Staying Home Sucks, home
Plaza de toros de Arenas de San Pedro
Arenas de San Pedro, the nearest town, 4 km away. Photo: Asqueladd, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Río Arenal

Kayak spot · Spain

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

64Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Sat 7: Wind 2 kn gusting 11, Air 15 °C, River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 65 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
13°C
Rain
0 mm

Wed 4 · 61 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
10°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 62 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
11°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 64 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
12°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 69 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
15°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 66 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
14°C
Rain
2.1 mm

Mon 9 · 55 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
20kn
Air
11°C
Rain
10.8 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 274, good
  2. Tue 365, good
  3. Wed 461, good
  4. Thu 562, good
  5. Fri 664, good
  6. Sat 769, good
  7. Sun 866, good
  8. Mon 955, fair
  9. Tue 1055, fair
  10. Wed 1160, good

The spot in three facts

  • Grade IVat its hardest
  • Moving waterthe water
  • 4.3 kmthe section

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know the river level, weirs or your skill.

Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Río Arenal
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov74, good3 kn10kn17°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov65, good2 kn10kn13°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov61, good3 kn12kn10°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov62, good4 kn13kn11°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov64, good3 kn11kn12°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov69, good2 kn11kn15°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov66, good3 kn11kn14°C2.1 mm
Mon 9Nov55, fair2 kn20kn11°C10.8 mm
Tue 10Nov55, fair4 kn21kn11°C9 mm
Wed 11Nov60, good1 kn8kn11°C2.4 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for expert paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr5of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov3of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

Map

put-in, take-out, its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More kayaking near here

4 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Río Arenal

A river section on the Río Arenal, from a put-in down to a take-out. Grade IV, on the international scale. It runs 4.3 km along the river. Suits expert paddlers only, by its grade. None within 10 km, the nearest 40 km away. The town to stay in is Arenas de San Pedro. Within 5 km we also list 2 kayak spots and 1 mountain bike area.

  • River Río Arenal
  • Grade Grade IV, on the international scale.
  • Length 4.3 km along the river.
  • Who it suits Suits expert paddlers only, by its grade.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 40 km away.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,190–US$2,250 each

about US$1,190–US$2,250 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to MAD, estimated from distance and season, 2 airlines on the route, with a hold bagabout US$470–US$973
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$107–US$174
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$242–US$403
Food7 days eating outabout US$235–US$443
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$141–US$262
Totalabout US$1,190–US$2,250

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Arenas de San Pedro

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Arenas de San Pedro

about 10 min by car · 23 places to stay

about US$87/nightcountry average

See 23 places to stay in Arenas de San Pedro · Booking.com

About Arenas de San Pedro its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$87 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 15h 35m

About 15h 35m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → MAD, direct, then 2h 35m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

River level

River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go.

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire mapped within 25 km.

Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits