Tortuguero National Park And Canals Day Trip From San Jose

Our tour guide, Jose, was absolutely amazing—polite, punctual, knowledgeable, friendly, and always attentive and flexible to make sure we were comfortable. This wasn’t a main part of the tour, but I especially enjoyed the local breakfast restaurant he took us to. It wasn’t fancy, but it was filled with locals and served traditional Costa Rican food, which made it feel like a truly local experience. I also loved how excited Jose was about Tortuguero, even though he must have visited many times already. There are no guarantees about which animals you’ll see, so we felt very lucky to see everything we were hoping for. One tip: it can be very hot and humid, and there are quite a few stairs to climb. Once you’re on the boat, you can’t return to the car for 4–6 hours, so bring plenty of water, a towel, and anything else you need to stay comfortable! Thanks so much to Jose and the other Jose (our boat driver) for a wonderful experience!

It’s a great trip and a good experience. But it’s way too expensive. The food it was very basic basically the same for breakfast and lunch Rice and beans

It is a long day but is definitely worth it. We saw all of the wild animals we were hoping to see and our guides were very knowledgeable.

We had a great time on this tour! Saw so many cool animals. Friendly and very knowledgeable team. Only four of us plus the guide. It was a long drive out but worth it. Would definitely recommend!

Our guide Al was amazing! He was so excited to point out all the flora and fauna along the way to Limon province. He even brought some delicious local fruit for our group to try. We really enjoyed the river cruise as well as the hike in the jungle. The village of Tortuguero was very interesting too. Highly recommend!

This was a premium experience, pickup in private car, super comfy and nice and cool. Our guide and driver drove our party of 3. We stopped and saw Sloths thanks to eagle eye guide. We had great informative conversations about Costa Rica which only enriched our experience. When we got to tortuguerro we began our bout ride which was a blast, breakfast and lunch was great very cool Tico stops. I could say more but will leave some of the cool stuff for you to see yourself, it's a great tour job at book it for a super cool experience. Thank you Ronnie, and Ronnie#2 (our boat captain. Pura vida.

It is a nice and interesting day trip. Firstly the boat trip on the river is very interesting , along the river we were able to see a lot small animals, birds, even crocodiles. The only thing I hope it can be improved is the meals.

It was fun, we ended up only have us 2 and 1 other person. The tour was good, we had to rush because the roads opened late. Not to the fault of our driver/guide. I would say this one section is very physically asking. So be aware that if they tell you to walk up the steps, if you feel it’s not right for you physically, don’t push yourself to do it. However very nice tour :)

Outstanding. Still remember the river ride and the amazing birds, animals we saw. This was very much like a ride through the amazon in Brazil. Highly recommended.

This was one of our best tours we experienced while visiting Costa Rica. It was a long day but we saw so much wild life it was awesome. The guide was absolutely amazing with his knowledge and experience.

Amazing trip on the canals with an excellent guide. Spotted lots of wildlife - sloth, crocodile, spider monkeys, howler monkeys and white faced capuchin, iguanas and various birds.

We saw so many animals we'd wanted to see and the boat ride was something different to do. Really neat way to see the area. The walk through the park was steamy and a little steep at times, but my out-of-shape self did it. Take from that what you will. Breakfast was plenty good and lunch was super yummy! My step-daughter who is going to school in Costa Rica said this was the best excursion she'd been on.

Destiny Travel was able to get my husband, adult daughter, & I into this tour at the last minute after another company canceled on us the night before due to "weather conditions". We had fabulous weather & on the long very FULL day tour we saw a sloth, spiders, spider/capuchin monkeys, toucans, egrets, herons, alligators/caimans, lots of butterflies & after many steps where the canals meet the Caribbean sea. Our driver was fantastic & our guide Arturo was amazing! He shared a lot about the area including growing crops like bananas & sugar cane, explained why the rivers were yellow, & he had a great sense of humor too.

Great tour and great guide. Tried gallo pinto and a traditional Caribbean dish. Our guide was very knowledgable. We learned a lot about animals and nature inside the park as well as outside the park.

Fantastic wildlife tour! Charleton was very friendly and knowledgeable. We saw alligators, monkeys, iguanas and many species of birds. Also loved the ambience of the river villages!

Amazing day from pick-up to drop off!! The park is full of everything described and exceeded our expectations. Jerry our tour guide is a class act and truly loves Costa Rica and is extremely knowledgeable and just fun. Our boat captain did a great job locating the wild life. The food was great. Take the time to go on this tour, you will not regret it!!

Such a lovely tour guide edgare, and a wonderful day! We wanted to see tortuguero but only had one day spare and were in San Jose and this was so perfect. A delicious breakfast to break up the drive , such knowledgable guides who took their time to find us monkeys sloths tortoise crocodiles and so many birds along the canal. A lovely lunch and easy drive back . Perfect

Great trip with outstanding tour guide and boat “captain”. They made a great effort to insure that we saw much and varied wildlife.

This place is amazing I absolutely loved the boat tour and arriving at the beach in torturgero is magical. I loved every single moment of it

We booked a day trip to Tortuguero from San Jose with Destiny Travel. We were picked up at the hotel at 5:45 am and got back at around 5 pm. Our guide was very nice and knowledgeable. We stopped for breakfast and later for lunch at "sodas" where the food was not that good. We saw few animals on our trip. Although the trip was during the season when turtles lay eggs on the beach in Tortuguero we did not see any, as that usually happens at night. So if you want to see turtles you need to stay overnight. Overall I think the trip was overpriced and I would not do it again.

Our guide was Arturo & he was fantastic! I would’ve loved to wander around the village, but my husband & nieto loved climbing all those stairs in Parque Carrillo to see the view from the mountain top.

We had a bit of a soggy day, but it was fabulous. The boat ride was the highlight of our trip. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and excited to do whatever we wanted to do during the day. Well worth the time and money.

What a great way to spend a day watching nature in action! Got picked up from my hotel and headed out to a restaurant about a hour outside of the city to grab breakfast, after that we headed straight to the national park and got to witness several species of animals in their natural habitat! Also got to see the Caribbean Sea which was breathtaking! Many special thanks to my tour guide Ricardo and boat operator Ronnie!

Thanks to our tour guide, Jerry from Destiny Travel, our trip to Tortuguero National Park was amazing. Jerry was very engaging with our group; very knowledgeable about the park, animals and foliage. We hiked through the park to the top of a volcano.....it didn't rain in the rain forest, IT POURED! Jerry was very positive and encouraging the entire day. Definitely worth the full day we spent on this trip.

Thanks to our tour guide, Jerry from Destiny Travel, our trip to Tortuguero National Park was amazing. Jerry was very engaging with our group; very knowledgeable about the park, animals and foliage. We hiked through the park to the top of a volcano.....it didn't rain in the rain forest, IT POURED! Jerry was very positive and encouraging the entire day. Definitely worth the full day we spent on this trip.

Thanks to our tour guide, Jerry from Destiny Travel, our trip to Tortuguero National Park was amazing. Jerry was very engaging with our group; very knowledgeable about the park, animals and foliage. We hiked through the park to the top of a volcano.....it didn't rain in the rain forest, IT POURED! Jerry was very positive and encouraging the entire day. Definitely worth the full day we spent on this trip.

What an awesome tour!! Our tour guide Ricardo was awesome, knowledgeable and interesting. As we took a boat down the canals, we saw all kinds of wildlife. Howler monkeys, spider monkeys, lizards, iguanas, crocodiles, black vultures, kingfishers and herons to name a few. The tour also included a walk through the forest along a very nice trail. Breakfast and lunch included and was delicious!!

We saw many animals on this day trip to Tortuguero. Arturo did a great job finding animals and explaining species. We would definitely recommend it. We will probably come back for a night tour of the turtles nesting on the beach.

We had a great day at Tortuguero National Park. Edgar was fantastic and a lot of fun. Breakfast and Lunch were great! We saw Crocs, Iguanas, Toucans, Frogs and more.

Great one-day tour of Tortuguero from anywhere in San José. I had visited Tortuguero over 25 years ago, and it was not an enjoyable experience to say the least. When my son wanted to go, I decided to book with Trip Advisor this time! Everything met or exceeded expectations. Our guide, Arturo, was kind, patient, and funny. Our boat guide, Ronny, knew the canals like the back or his hand and spoke English, Spanish, and Spider Monkey! We saw Spider monkeys, green macaws, a Kingfisfer bird, around 10 toucans of two different species, a huge crocodile basking on a log, as well as iguanas, other lizards, and birds. And, we saw a coati/pizote on the way back to San José, passing through Braulio Carrillo National Park. My only complaint is this- the breakfast could have been better and bigger for the price, but the lunch was quite good.

This was a long day, but definitely worth the travel to get there from San Jose. Our tour guide Jose was amazing at spotting wildlife, always pointing it out and helping us see them and take photos, both on the drive and in the park. We saw sloths, monkeys, birds, and lizards, plus some cool mushrooms. The town was really interesting, and the food we got for lunch was by far my favorite food that I've had on a tour (I got jerk chicken and rice). We also got to spend a bit of time on the beach and saw the sea turtle nests, which was nice too. There is a bit of a walk up a good amount of stairs, so just be prepared for that. And definitely bring and use bug spray here!

The tour guide I think his name was Roberto and he was very informative and sharp eyes. He help to make the river and rain forest exciting for the entire tour.

We had an incredible tour with Jerry as our guide again! He was so knowledgeable of the area and incredibly accommodating. Our breakfast and lunch spot was delicious and everyone was so friendly. The boat tour was private, so we had a huge boat to just two couples. We saw so many animals on the tour - red and green macaws, toucans, monkeys, crocodiles, bats, and more! The hike up to the view above tortuguero was about 500 steps, but the view is incredible. We would recommend this tour if you are wanting to visit Tortuguero…which you should!!!

We had a wonderful day at the park. Edgar was very courteous and helpful tour guide. The boat ride thru the canals is the highlight. Able to spot many iguanas and one caiman. Enjoyed good food and tour of the town. Be prepared for 400 stair but worth it for a beautiful view point.

The tour guide is a very knowledgeable and guy! The whole trip was perfect! We saw so many wild creatures on the boat trip. The Tortuguero hill view is such an amazing one! For everyone visiting Costa Rica, Tortuguero park is a place you should never miss!

being stood up on one of our tours and days that ran 16 hours. i will be in touch not happy want contact with u

Great guide (Charlton), amazing views in tortuguero. The tour I liked the most in Costa Rica. Very expensive, though.

Breakfast and lunch took too long. I rather they gave us free time to walk around the tourist spot. Breakfast was ok, lunch was more delicious. Unfortunately we didn’t see anything amazing on our day and it was really hot. Note: bathroom requires 1 dollar each use when you get to the park.

Incredible journey through the waterways of an incredible national park. Our guide was great. Highly recommend.

The tour guide was very good and made extra effort to show us as many animals on the way. The boat operator was very good. This tour should be done only during the turtles egg laying season.

Long but very worthwhile trip. The trip was a unique experience visiting tortguero national park, experiencing the sights and sounds of the area. Edgardo (our tour guide/driver) was superb, a great personality and very knowledgeable. What’s more he makes the trip fun. Would highly recommend.

We had a very personalized experience with our guide Arturo. He was very knowledgeable about the plants and wildlife. He made several stops to explain the species and for us to take pictures. The boat drivers were very hospitable as well. The village was very small but it felt like we rushed through the village. We could have stayed a little longer to explore it. Overall it was a very good experience and I would highly recommend Arturo.

Great experience! So happy we decided to go. Manual the guide was professional, friendly and very informative. His friendly driver provided, good safe transportation on a very dicey route to and from the Torguero National Park.

I went on this trip with my mom and we had a great time! We ended up having a different tour company cancel our trip last minute, but Destiny Travel was super accommodating and allowed us to switch our original tour to an earlier date. The tour itself was wonderful, we saw all sorts of wildlife including: Toucans, red frogs, iguanas, Caymans, hummingbirds, spider monkeys, and a three-toed sloth! The 500 stair climb might be difficult for some, so that might be something to keep in mind, but we enjoyed the view from the top even though it was pretty cloudy. Tortuguero was a really cute town and the lunch we had was delicious and very filling. The only downside to our trip was the van... if you're on the larger/taller side you're likely going to feel a little cramped. The AC also didn't work well and the back window was stuck and wouldn't open, so the van felt pretty hot and stuffy for most of the day.

Ricardo is an excellent tour guide who is knowledgeable about Costa Rica, its flora & fauna. He and the driver did a wonderful job of finding wildlife. The tour was great as we could experience the costa Rica nature in one day. Driving through a national park, we saw sloths and monkeys. Then a boat tour along the river and the lagoon. We saw different types of birds, iguanas, caimans and beautiful emerald basilisk. We also walked in the rain forest where we discovered 3 toucans flying through, some poisonous tiny red frogs and a little venomous snake. We then climbed up 440 steps (SHOULD specify in the tour description & restrictions so people with health issues will take note of it!!!) onto the top to enjoy the view of the ocean and the lagoon. We also walked on the beach before enjoying a Costa Rican lunch. All and all, this tour is worth going. it is a memorable one to experience nature in different ways.

This was a long day but we were well cared for. All questions answered, every opportunity taken to show the answer when possible. Travel company did exactly what they said they would do.

Ended up getting a private tour with our guide, Ricardo. He was knowledgeable and enthusiastic, pointing out many animals and plants on the tour. Lucked out and had a beautiful day in Tortuguero! There were so many animal sightings, including crocodiles, turtles, a poisonous frog, and both howler and spider monkeys. The hike was beautiful and the ascent to the viewpoint at the top of the volcano was challenging but doable with stairs. The village of Tortuguero was picturesque and lunch was absolutely delicious. My husband couldn't stop praising the fish plate and the fresh watermelon juice hit the spot. Be sure to use bug repellant, though. Highly recommended!

Small group, very lovely guide. Very interesting natur and animals, insects. All perfect! Recomended!

The animals were awesome. Our guide Aturo was the best, he found so many animals. The driver was very professional.