Things to Do in Tortuguero

Explore Tortuguero on our travel blog

Fishing for giant tarpon in nearby Barra del Colorado and evening turtle tours along Tortuguero’s deserted beaches are just a couple of the area’s exciting activities. Travelers can arrange boat tours though the canals of Tortuguero National Park, where 14 species of heron nest in the dense gallery forest.

Alternatively, visitors can opt for an all-inclusive package with one of the riverfront lodges in Tortuguero. Two to four-day trips include roundtrip transportation from San Jose, meals, guided tours and lodging. Tours generally include your choice of a canal boat tour, guided hike, or Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) walking tour.

Air Activities: 

Canopy Tours
There are three zip-line canopy tours in the Tortuguero area that offer suspension bridges, a challenging scaling wall, canopy-top platforms, and the thrill of the Tarzan swing. Canopy tours last roughly 90 minutes, depending on the number of people, and are safe for children as young as four years old.

Land Activities: 

Bird and Wildlife Watching
A system of navigable canals and lagoons in Tortuguero National Park provide the perfect habitat for tiger herons, toucans, anhingas, great blue and little blue herons, and the northern jacana. Common sightings include two and three-toed sloths, basilisk lizards, green iguanas, caimans, toucanets, river turtles,  as well as spider and white-faced monkeys.

Less common are great green macaws, tapirs, jaguars and manatees, though all call Tortuguero their home. Guides are highly recommended for a full wildlife experience.

Visitors to the nearby Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge can observe the migration of bull sharks from the Caribbean Sea upriver to Lake Nicaragua, a phenomenon peculiar to the San Juan River.

Camping
Camping is permitted at the Cuatro Esquinas Ranger Station inside Tortuguero National Park. The cost is $2 per day and potable water and restrooms are available.

Hiking
Several hiking trails meander through humid rainforest in Tortuguero National Park:

- Cuatro Esquinas Ranger Station: El Gavilan Trail (Hawk Trail) is the primary public trail. It winds between the forest and the beach for 1.2 miles behind the station.  Two other trails, La Ceiba and La Bomba, ascend Cerro de Tortuguero (Tortuguero Hill). Call in advance to determine if trails are open to the general public.

- Jalova Ranger Station:  The Toucan Trail begins at the station and parallels the Cano Negro waterway.

- Aguas Frias Ranger Station: There is a scenic lookout point at the Lomas del Sierpe (1,000 feet), accessible by the Los Raudales Nature Trail.

Turtle Tours
Tortuguero National Park is home to four species of sea turtles and its protected beaches comprise the largest nesting site for the green sea turtle in the Western Hemisphere. The green sea turtle season runs from July 1 - October 31. Loggerhead turtles appear in smaller numbers around the same time. The leatherback (the largest turtle in the world) nests from March - May, and the hawksbill's nesting season runs from March - October.

Visitors can arrange evening turtle tours with a licensed guide either in the village or with one of the all-inclusive lodges. Groups are limited to a maximum of ten people and depart at 8 p.m. or 10 p.m. Please note that cameras, video and flash photography are prohibited on night turtle tours. Turtles are extremely sensitive to ambient light, and rangers and biologists want to keep our impact to a minimum.

Turtle tour tickets are sold at the information kiosk in Tortuguero village and cost $15 per person. Turtle tours cost $35 per person when purchased at one of the lodges. A significant portion of tour proceeds go toward turtle protection efforts.

Water Activities: 

Canal Tours
Board a flat-bottomed boat and motor slowly through Tortuguero’s winding canals in search of riverside wildlife. Canal boat tours, with their quiet motors, offer the opportunity to see an abundance of birds and other wildlife in a short period of time. Most river lodges include a canal tour in their popular two to four-night all-inclusive packages.

Canoeing or Kayaking
The dark water canals of Tortuguero National Park are ideal for kayaking and canoeing. Four aquatic trails – Tortuguero River, Harold Canal, Chiquero Canal and Mora Canal – snake through the park and offer the best opportunity for bird and wildlife watching. A three-hour boat tour of the park’s canals costs about $25 with a local guide.

Sport Fishing
Tortuguero’s winding canals and river mouths leading out to the sea lend themselves perfectly to both ocean and inshore fishing. The Atlantic Ocean teems with 80+ pound tarpon, barracuda, grouper, king fish, mackerel, snapper and snook, while the freshwater canals are known for machaca (a relative of the piranha), mojarra, rainbow bass, snook and sometimes tarpon. Billfish, including Atlantic sailfish and Atlantic blue marlin, are common February through September.

Nearby Barra del Colorado, just an hour’s boat ride north, is known for some of the best tarpon and snook fishing in all of Costa Rica. It is the only spot where 100-plus pound tarpon can be taken throughout the year at the mouth of the Rio Colorado. Anglers can also catch mojarra, guapote, jack crevalle, barracuda and fat Caribbean snook.

Several lodges in Barra del Colorado cater to sport fishermen and offer fishing packages including transportation from San Jose, lodging, meals, guide and several chartered fishing excursions.

Back to Top