers, companies provide full-body wetsuits for protection from the river temperature and hazards and safety kayakers that follow the trip and look out for swimmers. Helmets are generally recommended on Class 3 and above rapids but some companies do not provide them even on Class 4 or higher whitewater. Standards do vary significantly among companies and by country. Splash insist that all clients wear helmets.