Tortuguero Costa Rica:
Located 52 miles northwest of Limon on the Caribbean coast, Costa Rica's Tortuguero National Park is the perfect blend of ecotourism adventure and coastal paradise. While the Costa Rica park holds limitless natural attractions, Tortuguero National Park's vast, protected beaches are most celebrated as one of the world's best places to glimpse nesting sea turtles and their tiny, scampering babies.
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Admission to Tortuguero National Park:
$7 US. Four-day passes are $10. Pay at the Cuatro Esquinas ranger station at the south end of Tortuguero Village.
Size:
Tortuguero Costa Rica is 47,000 acres plus 129,000 marine acres
Landscape:
Tortuguero is composed of tropical lowland rainforest, mangrove, marsh, and of course, beach and marine.
Wildlife:
The biodiversity of Tortuguero National Park is hardly paralleled, even in Costa Rica. While Tortuguero is primarily famous for its nesting hawksbill, leatherback and green sea turtles, visitors also commonly spot caiman, iguanas, bats, capuchin, spider and howler monkeys, and hundreds of bird species like macaws and toucans. Lucky observers might find jaguars, ocelots and manatees. Know that you're exponentially more likely to see the park's most remarkable creatures if you hire an experienced guide.
Getting to Tortuguero Costa Rica:
Costa Rica airline NatureAir offers flights to Tortuguero from Costa Rica cities like San Jose and Tamarindo. By land, you can book a minibus from San Jose by calling a Tortuguero tour operator; or opt for the much cheaper Costa Rica public buses, which head to Tortuguero from all corners of Costa Rica via Limon.
Travel Tips:
The best time to observe Tortuguero National Park's nesting sea turtles is at night. Authorized guides are necessary to visit the park after 6pm; book one from your hotel, or at the booth in Tortuguero Village.
Tortuguero Village is where you'll find the area's restaurants and lodging. For $2 a day, daring adventurers can camp at the Ranger Station or the park's administration headquarters (but not in Tortuguero National Park itself).
Walk or hike the full length of Tortuguero beach in the daytime. You can also explore the less-traveled regions of the park with a canoe or kayak – rent from the Save the Manatee Foundation in Tortuguero Village.
Tortuguero can be buggy. Bring extra insect repellent, or suffer a curse of itching.
Fun Fact:
The name "Tortuguero" means either "Region of Turtles" or "Turtle Catcher". Fortunately, Tortuguero Costa Rica is a sanctuary for the endangered creatures, and turtle catchers (and killers) are severely punished.
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