Giant turtles in Tortuguero National Park

This is a building block to do at the beginning or at the end of your stay because you can’t do the trip by car. This will save you a few days of car rental. The bus will pick you up (either in Guapiles or in San José) and take you to Pavona where you will be taken by boat through the canals to Tortuguero National Park (1.5 hours). There is not a single car there either. Everything is brought on and off with boats to keep the nature in the park completely intact.

You will arrive at your lodge which is situated at the edge of a canal around noon and there you will be served a delicious lunch. You will also get a guide during your entire stay and he will give you all the information you need. With the guide you will visit the village of Tortuguero in the afternoon. Very small but cozy.  Admire the Caribbean beach and walk through the main street where children are playing, and with many nice shops or local artists.

When you are in Tortuguero during the breeding season (July – end of September), later in the evening, after sunset, go back to the beach with the guide to look for the turtles,, in complete silence. The turtles come to the beach from the sea to lay their eggs. These eggs hatch from late September to early December. After that you will dine in the lodge. Do not stay up late, as you have to get up early the next morning to spot the animals.

Early in the morning, before breakfast, after you had a coffee and the kids had a nice chocolate with some crackers, you go sailing in the canals of the park. The children loved this. The huge iguanas, blue herons, tiger monkeys … are right on the edge of the water. And the macaws (parrots) fly high above your head.

After the boat trip of 2 hours you will have breakfast and then you can go for a walk through the domain of the lodge. Also really worthwhile because you will discover all kinds of animals together with the guide.

So a busy day full of fun experiences in the middle of the beautiful nature. In the evening you get a nice dinner in the lodge. You can also relax a bit and let the children enjoy themselves at the pool.

After breakfast you will take the boat back to Pavona, take the bus to Guapiles where you will have lunch. You can then take the rental car to other building blocks, for example “Rafting in Sarapiqui”, “Make your own chocolate” or “Jungle adventure in Boca Tapada”. Or you go to San José to return home.