Tortuga means Turtle in Spanish, and this place is famous to see them. The National Reserve has a small town called Tortuguero. This is a small fishing village, known for its canals that run throughout the tropical rain forest. Wiki estimates the population to be around 1200-1500.

Tortuguero is often referred to as “The Amazon of Costa Rica”, and after our visit we knew it to be true.

In Costa Rica you can find four types of Sea Turtles:

Olive Ridley Sea Turtles:  Mostly found in Pacific coast.
Green Sea Turtles Tortuguero National Park:  mid-July through mid-October.
Leatherback Sea Turtles Tortuguero National Park:  March through May.
Hawksbill Sea Turtles Tortuguero National Park:  July through October.

Seasons:

Nesting: July-October.
Hatching: Late August-November

We waited for so long to see the Green Sea Turtles’ breeding and hatching season. I figured, Tortuguero is one of the best places to do so. The more I read about it more excited I got especially since the only way to reach there was either by Boat or a Plane.

Clearly, we chose the boat option. Going through the canals was indescribable.

If you want to travel by Plane there is just 1 Option:
Sansa Airlines: https://flysansa.com/en/

Before you head out for any trip, it is very important that you find, understand and decide on the activities you would like to do there.

Activity:

Boat Tour with Local Naturalist Guide (3 hours): Shared $64.00 adult / $49.00 child, Private $94.00 Adult / $79.00 child
Baby Turtle Hatching Price: $20 per person

If you are a citizen or resident prices are lower. Be sure to take your ID.
Most Hotel accepts card, though it is best to carry cash.

After we decided on the activities. We looked at Places to stay and how to reach there.

Place of Stay

Tortuga Lodge & Gardens:

While there are several places with different options we chose Tortuga Lodge & Gardens.
They offer 27 rooms. 11 Downstairs Terrace Rooms, 12 View Balcony Rooms, 2 Downstairs Suites and 1 Penthouse, all with river views.
WiFi– Yes
Air-conditioning /television – No

Lodge wants you to enjoy the nature. Isn’t that why you want this trip? 😊

Note: Howler monkeys will wake you up at 4 am 😁, So be prepared to hear strange howling noises.

Ways of Reaching Tortuguero Village:

As mentioned earlier, you can only reach the village either by a boat or Plane.
There are Private boats available, but the prices are around $60 and more.

There are 3 Public Boat Docks to get to Tortuguero Village:
1>La Pavano (1- 2 hours)
They have Huge parking spaces with roofs that are guarded day and night. Parking Fee is $10 per day.

The boat trip takes between 45mins to 90mins, depending on the tide which feeds the river. Tortuguero village is the last stop for the boats.

The trip is wonderful, we spotted number of birds and caimans from the boat. Sometimes, the driver will pull right up near the caimans so that you can have a good look. Don’t worry, these guys are not vicious or big.

2> Caño Blanco
They have parking lot at the Caño Blanco dock. The fee for parking is $10 per day.

3> Moin (3 hours)
This is the best option, if you’re coming from Puerto Viejo or Cahuita on the Caribbean coast. The Moin docks also have secure parking. Parking fee: $10 per day.

After studying our options, we decided on taking the boat from La Pavona.

How to Reach La Pavona

At the destination you will find a Restaurant, called Rancho La Suerte, that has a big parking facility.

The roads to La Pavona are well maintained, you don’t need 4×4. There is a very small part of the road, less than 1 km, that is semi-paved, but it’s manageable too.

Public Boat Timings:

Pavona-Tortuguero 07:30 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 4:30 pm

Tortuguero-Pavona 05:00 am, 09:00 am, 11:00 am, 3:00 pm

Fees:

National/ Residents: ₡ 2500
Foreigners: $5

Even though the hotel has a private boat from La Pavona, we took the Public boat ($5) as it was cheap.

How we Planned it?

You need a minimum of 2 days for this trip. We planned our trip on an early Saturday morning and stayed at the Tortuga Lodge & Gardens. We did the turtle nesting activity in the evening on Day-1 and the Wildlife Boat Tour the next morning. We got back on Sunday evening after exploring the village.

Though it is quite an adventure to get there, the entire experience makes up for it.

We booked our stay online from their the lodge’s website : http://www.tortugalodge.com/

We aimed to catch the 11 am boat from La Pavona on Saturday morning.

We reached the parking area in La Pavona at around 10.15am. As we got out of the car, we were surrounded by people with tickets. Some wanted us to book activities with them, while others wanted to sell private boat tickets.

We purchased our parking and public boat ticket in the parking lot itself. Passengers and luggage travel in the same boat 😊

We were pleasantly surprised to get a boat at 10:26 am, so we did not have to wait for the 11am boat.

If you take the Public Boat, you will have to get down at the last stop i.e Tortuguero Village.

After you get there, you need to call the lodge let them know you have arrived and to find out the Lodge’s Boat schedule. We were told of a boat from Tortuguero Village to Lodge at 1:45 PM, But we were again lucky to get one exactly at the same time we reached there i.e 11:36 am.

Note: You will need to reach every dock 15 mins in advance.

Free Hotel Boat Time Schedule:

Tortuga Lodge to Village: 5:15 am, 9:30 am, 1:30 pm, 3:15 pm,5:00 pm.
Village to Tortuga Lodge: 5:40 am, 9:45 am,1:45 pm, 3:40 pm,5:15 pm.

All other times you can opt to take Water taxi they charge up to $10 to $20.

We reached the lodge in just 10mins, and WOW! The place is more beautiful than the pictures.

We had lunch, changed our clothes and explored the gardens, and the fishing and reading areas.

Note: The Lodge provides a Naturalist Guide for select activities. Call the lodge to find our activity details such as timings and fees, then decide which activity you want to go for.

As we had called them before we got there, we were ready for an evening Turtle Hatching Activity. The fee was around $20.  We boarded the boat from the lodge with our guide. We walked for more than 1 hour but unfortunately, we did not spot even a single turtle or its eggs. ☹

Fun Fact: Did you know turtles return to the exact spot where they were born lay their own eggs. Studies say that the turtles have an Internal Compass that runs off the Earth’s magnetic field. Something like our GPS devices.

For the rest of the evening, we just kicked back and relaxed by the pool, sipped on our Caribbean cocktails, had a nice swim and later headed for a lovely Caribbean dinner.

Note: The hotel provides limited options in its food menu due to lack of resources in that area.

The next morning, at 7:30 am, we headed out for our planned Boat Tour with the Local Naturalist. This is a 3 hours tour and costs $64 per person for the shared ride.

Note: The fee for the Tortuguero National Forest is included.

We had a very knowledgeable guide with us. We spotted several Aninga, Blue Heron, Iguanas, Jesus Christ Lizards’, Howler Monkeys, Boat Billed Heron, Yellow crowned Night Earl, Spider monkeys, Capuchin Monkeys, River turtles, and Caimans.

FYI : Jesus Christ Lizard Walks on the water, hence the name. 😀

 When we got back, we took a shower, relaxed for a little bit and packed our bags.

The last boat from Tortugero Village to La Pavona is at 3:00 PM, so we checked out early.

During Checkout we mentioned that we did not get to see turtles and staff at the front desk were so kind that they did not charge us any money for the turtle tour. Sweet right??

Some other Activities the lodge offers

We took the lodge’s boat to the Village at 11:30am.

Tortuguero Village

There we explored the beautiful Tortuguero Village. The streets are bursting with color and brightness, there are a lot of paintings on the wall. Over all, it truly gave me Pura Vida feeling. Everyone in this place runs business like tourism, Boating, fishing, guides, and hotels.

We had lunch at a small traditional restaurant and with time to spare, we decided to just sit at the dock and read till it was time to leave.

 

The boat was a little late, but we reached La Pavona by 4:30 pm. Headed straight out and reached San Jose by 7:30pm.

Tortuguero National Park

If you need other activities in the Tortuguero National Forest, you can enquire in the Tourist desk (Association of Tortuguero) in Tortuguero Village. Everyone here is helpful, they speak primarily Spanish, but most speak English fairly well.

Some of the Activities from Association of Tortuguero:
Turtle tour, Canoe Tour, Night walk, Day Walk, Bird Watching, Kayak, Canopy, Fishing Tour.
Tel: (+506) 2767-0836
Whatsapp: (+506) 8685-7834

National Entrance Fee

Foreigner: $15
Children: $5
Time: 6 AM to 4 PM.

What to pack

Swimwear
Towel
Your Clothes
Rain Jackets
Sun Screen
Insect repellent
Cover your luggage in plastic bags

Note: The Tortuga Lodge provides Bugs Spray and Sun Block 😊

Tip

• There is just 1 ATM in Tortuguero. I suggest not to completely depend on it, so bring cash (colones preferred).

• If you are a resident/national don’t forget to take your Cedula card. Its needed to enter the national park.Make sure you reach La Pavona by 3 PM, and Tortuguero Village at 2PM, or you may miss the last boat.
• Swimming in the river is quite dangerous due to riptides and sharks.
• Call the lodge before you go to check on the activities and lodge
   011 (+506) 2709-8136
• Lodge provides Boots and sticks for activities make sure to use them.
  

  Boots facilities in Tortuga Lodge

  

• If you are still wondering when the best time to visit Costa Rica is. Check out the following Link: https://costa-rica-guide.com/travel/best-time/when-to-visit/