If you and your friends and family are planning on spending your next vacation or holiday outdoors, why not do a little white water rafting? This activity is great for groups, and is ideal for people who enjoy being outside or in the water. If the idea sounds interesting, and you're not quite sure where to start, here are some white water rafting tips for beginners that will help you feel more at ease during your first trip.

First of all, you'll want to select a white water park or white water river that caters to beginners. This way, you'll feel comfortable in the raft with your instructor, and you'll know that you'll have someone there to give you white water rafting tips every step of the way. If you can't swim or haven't gone swimming in a while, you can take what are called class III courses for whitewater rafting, which are safe for everyone, even children.

Kids as young as 6 or 7 can go on most white water park excursions, so you won't have to worry about not including everyone in your trip (unless you can toddlers or infants in tow). If you want to go on a more intense whitewater rafting trip, you'll need to enroll in a class IV or class V class, but you have to know how to swim well.

If you have any health conditions, such as asthma or heart problems, you should definitely talk to your doctor about the safety of going whitewater rafting. There are lots of sharp turns and intense twists depending on the course you take, and you should be prepared for this before you and your family book your trip. Pregnant women are advised not to go rafting, but you may be able to do so if you are in the first trimester; however, any time after that may pose a threat to the health of the baby.

Once you're in your raft, be sure that your life jacket is fastened securely before the raft starts to move. Be sure that you are seating correctly so that the weight is evenly distributed, and keep young children near you at all times. Your raft should be able to fit up to 8 people, so if your group is not quite that large, be sure to sit in the raft evenly so that you don't tip over.

After your rafting trip, you may want to try other water activities such as kayaking or canoeing, so be sure to schedule other classes at your water park before your trip is over. Enjoy!