Still catching up over here and I have much more to share with you. This one is a late post, so you will need to save it for the warmer weather months to come! A great outdoor adventure with a group of friends, families or even team bonding: tubing down the Delaware River. It’s great summer activity for all the adventure levels. There are several companies that offer this activity/service. But I am going to highlight the pros/cons of Bucks County River Country.
Their website is great starting point. They have lots of tubing, canoeing, kayaking, and raft rental options for you to select. I think it will depend how big of a group you have and what it is you want to do. If you’re local, they even have a season pass option. First recommendation is check out the website, decide what you would like to do and book the date/time online. It’s the best way to make the whole experience smooth and enjoyable!
They have a 2 hour and 3 hour ride. We did the 2 hour ride in the afternoon. Hoping that the sun would warm up the water so it wouldn’t be a shocking cold water, but also gave us the morning to travel and not rush! I think 2 hours was plenty of time, but go for the 3 hrs. if you’re feeling adventurous! They offer every kinds of tubes:
- your regular donut style tube
- deluxe tube with a back rest for a comfier float
- deluxe tubes with a back rest and bottom for those that one want to be in the water much
- smaller deluxe tubes with back rest and bottoms for the younger kids
- deluxe snuggle tubes that are double seaters with back rest
Snuggle double tube was selected and worked perfectly. You didn’t have worry about floating away from friends, though the down side was it was harder to steer your float. Some had additional rope to tie the whole party together, and I would recommend that if you want to float together down the river! You book prior online and sign an waiver. You can also prepay for the locker/key hold. This was super helpful because you grabbed what you needed, locked the car and turned in your key. They gave you a numbered bracelet to wear and turn back in to get your key back.
After parking, and checking the key you went over to the tubes and bus area. They do not check your reservation time, just verify the wristbands you got when you pulled in to park to make sure you pick up the correct tube. They also have life jackets available if you wish to wear them. They post river conditions every morning, so you can check and make the decision yourself. You hope on the bus with your tube. Buses come about every 5-10minutes. It is about a 20 or so minute bus ride to the drop off point, then you float back to where you parked! The get in point gets a bit congested with people trying to coordinate, assemble tubes and get pictures etc. I recommend walking out a bit from the crowd and then mounting in your tube.
They are specific of what you can/cannot bring on their website. But I will tell you no one was double checking to make sure you were following the rules. They recommend refillable water bottles to not pollute. The tubes do have cup holders. Mine was too big for it but nothing a carabiner clip couldn’t fix! I also had a Bluetooth waterproof speaker that clipped to the tube and my phone in a waterproof lanyard. Music was a fun added bonus that I think if you had a big group you wouldn’t need, but if you have the ability to then I say do it! There were some that had bags, coolers and all sorts of other items. Just remember you have to carry it yourself. There is also a fun “Hot Dog” man that has his boat shake posted up. You can’t miss it because he has signs all alone your float. His boat had a grill and coolers. Selling your refreshments right off an island that you could stop and take a break. A fun concept – if you wanted to prolong the float and fun adventure. We opted to skip it!
They had recommendation for clothing and footwear listed on their website. I would recommend water shoes of the sort. There are several areas that you can stand, stop off during the float. Flip flops are easily lost. If not water shoes, then some sandal with a strap will work too. It was a hot day and a bit overcast. You will want a hat and I actually wore a water shirt as well. It was great to keep me covered from the sun but also warm from the cool breeze and water. I think next time I will go with some board or water shorts instead of my bathing suit bottoms. I didn’t lose them, but there is always that chance LOL.
Overall it was a great summer activity and I would recommend. It was a summer afternoon on a Saturday and it was very busy. So just keep that in mind when you are planning. Weather is always a factor you want to take into consideration. I would do it again, in a small group or a bigger group. I think you can make a day or weekend around it and really enjoy yourself!
Rating: 9/10
Recommend: HIGHLY
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