Dear parents,

With over 12 years of experience, TaraSport is specialized in organizing one-day and multi-day tours, in which family rafting trips are becoming more and more popular. Our rafting guides have licenses from the IRF (International Rafting Federation) and only the best ones are hired by us to do the tour with our guests. We understand that your little ones are the most precious treasure that you have and you are extremely concerned about the safety of your child, so that is the reason for writing this page as a guide- to explain how rafting with kids actually looks like and to invite you to join us, along with your young ones.

The youngest child that we had on the tour was a 3-year-old girl, who was laughing and smiling all the way down the river, therefore do not worry about your any child above that age, they will be just fine. She was sitting in her father’s lap during the tour, so if your child doesn’t want to paddle, it doesn’t have to. For more active children, synchronized paddling will strengthen the family bond. We encourage you to relax, have fate in our professional guide to keep an eye on all of you and enjoy the experience.

Keeping in mind that this is the mountain area and you should definitely bring some warm clothes for the whole family. The average water temperature in the river is 9°C so it is essential that all participants wear the suits and on the tour, you will be wearing neoprene suits and neoprene boots, safety vests, and helmets. Underneath you should wear your swimming suits. Children can wear a T-shirt underneath the suit, but make sure that it is not made of cotton since cotton will soak up the cold water and the neoprene will not be able to keep them warm. The equipment provided is renewed every year and our equipment brands are the best in the industry.

The water level is a big factor for Tara rafting since that is what makes the rapids easier or more challenging to overcome. It depends on the weather conditions and the period of your booking - at the beginning of the season it is high due to the snow melting in the Durmitor mountains and at the end of the season it calms but heavy rains can increase the level of the river. The tour is 22 km long and lasts 3 to 5 hours, depending on how fast the river is and how many breaks you will be having during the tour, which is why we would advise you to take with you a bottle of water and perhaps some snacks to eat during the break if you think that your child might not be able to wait until lunch after the tour.

The tour at the beginning of the season is around 3 hours long, which is because of the water level is higher, so tours in April, May, and June might require for the kids just to sit and have fun sliding down the river, while grown-ups are paddling along the river. The average temperature for these months is around 20°-25°C and in case the day is colder we provide neoprene suits with long sleeves. The first rapids at the beginning of the tour might have to be avoided for the safety of all participants. That is estimated on the spot by our guides, who are professionals and know what to pay attention to - the age of the children, how many participants are able to paddle accordingly to be able to overcome the tricky rapids and if perhaps the river flow will not allow the raft to move through the rapids swiftly. Safety always comes first!

As the season progresses, the water level gradually goes from a class 5 up to a class 3, meaning that the river gets slower and the same distance takes longer to be crossed. In June and August, the tours are around 4 hours long, and usually, in this period we have the most guests coming with children. Temperatures in this period are higher, with an average of 27°C, making this period ideal for white water rafting with children. It is lovely when young ones get playful with other children that they’ve met for the first time. Our guests come from all over the globe and children get along with each other even though they don’t understand each other, running around the campsite and sometimes even sitting together to have lunch.

September and October are suitable for relaxing and appreciating the surrounds. It sometimes takes up to 5 hours and there is no need for too much paddling, which allows you to admire the scenery and the views much more. The average temperature drops to 20°C during the day and you can feel the fresh mountain air rushing to your lungs. In this period kids love to come with their parents for a few days to stay with us, combining rafting with some other activities, such as horse riding or having a jeep safari ride in the nearby national parks.

The One-Day Tour can be booked as it is on our website with your transport, or with our transport. In our offer we have Rafting from Žabljak, Rafting from Kotor, Rafting from Budva, Rafting from Sarajevo and Rafting from Dubrovnik, and the prices apply when you are booking for a minimum of 4 people. If you are traveling with less than 4 people or if you require transport from a different city, do contact us via email for more information - we would be happy to organize it for you.

Other than the One-Day Rafting Tour which may be extended with accommodation to a two day or a multi-day experience, we have in our offer two more tours that include rafting available for you to join with your children:

• Three days 42 km rafting tour, which includes two days of rafting, one day on Tara and one on Drina river. Drina river is much calmer than the Tara river, with fewer rapids, so this is a nice choice for a family with little children that likes spending time in nature. The rafting on Tara has the same schedule as it is on the One-day rafting tour and the second rafting day starts from TaraSport’s base camp and goes down the Drina all the way to Foča town, where our jeeps will come to pick you up and return you back to the base.
• Three-day Full-length tour which includes a jeep safari on Durmitor on the way to the start point in the upper part of the Tara river. This tour is more advisable for families with older children since it includes one-night accommodation at our base camp TaraSport and one night at our partner camp, which means that your luggage will be transported from one camp to the other while you are rafting. This might be a bit too much if the children are young and you would prefer a bit more laid back experience for them.

Trip itinerary for the One-day rafting tour:

This is the general schedule for the morning tour, which depends on the date of your booking, as quoted above, but also from various factors which we can’t influence, such as weather, traffic, delay in case someone is late, etc. We would advise you to commit the whole day just for this experience and be prepared for any possible delays:

• 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM - You arrival at TaraSport’s base camp and meet with the guides, who will hand out the equipment once all participants arrive. When all participants have their equipment on, with our jeeps we leave for the start point of the tour, Brštanovica. Your cars are parked at the camp’s parking lot during the duration of the tour.
• 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM - The drive to Brštanovica is an enjoyable experience, with many breathtaking views from the jeep on the river canyon and mountain springs flowing down the hills. Upon arrival to the start point, our guides with take a moment to prepare the rafts and give you a short briefing to explain how to behave on the raft and what instructions to listen to. When everything is done, your rafting adventure begins.
• 12 PM - between 3:00 and 5:00 PM - The trip starts with rafting down the Tara river, overcoming its rapids. We will make a few breaks for swimming, taking pictures and jumping off rocks. There will also we a break at a bar next to the river where you can purchase some drinks to have on the raft. The tour continues down Tara towards Šćepan polje, where Tara and Piva merge and create the Drina river, which will take you down its flow until you reach TaraSport’s base camp. This is where the tour ends and all you need to do is climb up the hill. 
• 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Once the tour is done you return your equipment, you may take a shower at the camp and receive your video from the tour. Guests who have lunch booked may join us at the table in our restaurant for a delicious meal, which will bring you strength after an exciting tour

​For the afternoon tour, the schedule is the same, but the timing is different depending on the date of your booking if the days are longer or not. More information can be provided via email once you have the date picked.

See the text below, in the “Duration of the rafting tour” section, which will explain a bit more about your day. We would suggest that you don’t make any plans for the evening on the day of the tour, just in case of any hold-ups.

Q&A:

1. Age limit:

There is no age limit for this tour. We do advise parents to explain to the children what will be happening that day and that it is important to listen to your guide on the raft. Our guides speak English so if your child doesn’t understand we would like to ask you to translate anything regarding the tour and behavior on the raft. The child must be able to take instructions - it is important for the safety of all participants. Our guides are professionals in this field so we ask you, parents, to respect your guide on the raft, as he is the one who will ensure that you arrive from the start point to the endpoint the safest way, with an effort to make the tour enjoyable and fun for each family member.

2. What tours can be combined with the rafting tour

The rafting tour is located near TaraSport’s base camp, but other tours take at least 1,5 to 2 hours of driving from the camp, so not all tours can be combined to be done on the same day. In the beginning of the season, it is much easier to do so, since the rafting tour is shorter and the day is longer. It is possible to organize a zip lining tour or a short jeep safari in the National park Sutjeska. To enjoy more tours, we would advise you to book accommodation at our Outdoor resort TaraSport, where you can spend one or more nights and we will organize fun tours for the whole family during the daytime. 

The tours that we would advise for children are horse riding, jeep safari, speleology expedition, cruising on the lake, zip-lining and some of our excursions to the beautiful cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. All tours are available for children, the only age limit is for the canyoning tour - children need to be over 12 years of age. We would also like to point out that the hiking and trekking tours are not to be underestimated, they are not a light stroll in the park. Children need to be able to walk for a few hours up the steep hills of the national parks, keeping up with the tour’s schedule. If you do book a hiking tour, one thing is certain - your child will sleep well on the way back.

3. Duration of the rafting tour

The Tara and Drina rafting tour, the one-day activity, is 3-5 hours long, depending on the water level and the period of your booking. The one-day activity can be combined with one or two nights accommodation, and we would be happy to welcome you for as long as you wish to stay.

The 42 km and the Full-length rafting tours are three days long, both with two days of rafting. Again, depending on the part of the season when your tour is scheduled, each day you will be rafting between 3 and 5 hours.

Even though the One day tour itself takes just a few hours of your day, there are a few more things that you need to take in consideration when planning your rafting day:

• Travel time

The meeting point is at the Outdoor resort TaraSport, which is our base camp. The reason why our guests have to arrive here instead to the actual start point of the rafting tour is because you need to try out and put on your equipment before leaving to the start point, we need to wait for all participants to arrive and because this is where the tour ends. The base camp is next to Drina river, which means that the car will be on our parking lot while you are at the rafting activity.

Here are the travel times in one way by car for some of the cities from where our guests most often visit us, when coming from Montenegro and Croatia:

Plužine - Outdoor resort TaraSport: 45 min - 1 hour
Žabljak - Outdoor resort TaraSport: around 2 hours when traveling through Trsa
Podgorica - Outdoor resort TaraSport: 2,5 hours through Danilovgrad, Nikšić, and Plužine
Tivat - Outdoor resort TaraSport: 3,5 hours through Nikšić and Plužine
Kotor - Outdoor resort TaraSport: 3,5 hours through Nikšić and Plužine
Budva - Outdoor resort TaraSport: 3,5 hours through Danilovgrad, Nikšić, and Plužine
Dubrovnik - Outdoor resort TaraSport: 3,5 to 4 hours through Trebinje, Bileća, Gacko, Tjentište and Foča

Upon the travel duration make sure to calculate at least 30 min - 45 min of waiting at the border since during the summer season the queue can be quite long. 

For guests coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina, here are the travel times:

Sarajevo - Outdoor resort TaraSport: 1,5 to 2 hours through Foča
Višegrad - Outdoor resort TaraSport: 2 hours through Goražde, Ustikolina, and Foča
Trebinje - Outdoor resort TaraSport: 2,5 to 3 hours through Bileća, Gacko, Tjentište and Foča
Mostar - Outdoor resort TaraSport: 3 to 3,5 hours through Nevesinje, Gacko, Tjentište and Foča

A friendly tip: There are no shops near the camp, so do prepare some snacks and drinks for you and your child, since it won’t be a short drive.

We run a tight organization, and we ask all guests to arrive within a 30-minute time frame and wait for everyone to arrive until a certain point. In case you see that you are running late for any reason, we ask you to call us on the phone number provided on our website so we can know when to expect you and see how to proceed. If you do not inform us, in respect to all the guests who did arrive on time, we might head towards the start point without you, so don’t hesitate to give us a ring.

We would not advise you to travel by public transport since we have a schedule which is usually not compatible with the bus schedule. If you are planning to travel by bus on the day of the tour, do inform us and consult with us if your arrival time to Foča town allows you to join us on time.

If the driving time is too much for you and your family to handle in one day, we would love it if you would arrive the evening before and stay at our base camp. The base camp has lovely bungalows in which you will relax through the night and not have to worry if you are arriving on time. After a good night's sleep and a great breakfast, you will be more than ready to hop on the raft!

• Waiting at the border

The rafting season overlaps with the holiday season, which means that the traffic at every border is a nightmare. So our warm advice is to take that into consideration when leaving from the city where you are staying towards our base camp and to take your patience with you. Once again we remind you to call us in case you see you are stuck at the border.

• Waiting for other guests:

We appreciate all guests that book with us, it is our privilege to have you as our guests on our rafting tour, especially the young ones who are eager to get on the river. When booking, all guests are asked to arrive within a 30 min time frame and asked to give us a call in case they are running late. These are the reasons why we usually have to wait for all guests to arrive:

• We need 8 or 9 people to form a group to be on each raft
• Not all jeeps take that same number of people - some can transport just 7 people, some can transport 8 people
• This is the only way we can have a clear image of how to arrange all guests into each raft

While waiting, you can have a drink at the Outdoor resort TaraSport’s restaurant, play a board game or some fun games on the campground or just socialize with our other guests, since you will be spending the whole day together. Children also have a variety of things to do, which will keep them occupied. We do wait for the guests who are running late until a certain point in respect towards them, but then in respect towards you we will leave if they do not make it on time.

• Drive towards the start point

When you take your equipment, we will leave with our jeeps towards the start point. The drive is around 45 min long, and perhaps longer if the weather is not too great or if there are a lot of jeeps in front of us. Tara river is a natural border between Montenegro and Bosnia. The mountain road takes you through the Tara canyon from the Bosnian side. Trees, mountain springs flowing down the hill, animals and a view which you won’t see anywhere but here are what you should expect during the drive. This day will be a wonderful experience that you will share together, so keep your eyes wide open, take plenty of pictures and fully enjoy your time with us!

• After the rafting tour:

The rafting tour ends at the beach next to the base camp where you parked your car, on the Drina river. The next challenge is to climb up the hill since the Outdoor resort TaraSport lies above the river canyon. After returning your equipment, you can settle the bill with our receptionist and get your video from your guide’s GoPro camera. If you don’t have a USB or SD card with you, you can buy an SD card at the reception desk. Our receptionist will do their best to transfer the videos as swiftly as possible. The videos are of high quality and it will be a wonderful memory of your day with TaraSport. This can take 1 min or 15 min, and it solely depends on the device that is being transferred to. If you have lunch booked, better settle the bill and get your video after having your meal so that the ones that are leaving can continue their travels.

1. The price of the rafting tour:

One day rafting tour has been our most popular activity since the very beginnings of TaraSport. The prices listed on the website are per person, for all persons older than 12 years of age. Children younger than 12 get a 30% discount on the price of the overnight stay and food services. This price does not include the 5 € tax for the entrance to the Regional park Piva, through whose territory we will be rafting, so the 5 € for the tax and any other extras (drinks, meals) go on top of the tour price.

The same applies to our other rafting tours except for the Full-length tour. The tax for this tour is 40 €, it is for the entrance to the National park Durmitor and it is included in the price. So when calculating the price for children, the discount doesn’t apply for the tax amount.

Here are a few examples of how to calculate:

Four adults with lunch:

Rafting tour 4x 50 € = 200 €
Taxes 4x 5 € = 20 €
Lunch 4x 15 € = 60 €
Total amount is 280 €

Two adults and a child younger than 12 years:

Rafting tour adults 2x 50 € = 100 €
Rafting tour child 50 € 
Taxes 3x 5 € = 15 €
Total amount is 165 €

Two adults, two children younger than 12 years staying for one night:

Two-day rafting tour adults 2x 110 € = 220 €
Two day rafting tour children 110 € - 30% = 92 € x2 = 184 €
Taxes 4x 5 € = 20 €
Total amount is 424 €

Groups have a special type of discount, so do contact us via email to get more information on the prices, discounts and to receive a full calculation before confirming. If you wish to book, we do require a deposit payment to secure your spot on the tour.

The One-day rafting tour price of 50 € per person ,includes the following:

- rafting tour down Tara and Drina, 22 km long tour with 23 rapids
- all equipment necessary for the tour (neoprene suits, boots, safety vests, helmets, paddles)
- services of professional guides with IRF licenses
- transport of all participants from the base camp to the start point of the tour
- insurance during the tour
- free parking for your vehicles at the camp's parking lot
- free Wi-Fi at the campground

The price does not include:

- meals at the camp’s restaurant
- drinks and coffees at the camp's restaurant
- tax for the entrance to the Regional park Piva (5 € per person/child)

2. How to book:

The reservation can be made through the following options:

• “Book now” on each rafting page
• “Contact us” in the header of the website
• Sending an email to info@tarasportrafting.com

By choosing any of the options above, an email will be sent to our inbox so make sure to leave your name and last name, a valid email address, full phone number and any necessary information so we can contact you easily. We would need to know what date you are interested in, for how many adults and how many children you would like to book and the children’s ages, which activity you would like to book, and do ask any questions if you have them. If you don’t get a reply to your inbox, check your spam/junk mailbox, maybe it went over there.

All emails go to the same inbox so if you have previously sent an inquiry and wish to book, you don’t need to make a new reservation through the “Book now” form, just continue replying to the same email thread. The booking goes in the following order:

• Inquiry via email/sending a reservation with all the necessary information
• Next is our reply to you with the exact prices, location and timing, all you need to know and answers to your questions
• If everything is clear and if you wish to book, just confirm in your next reply (if you are booking the One-day rafting tour make sure to note if you wish to have lunch or not)
• We will then send you a reply with the booking procedure which includes the full calculation, information about how the payment goes and your deposit payment methods
• You let us know in your reply if the booking procedure is clear, your feedback about the chosen deposit payment method (or about the only available method if it is a short notice booking) and we might reply once more if extra information are necessary
• Once we register your payment we will send you your voucher and ask for additional info such as sizes for the equipment and ask you to confirm the phone number that you will be using on the day of the tour, in case we will need to contact you
• Your reply with the requested info

If you have a question in any part of the mail exchange, do ask, we are here to answer any questions that you might have. We would like to ask you to inform us of anything that we would need to know - if you have any allergies, if you are on a special diet (vegan, vegetarian, halal), if you are a non-swimmer, if you have any injuries or illnesses, and similar. It is important for us to know such information so we can provide the best service for you.

Booking can not be done by sending one email and not replying to our response, via WhatsApp, Viber or SMS, through our chat form or by making a phone call. Sending a picture of your ID or your passport is also not enough to confirm your arrival. Your reservation is confirmed and your spot is secured only when you receive a voucher from us.

3. The booking procedure and payment methods:

Once we make the calculation for your booking, you will be presented with the payment information. We require a 30% deposit payment in order for your reservation to be confirmed, which is a guarantee that you will be arriving. Our expenses start way before your arrival - we need to book the guide for the tour, the driver for the jeep, book extra rafts if the number of participants is more than our rafts can take, prepare enough supplies for the meals, or to book the bungalow for you so that we are not overbooked at the time of your arrival. This is the reason why we need a deposit payment in advance. It is always better to book ahead once you have the date of your availability to join us. By booking, you also agree to our cancellation policy.

The deposit can be done by two methods:

• Bank account transfer
• PayPal transfer

Transfer fees are not included in the price or in the deposit amount. For both options the person making the payment needs to cover the fees of the transfer, otherwise, we will receive less than the amount that you have sent. We can not inform you about how high are the fees since each bank has a different commission rate and PayPal fees are different for each country. Here is some information about each method:

Bank account transfer:

This option is advisable if your deposit amount is not smaller than 100 €. When making an international bank transfer, you will need our IBAN number (international bank account number) and our BIC or SWIFT number (business identifying code; consists of letters and numbers), which we will provide to you via email and let you know what to write for purpose of transfer, which is how we will recognize your payment. International transfer commission is divided in two parts - the commission charged when leaving your account by your bank and when arriving to our account by our bank. Since none of these commissions are included in the amount being transferred, in order to cover both commissions you need to choose option OUR when making the payment. If you can not see where to type this option, consult with your bank or support officer. These transfers can take a few days or sometimes even over a week to be registered on our invoice, and therefore this method is available only if the date of your arrival is over 10 days away.

PayPal transfer:

For making a deposit payment via PayPal, you need to have an active account on PayPal’s website and have enough funds to make the payment. The transfer is almost instant or takes a few minutes to be registered. If you choose this method, we will need you to inform us what is the email address connected to the PayPal account making the payment. We shall then send you a request from our active PayPal account and inform you from what account you should expect the request. The reason for this is that this is a precise way to find your PayPal account and because if you don’t make the payment immediately we can easily recognize that the payment is from you. Sometimes the email address from which guests contact us is different than the one they use for PayPal or someone else will be making the payment for them, thus we ask you to confirm this information via email. We need to make a note that PayPal’s interface is not the same for each country, nor are the fees the same for each country and not everyone has the option to cover the PayPal fees during the making of the transfer. You can check for more information about how to cover the fees on PayPal’s website.

The remaining amount needs to be paid on the spot, in cash only. Neither PayPal nor bank transfers are available on the day of the tour - these methods are for the deposit payment only, so make sure you have enough cash with you.

Before making the payment, make sure you go through our cancellation policy - for cancellations up to 48 hours before the tour your deposit is partially refundable, but if you cancel the tour within 48 hours before the tour your deposit is non-refundable in respect to our expenses for the organization.

4. Meals:

At Outdoor resort TaraSport we prepare authentic Balkan meals, made from local, organic ingredients. If you are booking the One day tour, you can book lunch, which will be served after the rafting activity. The Balkan cuisine is rich with meat that gives you energy and vegetables filled with vitamins. Such meals are perfect for both adults and children, especially after a half-day rafting tour. On your plate, you might find juicy baked veal, delicious goulash, fresh fish and other types of meat, with potatoes, grilled zucchini, peppers, and a variety of salads on the side. After the main course, we serve a sweet dessert, as an icing on the cake of your experience. If you are staying with us at our camp, no meal will be the same and we are sure you will enjoy them all.

Do inform us in case you are on a special diet (vegan, vegetarian, halal), if you are allergic to something or if you don’t eat a certain grocery. This is something that we need to know in advance since all groceries are supplied before your arrival and certain changes might not be possible and might still be charged.

5. Accommodation

All one day tours can be combined with one or more nights of stay at our base camp. Outdoor resort TaraSport has 11 cozy bungalows, each with one double bed and one bunk bed inside it, which is perfect for families with one, two or even three kids if your youngest would like to sleep with you on the double bed. The interior is kept simple and has just the basic necessities so you can fully dedicate your time and energy to the exterior. You will have your own private bathroom as a part of the bungalow, which will make your stay with us even more comfortable. The large campground has a big open-concept restaurant with a fireplace. The restaurant is extended with a terrace overseeing the Drina river canyon, allowing you to appreciate the view of the surrounding nature. At the entrance to the campsite, there is a secured parking lot and separate parking for campers and RVs with plug-ins for water and electricity. There is a lot of space for guests to camp in tents, as well. The equipment booth is where you will take your suits, boots, helmets, and everything that you need for the activity. Our plan is to build a court for sports and fun activities, and until then you can play some board games in the restaurant, shoot darts, play badminton or some other fun games on the green grass.

6. What to bring

Here is what you need to bring with you:

• Personal documents are required, especially for crossing the border. In the Balkans, it is necessary to bring your documents with you wherever you go, so take with you your passports and health insurance documents. Citizens of EU countries can travel and cross the border with their IDs, they don’t need to bring their passports.
• Green card is a special type of car insurance, required by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It can be issued by your car insurance company back home if you are traveling by your own car or your rent-a-car agency can issue one for you if you are renting, just make sure to ask for it in advance. If it is short notice, you can buy the green card at the border. There is no limit on how many times you can cross the border.
• Make sure to take your swimming suits with you to wear under your neoprene suit during the rafting tour. The rest of the equipment is for us to provide.
• Do bring some sunglasses, sunscreen, and towels.
• If you are using any medications, bring them with you, since the nearest pharmacy is 20 km away.
• For children make sure to take some snacks and a bottle of water, especially since there aren’t any shops nearby. Also, if they have a favorite toy, do bring it for them.
• If you are staying with us at the camp bed linens are provided in your bungalow and the only thing you should bring are your towels since they are not provided.
• Make sure to bring a USB or an SD memory card for the videos from your tour.
• Last but not least: don’t forget to bring your wallets and cash for the balance payment and for any additional expenses made while you are at the camp.

Our guests visit us to experience adventures, be one with nature and rest for a few days from the urban city, so the bare essentials are all that you need.

7. First aid

The nearest city to the camp is Foča town, which is 30 km away. It is around 25 min of driving due to the road conditions. In Foča there are several pharmacies, an ambulance, and a hospital. When making preparations for your travel, take any pills if you are under prescription. For visiting the Balkans you don’t need any special vaccines since our climate and life conditions are healthy for all visitors. The camp has a first aid kit in case of minor injuries, and for serious injuries, we will help you in any way that we can to get you safely to the doctor. Our insurance covers injuries that causes invalidity and death during the tour.

8. Additional questions

For any additional questions that you might think of while reading this guide, you are free to contact us via email on info@tarasportrafting.com (check your spam box in case you don’t see a reply from us) or over the phone on dodati broj telefona and we will do our best to give you the right answers.

We are here to create your memories.