La Ceiba is the jumping-off point for the Caribbean coast's wild edge: the Río Cangrejal for whitewater, Pico Bonito behind it for cloud forest, the Cuero y Salado wetlands west along the coast, and the boats to Cayos Cochinos and the Bay Islands from the pier.
The rafting is the signature. The Cangrejal drops out of the Nombre de Dios range twenty minutes from town, through boulder gardens in rainforest, and the runs are short but genuinely lively — class II to III on the standard half-day, harder water higher up when the river is full.