Expréss & Tortuguero Tour

ACCOMMODATION

6 hotel nights with breakfast
2 nights in Tortuguero full board
-
TRANSPORT

Private transfers airport-hotel-airport
Shared transfers San José-Tortuguero-Guápiles
Rental car
5 days of 4x4 rental car with full insurance
Home in Guápiles | End at the airport
Shuttle bus
Shared tourist bus transfers between destinations
-
ACTIVITIES

Guided tour of the town of Tortuguero
Guided tour of the Tortuguero Lodge Reserve
Guided boat tour of the Tortuguero canals
-
BEACH OPTIONS

Manuel Antonio
South Caribbean *
Guanacaste

MORE ABOUT TORTUGUERO NATIONAL PARK

This is one of the few Costa Rican National Parks where walking quietly isn’t necessarily the best way to see things.

Attracting wildlife enthusiasts from around the globe, the small town of Tortuguero on Costa Rica’s northern Caribbean Coast is named for the famed sea turtles that come to the area to nest. Tortuguero’s dense jungle maze of winding canals is evocative of the wild Amazon. Afloat down these ominous brown waters is an adventure in itself as you’re sure to hear the howling of monkeys and screeching of exotic birds along the way.

Home to the celebrated Tortuguero National Park, the network of canals, rivers, lagoons, beaches, and dense rainforest here are interlinked. This is one of the rainiest parts of Costa Rica, which contributes to its rich biodiversity. Exploring these canals and observing the wildlife by boat, kayak, or canoe is a wonderfully relaxing and peaceful way to experience nature.

The area protected by Tortuguero (turtle catcher) National Park was an archipelago of volcanic islands until alluvial sediments from the interior mountains filled in the spaces and formed a network of marshy islands.

Sand piled up where the river deposited land met the sea, and the turtle nesting beaches of Tortuguero formed.

TURTLE NESTING SEASON

Turtle nesting times vary depending on the turtle species but are mainly between early March and mid-October. The most common of the four turtle species is the Green Turtle which is famous for its massive annual nesting from June to the middle of October. Turtle nesting walks can be arranged with a licensed guide from your lodge. The tours are led at night and are about 2 hours in duration. Cameras and lights are not permitted on the beach and guests should wear dark clothing to avoid disrupting the turtles.

BIRDING

Tortuguero makes a fantastic location for both migratory and resident bird species because of its variety of habitations: beach, forest, freshwater, aerial, and clearings. There are over 300 different bird species found here. Because there are no roads in Tortuguero, birding excursions are experienced by boat along the jungle canals. A wide variety of birds can be seen within a small area. Hawks, Falcons, Sunbitterns, Gulls, Cuckoos, Owls, and Nighthawks are just some of the bird species that can be found within the park.