Turtles Experience in Tortuguero
More on: Costa Rica Destinations
Diverse experiences await travelers in Costa Rica. The main feature of this country is the wonderful nature with which it was blessed. Add to that the friendly residents and you get guaranteed enjoyment from a visit to a country located near the equator in a tropical region, where there is almost no difference between the seasons in terms of weather.
If you are arriving in the country from mid-June to October, do not miss a full two-day visit to the sea turtle reserve in Tortuguero.
Tours in Tortuguero To order from Viator:
Tortuguero is located in the northern part of Costa Rica on the Caribbean coast in a flat area on the shores of the Caribbean Sea with many rivers around it. This settlement has no road access by car and can be reached by river boat or flight. Even the boat dock is reached by a slow drive on mostly unpaved roads.
The trip itself to Tortuguero, which is half by bus and half by boat, is an experience and the way is full of beautiful landscapes. On the way, after descending from the mountains, you see the large banana plantations of Costa Rica and the bus stops at a banana packing station where you see the stages of washing, sorting, and packing the bananas.
At the boat dock, the passengers' luggage is transferred to a separate boat and the passengers board fast boats with flat bottoms suitable for the relatively shallow waters in the rivers leading to Tortuguero. Along the forested path, the boat stops here and there to watch animals encountered along the way.
The aforementioned trip includes a stop at a restaurant for breakfast, and lunch is eaten around 13:00 when arriving at the hotel in Tortuguero after about a five-hour journey. There are several hotels in Tortuguero along the river. These hotels consist of separate cabins of one or two units. The cabins are located right inside the forest, and on the trees between them, there are monkeys and various forest animals.
At the Pachira Lodge, for example, there are such cabins with two double beds in the room, toilet, and shower. There is no TV or telephone in the room. The idea is to integrate and merge as much as possible with nature. The site has two pools, a souvenir shop, a spa, a lobby with an attached dining room, free wireless internet in the lobby area, and public telephones. Despite the distance from any other settlement, there is cellular phone reception in the village.
The tour package usually includes transfers, full board, and several guided tours. Additional tours can be joined for an extra fee.
In the afternoon, cross the river from the hotel area to the village of Tortuguero, which is located on a narrow strip between the river and the Caribbean Sea. This is a small village whose population earns its living solely from tourism. In the village, there is a main street along the river containing several tourist shops, a church, a school, and a boat dock.
When walking on the Caribbean beach, you can clearly see many tracks of large sea turtles leading from the water to the line of bushes/trees bordering the beach, where you can see the depressions in the sand where the turtles laid their eggs and covered them with sand. Those interested can also bathe in the sea; the water is warm, but please note, there is no lifeguard on site.
In the evening after dark, a main attraction awaits travelers for which they came to this remote and secluded place: a close-up view of a giant sea turtle laying eggs on the beach where thousands of turtles lay their eggs every year.
Short video about the turtles in Tortuguero:
The local guides, accompanied by park rangers, direct the travelers in the dark, quietly and in dim lighting, to waiting stations located a few dozen meters from the turtles' nesting points. Travelers wait from a distance so as not to frighten the turtles and prevent them from laying their eggs on the beach. Only the park rangers patrol carefully and skillfully along the beach, and when they locate turtles that have begun laying, they lead the travelers to the turtles after laying has started. From the moment the laying begins, the turtle is in a trance of laying and does not stop even when travelers stand behind her and watch her. From a distance of one to two meters, you can see the giant turtle, weighing up to hundreds of kilograms, as she lays many dozens of eggs (usually up to 160-180 eggs) into the sand nest she dug earlier. The laying process takes about half an hour, after which the turtle vigorously covers the nest for another half hour to camouflage it and then slowly makes her way toward the water.
During the tour, guidance is given on the lifestyles of the turtles. The turtles chose this place to lay eggs because the sand temperature on this beach is the most suitable for the incubation period of the eggs, which takes about two months. The nesting season takes place between the months of June and October. The sex of the hatching turtles is determined according to the sand temperature.
The next morning, if you are at the end of the nesting season (i.e., from late August to the end of October), it is highly recommended to go out at dawn for another tour to the nesting site and see the turtles hatching from the eggs laid two months earlier, and to accompany these little ones who hatch without a mother beside them making their first steps by natural instinct toward the water. These turtles will wander in the oceans and after years will find their way as adults to return exactly to this beach to lay their eggs. Only a small percentage of them survive.
Additional attractions that travelers can enjoy in the area include: cruising the rivers in the reserve and observing the dense forests around them. In the cruise, besides the diverse and thick vegetation, you can also see monkeys, crocodiles, birds, lizards, butterflies, etc.
To complete the acquaintance with the place, walking tours are also held inside the jungle with explanations from the skilled local guides.
Also, it is possible to go on a cruise that includes fishing, and there is also a "Canopy" site which is a chain of ziplines on the treetops inside the jungle (the canopy of Lands in Love or other sites in the cloud forests of Costa Rica are much larger and better, so those who settle for only one canopy should wait, but those who want to try a calm canopy as an "opening" to the action in Costa Rica will definitely enjoy it).
The hotel also has pleasant pools where you can spend time between the various activities. It is recommended to stay at the place for at least two nights to comfortably enjoy the place properly.
It is recommended to book the tour package to Tortuguero in advance from home.
Additional recommended accommodations in Tortuguero:
Selection of additional hotels: Hotels in Tortuguero