Tortuguero is one of the most remote places in Costa Rica and is only accessible by boat or plane. The major public road/river routes to get here are through Moín (close to Limón), La Pavona (north of Cariari) and Caño Blanco (accessible through Siquirres).
There is an inexpensive public bus/boat route that can be used to get from San Jose to Tortuguero. Take the 9:00AM bus from from San Jose to Cariari, which leaves from the Gran Caribe bus terminal. The bus arrives at the long distance bus terminal in Cariari around 11:00AM. Walk 5 blocks north to the local bus terminal and buy a bus/boat combination ticket to Tortuguero via La Pavona. This bus leaves at 12:00PM and takes you to the river at La Pavona, where you transfer to a water taxi that will reach Tortuguero around 3:00PM. To return, catch the 11:30AM water taxi from Tortuguero and follow these directions in reverse. The total cost one-way should be around $12 -- $2 for the bus to Cariari and $10 for the bus/water-taxi combo. Beware of touts selling packaged trips along the way, who will tell you that the boats aren't running, the hotels are full, the route isn't safe, and so on -- anything to get you to buy into their "deals". Touts also meet the water taxi in Tortuguero and will offer to "help" you find a hotel.
A quicker but more expensive option is to fly into Tortuguero. Both Sansa and Nature Air offer daily flights from San José. The Sansa flight departs from the domestic terminal of Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) at 5:45AM and arrives in Tortuguero at 6:43AM after a stopover at Barra del Colorado. Nature Air flies out of Tobias Bolanos International Airport (SYQ) in Pavas at 6:15AM and arrives in Tortuguero at 6:45AM.
If you choose to stay at one of the lodges, land/water transportation to and from Tortuguero is usually included in the rates.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Tortuguero
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Tortuguero - updated May 2024
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Tortuguero Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
