What Moab rafting actually costs.
The short answer
Half day floats run roughly $79 to $125 per person. Full days run roughly $130 to $250. Multi day expeditions start near $1,100 and run to about $2,100 for the longest trips. Outfitters set their own rates and adjust them seasonally, so confirm current pricing when you book.
Budget another 10 to 20 percent for guide gratuity, which is customary and is never included in the advertised price. That is the single most common budgeting mistake we see.
Good news on two fronts: youth rates are real and run around 15 percent off on multi day expeditions as well as day trips, and Arches is not requiring timed entry reservations in 2026, so a rafting day no longer has to be planned around a reservation window.
- Half day
- $79 to $125
- Full day
- $130 to $250
- Multi day
- $1,100 to $2,100
- Gratuity
- 10 to 20 percent
- Cheapest month
- April, October
Every trip, priced.
These are typical per person ranges across the permitted outfitters running each stretch. The spread within a row is real: it reflects season, group size, whether the trip is paddle or motorised, and how much an operator includes. Nobody publishes a single price for these, and anyone who tells you otherwise is quoting one outfitter on one date.
| Trip | Typical range | What that buys |
|---|---|---|
| Moab Daily, half day | $79 to $120 | Roughly 3 to 4 hours on the water including shuttle. Guide, raft, life jacket, drinking water. No lunch |
| Fisher Towers, half day | $85 to $125 | Similar length, slightly higher because the drive out is longer. The best scenery of any half day here |
| Moab Daily, full day | $130 to $180 | 6 to 7 hours with a riverside lunch included. Roughly double the water time for well under double the price |
| Westwater Canyon, full day | $190 to $250 | The most expensive day trip, and the one with the hardest water. Permit capped, so supply is limited |
| Labyrinth Canyon, multi day | $1,100 to $1,600 | Two to four days of flatwater canoeing or floating. All camp gear, all meals, all logistics |
| Cataract Canyon, 2 day | $1,100 to $1,400 | The short version, usually jetboat assisted so you spend the time in the rapids rather than on the flatwater above them |
| Cataract Canyon, 4 to 6 day | $1,700 to $2,100 | The full canyon at rowing pace, with side canyon hikes. The best value per day of anything on this list |
| Gates of Lodore | $1,300 to $1,800 | Usually four days through Dinosaur National Monument. Permit capped and genuinely hard to get |
| Desolation Canyon | $1,400 to $1,900 | The longest of the standard expeditions, usually five to six days over 84 river miles. Most remote and most included |
Spot check, August 2026. One Moab operator listed a half day at $105 adult and $88 youth, a full day with lunch at $155 and $130, Westwater at $244, a two day Cataract at $1,150 and a four day at $2,050. Another listed a Fisher Towers half day at $94 adult and $79 child. Those are examples that sit inside the ranges above, not quotes for your dates. Every outfitter prices differently and rates move through the season.
Youth rates are worth asking about on every trip, including the long ones. The usual advice is that children are discounted on day trips only, because food, permits and camp logistics do not shrink for a ten year old. In practice the operators we checked applied a youth rate of roughly 15 percent on a four day Cataract expedition as well as on half and full days. On a family of four that is a meaningful number on the trip most people assume is full price. Ask rather than assume, and check the minimum age at the same time.
What the price covers.
Comparing two quotes is only meaningful once you know what each one contains. Two full day trips priced fifty dollars apart can be identical value if one includes wetsuit hire and the other does not.
You do not need to buy these
Professional guide. Raft or paddle craft and paddles. A US Coast Guard approved personal flotation device. Dry bag for the day. Shuttle between the meeting point and the launch, and back off the river. Drinking water. Basic first aid cover and a guide trained to use it.
Ask before you compare quotes
Lunch on full day and multi day trips, and it is generally a proper riverside spread rather than a packed sandwich. Wetsuit or splash jacket hire in cold months. Helmets on whitewater runs. All camp equipment, tents and sleeping kit on multi day expeditions.
Budget for these separately
Guide gratuity. Lunch on half day trips. Personal items such as sunscreen, hats and river sandals. Photography from the outfitter, where offered. Trip insurance. Alcohol on multi day trips, though many operators will carry what you bring.
The rest of your trip
Getting to Moab, lodging, meals off the river, and national park entry on the days you are not on the water. Arches charges $30 per private vehicle for seven days, or $55 for an annual pass covering Arches, Canyonlands, Natural Bridges and Hovenweep. Rafting is one line in a Moab budget, not the whole thing.
One thing that got simpler this year: Arches is not requiring timed entry reservations in 2026. The park announced in February that it would drop the requirement, so you no longer need to slot a rafting day around a reservation window, though a valid entrance pass is still required and Fiery Furnace and the campground still need their own bookings. Arches National Park, National Park Service
On gratuity, plainly
Guides work long physical days and a meaningful share of their income comes from tips. The figure used across the industry is around 10 to 20 percent of the trip cost, adjusted for how good the day was. On a full day for a family of four that is a real number, and it is the item people most often forget when they compare prices between outfitters.
What you will actually spend.
The advertised price is not the number that leaves your account. Here is how a river day typically adds up for a family of four, using the middle of each range and assuming two adults and two children on youth rates. Confirm current pricing with your outfitter, since every figure below moves.
| Line | Half day for four | Full day for four |
|---|---|---|
| Trip price | About $390 total at midrange, confirm rates | About $570 total at midrange, confirm rates |
| Gratuity at 15 percent | Roughly $60 | Roughly $85 |
| Lunch | Not included, so add your own | Included |
| Sun kit and river sandals | One off, if you do not own them | One off, if you do not own them |
| Realistic river day total | Around $450 to $500 | Around $650 to $700 |
The gap between those two columns is smaller than it looks, because the full day includes lunch and roughly twice the time on the water. Per hour afloat, the full day is the cheaper trip by a clear margin. That comparison is worked through properly in the full day trips guide.
Multi day looks expensive. It usually is not.
A four figure price tag stops most people reading, and it should not. Compare it against what those same days would cost you above the canyon rim.
| Five days in Moab | On the river | On land |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | Included. Camp set up for you each night | Five nights of Moab lodging, at peak season rates |
| All meals | Included, cooked for you, three a day | Fifteen meals out or bought in |
| Activities | Included. Every day is the activity | Tours, permits, park entry, fuel |
| Transport | Included, including the shuttle logistics | Hire car and fuel for five days |
| Working out per day | Roughly $280 to $420 per person | Add it up honestly before you compare |
Run the arithmetic and a multi day expedition is often close to what a comparable land based week costs, while delivering something you cannot buy any other way. That does not make it cheap. It does mean the sticker price is a poor guide to whether it is good value.
The same logic works in reverse. A half day float is the cheapest way onto these rivers, but per hour on the water it is the most expensive thing on the list. If money is the constraint, a full day is usually the better buy. See multi day expeditions for what those days involve.
Where the money actually goes.
Guided rafting is not a high margin business, and understanding why explains most of what looks like arbitrary pricing.
Federal permits, which cap supply
The Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service limit commercial launches on the busier runs. In Westwater Canyon the BLM caps commercial passengers at 75 a day through its high use season of 1 April to 30 September. Outfitters pay for those allocations and cannot add departures when demand rises, which is why Westwater costs more than a comparable length day elsewhere and why the best weeks do not get cheaper as they fill.
Guides, who are the actual product
A river guide holds swiftwater rescue and wilderness medical certification, works a twelve hour day in extreme heat, and is the reason a nervous first timer has a good time instead of a frightening one. Guide ratios are the clearest difference between a well run operation and a cheap one. See the safety guide.
Logistics you never see
Every trip involves vehicles, trailers, a shuttle driver repositioning rigs between launch and takeout, gear that gets washed and repaired, and on multi day trips a full kitchen, waste system and camp for a dozen people carried in and out. On a remote expedition the logistics cost more than the guiding.
A season of roughly eight months, and shorter for most trips
The Moab Daily runs March to October, but most trips get far less. Cataract runs May to September, and the Dinosaur National Monument trips have high use windows of four months or less. Outfitters carry equipment, insurance and premises year round while earning across that window, which is why prices do not fall as far in quiet months as you might expect. The month by month guide has the season lengths.
Six things that work, two that do not.
What actually reduces the bill
Move the date
April, September and October price below midsummer, and September is arguably the better trip anyway. See the month by month guide.
Bring a bigger group
Most outfitters discount at a group threshold, often around eight or ten people. If you are close to a threshold, ask. See group trips.
Ask for the youth rate
Around 15 percent off per child, and it applies on multi day expeditions as well as day trips, which is where most families assume it does not. On four people that adds up fast.
Take the weekday
Tuesday and Wednesday departures are quieter and sometimes cheaper. The river is identical and the boat is less crowded.
Choose full day over two half days
If you were considering two half day outings, one full day costs less, includes lunch and covers better river. Compare on the trip table.
Bring your own kit
River sandals, a sun shirt, a hat with a chin strap and reef safe sunscreen. Buying these in Moab on the morning of your trip is the expensive way to do it.
What does not work
Waiting for a last minute discount on a permit capped trip. Westwater, Cataract and Lodore have fixed launch allocations. When demand exceeds supply, holding out does not produce a bargain, it produces a sold out calendar. Book early and pay the normal rate.
Choosing purely on price. The cheapest quote on a whitewater run is worth examining rather than celebrating. Guide ratios, equipment age and safety cover are where a low price usually comes from, and they are exactly the things you are paying for. We collect current offers on the deals page so you can see which discounts are real.
What is genuinely worth paying more for.
A smaller boat
Paddle rafts carry fewer people than motorised rigs and you participate rather than ride. On the same stretch of river it is a different day. Worth the difference if you want to be involved rather than transported.
A longer trip on the right river
The extra day on a multi day expedition is the cheapest day you will buy, because the fixed logistics are already paid for. If you are choosing between four days and five, the fifth is usually excellent value.
An outfitter with a real safety record
On Westwater or Cataract this is not a place to economise. Ask about guide certification, ratios and how long the guides have run that specific stretch.
Going in the right month rather than the cheap one
Saving money by booking a week when the river is not doing what you came for is a false economy. Get the timing right first, then look at price.
Cost FAQs.
How much does a Moab rafting trip cost?
Half day floats typically run $79 to $125 per person, full days $130 to $250, and multi day expeditions from about $1,100 for a two day Cataract trip up to roughly $2,100 for a long paddle expedition. Outfitters set their own rates and adjust them seasonally, so treat these as orientation and confirm current pricing when you book.
Is a Moab rafting trip worth the money?
For most people yes, and the full day trips are where the value sits. A half day is the cheapest way onto the river but the most expensive per hour on the water. A full day roughly doubles your time for well under double the price and includes lunch. Multi day expeditions look expensive until you price the same days in Moab lodging, meals and activities.
Do I need to tip my rafting guide?
Gratuity is customary and is not included in the trip price. Guides work long physical days and much of their income comes from tips. Amounts vary, but a rough guide used across the industry is around 10 to 20 percent of the trip cost, adjusted for how good the day was. Budget for it when you compare prices.
Why is Westwater more expensive than other day trips?
Because launches on Westwater Canyon are capped by federal permit at 75 commercial passengers a day, so supply is fixed regardless of demand. It also carries the hardest whitewater of any day trip in the region, which means higher guide ratios, more experienced guides and more equipment per person. Both factors push the price up and neither is negotiable.
Are there discounts for children?
Yes, and on more trips than most people expect. The operators we checked in August 2026 applied a youth rate of roughly 15 percent below the adult price on half days, full days and a four day Cataract expedition alike. The common advice that multi day trips have no youth rate did not hold. Ask when you book, and check the minimum age at the same time.
When is rafting cheapest near Moab?
April and October, at the shoulders of the season, when demand is lowest. September is the more interesting answer: prices come off their summer peak while the conditions are arguably the best of the year. The month by month guide covers how demand and river quality diverge, and why the river empties in autumn while the town does not.
Do group bookings get a discount?
Usually, and most outfitters set a threshold somewhere around eight or ten people. If your group is close to that number it is worth asking, and worth checking whether a private departure costs much more than joining a public one. See the group and private trips guide.
Should I book ahead or wait for a deal?
Book ahead on anything permit capped. Westwater, Cataract and Gates of Lodore have fixed launch allocations, so waiting produces a sold out calendar rather than a bargain. Half day and full day Colorado River trips have more availability and can sometimes be booked close to the date, particularly midweek and in shoulder months.
What else should I budget for in Moab?
Getting here, lodging, and meals off the river are the big ones, and lodging is at its most expensive in spring and autumn. If you are visiting the parks on other days, Arches charges $30 per private vehicle for seven days, or $55 for an annual pass covering Arches, Canyonlands, Natural Bridges and Hovenweep. Arches is not requiring timed entry reservations in 2026, so no reservation fee applies this year.
Know the budget?
Now match it to a trip. The comparison shows difficulty, minimum age, drive time and typical price for all eight side by side.