To fully take advantage of the water levels and all the different sections, we recommend this trip for solid class IV kayakers who are looking to paddle consistently and improve their technique. If you want a fulfilling trip but with more flexibility and less focus on difficult whitewater consider our Pucón to Futaleufú trip later in the season.

Guests on the Pucón to Río Claro trip should feel confident rolling their kayak in varying whitewater conditions and have some prior exposure to intermediate and advanced river running techniques. We work with all of our guests to asses their paddling ability and determine which trip will be the best fit.

We run this trip with three to six guests and two guides and sometimes an additional safety boater. Six guests is a hard limit to ensure the quality and safety in our group as we travel.

When we plan the trip, we aim to create a cohesive group with similar abilities, experience, and ambition.

As we travel, we base out of cabins close to the river we are paddling. Most sections in Chile are short and allow for multiple laps.

After breakfast, we start the day off with one or two laps then eat lunch, take a short break, and get back to the river in the afternoon. Depending on where we are, we may have the opportunity to paddle several different sections of the same river in one day. In the evening, we decompress, reflect on the day, enjoy where we are, and eat dinner.

We give our guests the opportunity to paddle as much as they want and adjust our day according to our group’s energy.

We founded Chile Kayak Adventures to share our passion for the area, the rivers, and the sport. After extensive professional and personal paddling experience in the area we designed our trips to be uniquely comfortable and authentic. We believe that by deciding to come paddle with us, our guests can appreciate the rivers in a safer and more complete way.

Josefa Sepúlveda Fernández is from Southern Chile. Her paddling journey began in Pucón while she was studying at university. Josefa then started training as a slalom kayaker and became Chile’s national champion. After representing her country in events in Brazil and Paraguay, she shifted her focus back to whitewater working as a professional instructor in Europe. Josefa has paddled renowned sections in the United States like the Little White Salmon, South Merced, and Toketee Falls and is the first Latin-American woman to paddle the Río Baker, the largest river in Chile by volume. In 2025, Josefa became a finalist for Kayak Session Magazine’s Female Paddler of the Year award, and was the first woman from Latin America to be nominated. She hopes to continue to mentor other paddlers and share her experience to create a deeper appreciation for the rivers of Chile.

Axel Hovorka is a life-long paddler from Bend, Oregon, USA. He has paddled in 10 different countries with notable descents including the Grand Canyon Stikine, Río Baker, and 35 meter (115-foot) Salto Puma on the Río Fuy. Axel is bilingual in Spanish and English and has deep experience guiding and mentoring other paddlers. When he is not guiding trips in Chile, he is exploring new rivers and looking to grow his paddling and mentorship skills.

We prioritize the comfort of our guests off the water. Each guest will have their own room and we will share common areas. We stay in many different, locally operated accommodations that we have hand-picked because of their quality and proximity to the river we are paddling.

We take care of all the meals and beverages during the trip and plan the food according to each guest’s preferences and dietary restrictions. While we prepare most of the meals in house, we will visit some of our favorite restaurants along the way.

We travel together in one or two of our own pickup trucks as we move between rivers.

To ease the travel and to ensure that our guests have the best possible experience on the river, we provide the kayak and paddle for the trip. Our kayak fleet is made up of our favorite designs and the boats that we have found to instill the most confidence and enjoyment in Chile. We have an assortment of boats from Waka, Jackson Kayak, and Pyranha Kayaks.

We have a variety of Werner paddles, both carbon and fiberglass, of differing lengths for our trips.

To be most comfortable, we ask our guests to bring the rest of their personal paddling gear (view our packing list here).

We are happy to work with our guests who reserve well in advance to make sure that we have the boat they like most in our fleet.

Guests should book a round trip flight to Santiago de Chile (SCL) and then a domestic flight to Temuco (ZCO). We will meet our guests at the airport in Temuco and travel to Pucón.

We will end our trip in Santiago and our guests can depart from the international airport.

To reserve the dates, spaces, and all the accompanying resources for this trip, we require a deposit of $1000.

The final balance is due 15 days before the start date of the trip.

Our complete booking and cancellation policies for this trip can be found here.

We make every decision with the well-being of our guests in mind, on and off the water, from the equipment we use to the rivers we paddle. We have training from formal bodies like British Canoeing and American Canoeing Association that complements our own experience and we always strive to be the most prepared we can. Learn more about how we prioritize the safety of our guests here.