Our Rafting Guides in Përmet: Certified, Local, In Every Raft

Every raft that goes down the Vjosa with us has a certified guide in it — not following in a safety kayak, not watching from the bank, but in the boat with you, steering. This page explains who they are, what they are trained in, and how we run the river safely.

A certified guide in every raft

We do not put an untrained paddle captain in a boat. Each of our guides is a working river guide from the Përmet region who holds recognised whitewater qualifications and keeps them current. That is the single most important thing to check with any rafting operator in Albania, and it is a fair question to ask us or anyone else before you book.

What our guides are trained in

• Swiftwater rescue — how to get a person out of moving water, how to free a pinned boat, how to set up a rope system on a live river. This is the training that matters when something goes wrong.
• First aid — wilderness-appropriate first aid, for a place where an ambulance is not five minutes away.
• Risk management — reading water levels, calling off a trip when the river is too high, choosing lines through rapids according to who is in the boat that day.
• The Vjosa specifically — which is not a certificate, and cannot be taught on a course. Our guides grew up on this river. They know which rapid changes character after rain and where the water moves differently in April than in August.

Local guides, not a seasonal crew

Our team is from Përmet. They swam in the Vjosa as children and learned to read it long before they were paid to. That matters practically, not just sentimentally: a guide who has watched this river through twenty spring floods knows things about it that no briefing can transfer.

It also means the money you spend on a rafting trip stays in the Përmet valley. You can read more about that on our sustainable tourism page.

How a trip actually runs

1. Check-in at our base outside Përmet. You get a wetsuit, buoyancy aid, helmet and paddle, all included in the price.
2. The safety briefing. Not a formality — how to sit, how to hold the paddle, what to do if you go in the water, and the commands your guide will use. It takes about fifteen minutes and it is the reason the trip works.
3. Transport to the put-in, upstream of town.
4. The run. 7.6 km of Class II–III water, roughly two hours, with your guide steering from the back of the boat.
5. Back at the base — hot shower, somewhere to change, and your car where you left it.

What we will call off

We do not run the river at any water level. If the Vjosa comes up hard after heavy rain and the level is outside what we consider safe for a commercial trip, we cancel and move you — date changes are free and your booking stays valid for 365 days. No guide is put in the position of deciding between a paying customer and a river they should not be on that day.

Pyetje të shpeshta

Are the rafting guides on the Vjosa certified?

Ours are. Every raft has a certified guide in the boat, trained in swiftwater rescue, first aid and risk management. If you are comparing operators in Përmet, ask each one directly whether a certified guide rides in every raft or only leads the group.

Do the guides speak English?

Yes. Safety briefings and on-water commands are given in English, and several of the team speak Italian too. If you need another language, tell us when you book and we will do our best to match you with the right guide.

How many people are in a raft?

A raft takes a small group plus the guide. If you are booking as a family or a group of friends, tell us and we will keep you in the same boat.

Do I need any experience?

None. The guide handles the technical side and the briefing covers everything you need. See our beginners guide for what a first trip is actually like.

What if I fall in?

It happens, and it is covered in the briefing before you get on the water. You are in a buoyancy aid and a helmet, your guide is two metres away, and the Class II–III sections of the Vjosa are forgiving. Getting back into the boat is part of what you are shown on the bank.