Abseil the waterfall. Then let go into the pool.
Canyoning is a river taken downhill on foot, rope and backside: slides worn smooth by the current, jumps into green pools, a rappel beside the falls. Reviews of the guided descents worth booking, from Madeira’s laurel forest to the slot canyons of Utah.
PicturedCanyoning in Susec Gorge from Bovec · from $78
Four canyoning days that sell out first, on four continents.
The descents more people book than any others: a jungle river in the Vietnamese highlands, a Madeira beginner run, a Utah slot and a Cornish cliff line.
01Vietnam highlandsCanyoning Da Lat VietnamWaterfall abseils and natural slides near Da Lat, at a price that barely covers a wetsuit hire in Europe.
02Madeira, level oneCanyoning Madeira Island – Level OneThe gentlest way into the sport: short rappels and pools in the laurel forest above Funchal.
03Utah slot canyonEast Zion: Coral Sands Half-day Canyoneering TourSandstone narrows on the quiet east side of Zion, reached by off-road vehicle. Dry feet, red walls.
04Cornish coasteeringNewquay Coasteering x Cornish Wave | Original Since 2012The sea version: traverse the cliffs at Newquay, swim the gullies, jump when the swell is right.
Portugal is the canyoning capital of the Atlantic. Pick an island or a coast.
Madeira sells canyoning by level, the Azores by waterfall, the mainland by cliff. Choose the setting first; what it costs to get roped in is next to each one.
★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · Canyoning Madeira Island – Level One
MadeiraLevels one to three in the ravines above Funchal and the Nuns’ Valley.
São Miguel, AzoresFern-hung falls at Ribeira dos Caldeirões and Salto do Cabrito.
The Atlantic cliffsCoasteering off Arrábida and Sagres: scramble, swim, jump.
First descentsShort rappels and optional jumps for children and nervous adults.
All 80 canyoning days in Portugal →
Canyoning comes in three grades. Book the one your nerve matches.
Guides grade routes by the height of the jumps, the length of the abseils and how much swimming the pools demand. The most popular trip at each grade, and the cheapest way onto it.
Level 1Beginner and family
Slides, small jumps you can walk around, a first rappel of a few metres.
from $47- 1Canyoning in Madeira Island- Level 1from $78
- 2Madeira: Beginner Canyoning – Level 1from $74
- 3Madeira Canyoning Beginners – Easy & Fun Waterfall Adventurefrom $63
Level 2Intermediate
Longer abseils beside the falls, higher jumps, a full morning in the water.
from $61- 1From Funchal: Intermediate (Level 2) Canyoning Adventurefrom $84
- 2Madeira Canyoning For Beginners Nun’s Valley Level 2from $61
- 3Madeira: Intermediate (Level 2) Canyoning Experiencefrom $106
Level 3Advanced and extreme
Big rappels, committing jumps and canyons with no easy way out.
from $69- 1Cetina River Extreme Canyoning Adventure from Split or Zadvarjefrom $78
- 2Extreme Canyoning on Cetina River from Split or Šestanovacfrom $96
- 3Dalat: Extreme Canyoning Adventurefrom $73
Coasteering is canyoning with the sea for a river.
Same helmet and wetsuit, different water. You traverse a sea cliff at the waterline, swim the gullies between headlands and jump from ledges as high as you choose. Cornwall invented the name; the Algarve and Mallorca add warm water.
The canyoning trips the world books most.
Every canyoning review →Eight descents that fill their groups before anything else on the list, and why each one earns it.
1
Canyoning Da Lat Vietnam
Join Viet Challenge Tours for a six-hour canyoning trip near Da Lat, with training, an 18-meter abseil, 70-meter zipline, river swim, water slide, 25-meter waterfall descent, and picnic lunch. Guides including Sin, Fin, Viet, and Alex may lead the group. Wetsuits, transport, equipment, fruit, and water are included.
Per head from · $69
Read our review →
2
Full Day Canyoning Activity in Da Lat with Lunch
from $80
3
Matacanes : Canyoning + Hiking + Water Jumps + Rappel + Caves
from $149
4
From Marbella: Guadalmina River Guided Canyoning Adventure
from $47
5
Canyoning Madeira Island – Level One
from $80
6
Canyoning Tour in Dalat Viet Nam
from $70
7
From Funchal: Intermediate (Level 2) Canyoning Adventure
from $84
8
Madeira: Beginner Canyoning – Level 1
from $74
Four things that decide whether a canyoning trip will take you.
Canyoning is a guided sport with real entry rules. Read these before booking, because the operator will ask on the day.
- 01Can you swim?Most routes cross deep pools. The wetsuit floats you, but guides expect you to be at ease out of your depth.
- 02Age and weightEach route sets its own minimum age, lowest on family runs, and many operators publish a harness weight limit. Both are on the listing.
- 03Season and water levelMountain canyons run once the snowmelt drops, roughly late spring to early autumn. Heavy rain closes them at short notice.
- 04What to bringHelmet, harness and wetsuit are normally supplied. Bring trainers you can soak, swimwear and a towel for the drive back.
What a canyoning trip costs, from Turkish rivers to Swiss gorges.
Every descent on the site grouped by its price a head. Gear and guide are almost always in the price; the spread comes from the country and the length of the day.
Multi-sport river days in Turkey, Benahavís gorge walks near Marbella, Cebu’s Kawasan run.
The standard half day: Madeira, the Azores, the Cetina near Split, Bovec’s Sušec gorge.
Swiss alpine gorges, Utah slot canyons by UTV, private guides and full days.
Six more canyoning regions with a river worth the flight.
Alpine limestone in Slovenia, the Cetina behind Split, jungle falls near Da Lat, the barrancos of Gran Canaria and the gorge above Marbella.
Three canyoning experiences no other river can copy.
Most canyons share the same kit and the same rope work. These three are shaped by the place itself.
Kawasan Falls
On the south-west coast of Cebu the Matutinao river runs a chain of milky-turquoise pools down to Kawasan Falls. Canyoneering here is mostly jumping and swimming in warm water, finished under the falls, and many trips start before dawn with the whale sharks at Oslob.
- 1Cebu City: Whale Shark Swimming & Kawasan Falls Canyoneering★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 665 reviews
- 2Cebu Moalboal: Kawasan Canyoneering Adventure with Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 630 reviews
- 3Canyoneering Experience in Kawasan Falls with Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 440 reviews
Slot canyons
Desert sandstone cut by flash floods into corridors a shoulder wide and a hundred feet deep. Canyoneering in a slot is dry rope work and stemming between walls, and guides read the weather forecast before anything else, because a storm miles away can fill a slot in minutes.
- 1East Zion 4 Hour Slot Canyon Canyoneering UTV Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 820 reviews
- 2East Zion Canyoneering: Elkheart Canyon & UTV Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 524 reviews
- 3East Zion: Coral Sands Half-day Canyoneering Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 467 reviews
Ghyll scrambling
Britain’s own version runs uphill. A ghyll is a steep mountain stream, and scrambling one means climbing the waterfalls, wading the pots and sliding back down the best of them, in a wetsuit against water that came off the fells that morning.
- 1Ghyll Scrambling Water Adventure in the Lake District★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 283 reviews
- 2Gorge Walking★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 52 reviews
- 3Gorge Scrambling in Snowdonia★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 38 reviews
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Canyoning by the kind of day
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