Tortuguero is a wildlife lovers paradise. Crocs, Caiman and Giant otter swim the waterways while Great green macaws and Keel-billed toucans soar overhead. Jaguar prowl the dense jungle around the village perimeter - we were even told to leave a light on when we went out at night to deter them from coming up to the house! You’ll be woken by the sound of Howler monkeys calling out from the tree tops, and if you’re lucky enough to visit in season, it’s one of the best places in the world to see Green turtles (after which the area is named).
It’s a wild place and spending a morning kayaking the rivers inbetween thick jungle scenery was one of our top five Costa Rican experiences of all time. As well as getting out on the water, there are some great walks, remote beaches and a laid back Caribbean vibe.
Here are the top things to do in Tortuguero for a trip to remember.
The best things to do in Tortuguero
1. Kayak through Jurassic Park
Kayaking the Jurassic Park-esque waterways of Tortuguero National Park is magical. It’s not just the best thing to do in Tortuguero itself, it’s one of the best things we did in all of Costa Rica. Paddling along the deep green rivers under hanging vines and endless tropical trees and plants is an unforgettable experience.
Add to that there’s wildlife around every corner and it’s easy to see why we found it so enchanting. It pretty much encapsulates why so many of us visit and fall in love with Costa Rica, wild landscapes and endless animal encounters.
We chose to kayak without a guide (because we’d already done a guided canoe trip on a previous visit) and it turned out to be better than we could have imagined.
You’ll see a bit less wildlife - as the guides are of course experts - but what you do see you found yourself, which is incredibly rewarding. You can also time your trip to avoid some of the tours groups in the narrower channels, which makes it so much more special.
The paddling itself is easy. For all the details on how to do it yourself, we have you covered in this guide.
2. Or take a guided canoe trip
If you prefer to have an expert guide and not have to paddle (unless you choose to) you can take one of the popular guided canoe trips. You can also take a motorboat, but we personally prefer exploring the waterways without the noise of an engine as it’s much more serene.
We opted to do a private trip which was fantastic as you have a bit more freedom, but the group trips also get great reviews.
You’ll almost certainly see Howler monkeys, toucans, caiman, Great green macaws, Jesus christ lizards, iguanas and so much more. We were lucky enough also to see Giant otter which was amazing.
The guides know where to look, have eagle eyes and can tell you more about the wildlife. For this reason, if you can, we’d recommend doing a trip with a guide and an independent trip to experience the best of both worlds.
You can see more about the guided trips in this article.
3. Hike an extinct volcano
The best view of Tortuguero can be found at the lookout on top of Cerro Tortuguero, an extinct volcano. It’s an easy walk and though it does head uphill, it’s only 1km return and all on a very well maintained path. It’s nice and shady as you’re walking under the dense forest canopy.
When you get to the top you’ll find a lookout platform with views over the village, rainforest, river and ocean. Scores of vultures circled overhead on our visit, which made it feel even more dramatic.
Although there’s no seating, it’s a nice spot to sit on the platform itself and soak up the view. You can also walk an additional flat path from the same area which takes you through a stretch of rainforest teeming with Howler monkeys.
You have to take a boat to reach the start point for the trail and pay for entry to the national park, but it’s a real bargain at just USD $2. All the details on the walking tracks, plus the boat trip are in our Cerro Tortuguero guide.
4. Relax on a remote beach
The beaches of Tortuguero are not the picture perfect tropical beaches you’ll find in other parts of Costa Rica. These are black sand wild and windswept beaches with remote Robinson Crusoe vibes. I loved it for exactly that reason. The waves can be huge and there are rips, so you are advised not to swim, but going for a stroll and sitting on a piece of driftwood soaking up the atmosphere is very memorable.
The sun can be brutal in Tortuguero, so we’d personally recommend going early or late in the day to avoid too much exposure.
Our personal favourite part of the beach is found at the end of the easy Tortuguero National Park walking trail (3km one way). We even found a giant Leatherback turtle skeleton here, sadly the only turtle we saw in Tortuguero!
5. Explore the jungle on an easy trail
The walk in the main sector of Tortuguero National Park is very easy and entirely flat - which makes it perfect for the tropical climate in this part of Costa Rica! You’ll start in a beautiful section of dense rainforest before the vegetation changes.
We called it coastal rainforest - I’m not sure of the technical term for it - but either way it’s gorgeous. You’re bound to see Howler monkeys swinging through the trees, and Great green macaws snacking in the almond trees.
Once you reach the end of the track you can choose to return the same way, or head back along the wild and rugged black sand beach (as described above).
Depending on recent rainfall the start of the track (which goes through the jungle) can be very muddy - there’s a reason they hire rubber boots just outside the park!
However, during our visit in the dry season it was bone dry. The full walk is 6km return, but you don’t need to do all of it to get an appreciation for the jungle and wildlife.
You have to pay an entry fee online in advance, more on that and all other trail details are in this guide.
6. Have a sundowner by the water
There is no better way to end a day exploring Tortuguero than watching sunset over the water. There are lots of places you can catch the sunset, but our favourite is the El Patio bar.
There are lots of tables on the back deck, including some right down on the water’s edge, which have an uninterrupted view of the sunset.
Although the tables beside the water are the most scenic, they do wobble as boats pass, so watch out for that!
Drinks are a fairly standard price for Costa Rica and include the famed ‘coco loco’ (although it’s sadly not served in a coconut here!)
7. Dine at Tortuguero’s best restaurant
We ate at quite a few restaurants in Tortuguero and we’ll be honest, the food isn’t great. Even some of the well reviewed places that look very promising based on the menu were a bit of a disappointment. One night we decided to treat ourself to Tortuguero’s best restaurant and found that Taylor's Place is the exception.
The food was excellent and the atmosphere is very romantic, think lots of beautiful flowers, tropical plants and candle light.
Both our meals were lovely, especially the fish. The downside is the cost. Costa Rica is not a cheap country, but Taylor’s Place was expensive even by Costa Rican standards. However, if you’re not travelling on a tight budget and you want a tasty meal in tranquil surroundings, this is the place to come.
8. Prepare to be awed on a turtle walk
Despite the fact we’ve visited Tortuguero twice now, we’ve never actually been there in turtle season sadly (roughly June to October, with peak season being July - September). Well, we were there in Leatherback season, but you’ll virtually never spot one and tours are not offered at this time.
The main season is for Green turtles and you often see quite a few on one walk. A guide told us the later tour time is the best for seeing the highest number of turtles.
Having not done it personally we can’t comment on the experience, but by all accounts it’s pretty special. You have to take a guided tour to ensure the safety of the turtles and various operators will offer trips, including the Guide Association in the village who tended to have the cheapest prices (but shop around to be sure).
9. Search for animals of the night
Night walks are wildly popular in Costa Rica, especially because you can often catch sight of nocturnal animals that you just wouldn’t spot during the day time. We were a bit unlucky on our trip because we visited during a very dry period which is the worst time to go animal spotting in this area. In fact I would say if it’s been very dry then it’s not worth it, but in wetter times there’s plenty to see.
Despite not seeing an awful lot, we did see a Two-toed sloth, as well as a variety of birds and lizards. The walk is easy and goes for about 1.5km each way. Part of the walk is along the sandy path running beside the beach, which doesn’t feel very wild as it’s right by the village.
The best part was when we went into the forest which felt much more like you’d expect a night walk to be and was still easy and flat.
We booked at the Guides Association in the village and paid USD $20 to join a group tour. Other companies around the village offer similar walks. Our accomodation provider offered a smaller group tour to a different part of Tortuguero which included a boat trip and sounded amazing and much more private.
However as it was USD $35 we couldn’t stretch to it on such a long trip (over three months in Costa Rica). If we had a bigger budget I would definitely have gone for that option instead.
10. Learn about turtle conservation
Set in a beautiful palm grove, the Sea Turtle Conservancy Visitor's Centre is tiny but worth a quick peek if you want to learn more about turtle conservation in Tortuguero.
As well as giving you all the usual information about the different types of turtle in the area and their efforts to support the vulnerable populations, you can also see how many of each species of turtle have been spotted this year and how it compares to the year before.
It shuts for an hour over lunch time, with current opening hours being 8am-12pm and 1pm-5pm.
A little overview on what to expect when visiting Tortuguero
Tortuguero is a very small village only accessible by boat or by air. We’d highly recommend the boat trip as it’s basically like a scenic cruise. We spotted Crocodiles, Squirrel monkeys, toucans, iguanas and more on our trips to and from the mainland.
The village is really only one street and there’s no transport so you’ll need to walk or cycle everywhere. But when I say everywhere, it’s so small that most things are no more than a five minute walk from wherever you are. As mentioned the cafes and restaurants are generally nothing to write home about, though there are some fun bars set up outside people’s houses in the back streets, which can make for a fun evening.
The accommodation in Tortuguero leans towards the basic end of the spectrum, though there are a couple of places further out of the village which are less so.
It does get really hot and the humidity is high in Tortuguero, so you might want to plan your activities for the beginning and end of the day.
There’s a definite Caribbean vibe to the village and parts of it look quite rundown. That side of things won’t be for everyone, but I personally think it’s got a certain rustic charm to it.
Getting to Tortuguero
You can either take a boat or fly (about 45 minutes from San Jose) to Tortuguero. There are no roads. We recommend taking the boat from La Pavona (roughly a 2.5 hour drive from San Jose, you can find the exact location here) because it’s basically like a scenic cruise in and of itself and it’s very cheap at just 8,000 colones (or $16 USD) return. It usually takes around 1.5 hours for the boat trip, but can take longer in the height of dry season when water levels are low.
We visited at the very end of the dry season and the journey took 2.5 hours, but I think that’s usual. The boats are covered, but don’t provide full shade depending on where you’re sitting. The boats are small, so there are no toilets, but there are toilets you can use at the cafe by the boat dock (for USD $1).
The current boat schedule (at time of writing) is shown in the photo below.
The boat will drop you off at the main boat launch in Tortuguero, which is a short easy walk to most accomodation. If you’re staying a bit further out they will usually also drop you off closer to your hotel if you ask in advance (ask your hotel for more details on this).
The boat departs from La Pavona - roughly a 2.5 hour drive from San Jose - and there’s a large car park which has security. The parking is USD $10 per night or 6,000 colones - check which is better value at the time as they accept both. There’s a cafe near the boat jetty where you can wait before your departure.
If the times of the public boats don’t work out for you, you can hire private boats, but they are of course considerably more expensive.
The last part of the road between San Jose and La Pavona used to be unpaved and bumpy, but there’s a sealed road all the way now.
In addition to the route from La Pavona you can also take a boat from Moin if you’re coming from the Caribbean Coast rather than San Jose. However, the boat trip takes more than double the amount of time and is vastly more expensive.
The first time we visited Tortuguero we took a bus to the boat dock, but it was a bit of a pain and a shuttle might be better if you’re not hiring a car.
Where we stayed in Tortuguero
Casa Chilamates 2.0
There was a lot to like about Casa Chilamates 2.0, but also some faults. Firstly, it’s a little house with a kitchen, a good shower, very powerful AC and a jungle setting, yet just a five minute walk from town. It was perfectly quiet at night apart from the sounds of the insects, which I personally love.
However, the curtains are very thin and the surrounding houses leave their porch lights on all night. If light bothers you, do not stay here. Also the AC unit is powerful, but very noisy and had a bright light which couldn’t be turned off. Personally I didn’t like these two things, but I am very sensitive when it comes to sleeping - not one previous reviewer had mentioned these points, so I guess I am alone in this!
If you don’t mind the light and AC noise, then you’re surrounded by Great green macaws and Howler monkeys in the nearby trees, which is very special.
You can check out more reviews and the prices on:
Mawamba Lodge
Due to the aforementioned sleeping issues, If I am lucky enough to return to Tortuguero for a third time I would stay at Mawamba Lodge. We actually walked past it on our night walk and it looked great. It was in a quiet location a bit away from town but if you don’t want to walk in, I believe you can catch the boat.
The rooms look lovely and each window is netted so you get the full breeze which is why I’d pick it as Tortuguero was insanely hot (although we were visiting in a rare patch with no rain!). They also have hammocks on the porch and there’s a pool.
You can check the reviews and prices on:
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, we will earn a small commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase. This helps towards the costs of running our website. Thanks for your support.
