National Park Tortuguero: An Amazing Experience
The National Park Tortuguero in Costa Rica: wow! Just wow!
When we first started planning our Costa Rica trip ... okay forget that, we didn't plan at all! If you've been following our blog and our adventures on Instagram, you'll know by now that Costa Rica wasn't on our original plans. The National Park of Tortuguero wasn't either.
But wow, we are so happy that we did check it out! And yes, visiting Costa Rica in October is totally worth it - especially when you're interested in turtle-stuff!
Have fun reading through the amazing experiences we had in the National Park of Tortuguero!
Read more | 10 days in Costa rica itinerary for epic trips
The National Park of Tortuguero
The National Park Tortuguero in a nutshell
The towns of Tortuguero and San Francisco
Civilisation in the National Park of Tortuguero
It's probably the only bit of civilisation you'll find in the National Park: the villages of Tortuguero and San Francisco.
Tortuguero is the main town of roughly 1500 inhabitants with a very Afro-Caribbean flair in normal times.
In Covid19-times, it is extremely quiet though as both Tortuguero and the neighbouring village of San Francisco rely almost exclusively on eco-tourism.
San Francisco is even smaller with only about 90 residents and lies at about 40 km from the borders with Nicaragua.
Accessibility
Both towns are only reachable by boat or small airplanes - no roads leading to them.
Which means that there are no cars here. People just walk or ride a bike. And almost every household possesses a boat.
Tortuguero and San Francisco communicate through several canals - funny thing: they even have 'road-signs'. These canals between lagoons and streams are partly natural but some were built by a woodworking industry in the 1940s.
Incredible fauna and flora
Dense rainforests and the canals protected an area that could develop an impressive fauna and flora without being disturbed by men: more than half of Costa Rica's bird species and reptiles elected this area to be their home.
Caimans, leguans, parrots, toucans, sloths, crocodiles, several monkey types and even manatees! This is what you can expect when visiting this magnificent park.
And then there is THE highlight that is at the base of the National Park's name: Tortuguero - 'land of turtles' or 'turtle catcher'.
Read on to find out why this experience almost beats the nature experiences I had in Patagonia.
Reptiles everywhere
No, the river is not suited for swimming. Although we didn't see one, crocodiles like to patrol up and down the canals in search for food.
We did meet a few caimans, though! They're way smaller but have pretty sharp teeth as well...
The main reptile that attracted us were obviously the turtles. Tortuguero's beaches are very popular among 4 different species of turtles:
- Green Sea turtle
- Hawksbill
- Leatherback
- Loggerhead
Turtle nesting
While the Green Sea turtle and the Hawksbill nest from July to October, the Leatherback only show up from February to April. The latter are also pretty difficult to spot.
Back when the area wasn't a protected reserve yet, the locals used to feed on turtle flesh. Not because it was particularly tasty, no. But because it was supposed to have a lot of beneficial properties.
In other countries, turtle soup was considered a delicacy so they hunted them in order to sell the meat as well.
Actually, they did that for most of the animals in the reserve as our host explained - he did so too when he was younger.
Born and raised in the area (in the jungle very close to Nicaragua), he had to turn around his whole life-vision in order to adapt to the new rules and became a tourist-guide instead of a wildlife-hunter.
More on him below!
Read more | Costa Rica in October: a good time to visit
How to get to the National Park of Tortuguero
There are regular busses, shuttles and taxis that will bring you from the capital San José to the 'embarcadero', the wharf, of La Pavona. Just pick whichever you like.
Like I previously said, the towns of Tortuguero and San Francisco are only reachable through the canals or by means of small airplanes.
We had our own rental-car so we drove up to the 'embarcadero' ourselves. Arriving here, a boat captain was already waiting for us, having been sent by the hotel.
Don't worry about the movement of the boats. I generally try to avoid getting seasick as I'm sensitive but this river is very smooth.
Good to know:
Timetable: There is a timetable indicating when boats leave the 'embarcadero' but the times may change nonetheless
The boat might leave half an hour early or even way later - get there in time to check with the boat captain
Cost: We paid 8,50 € (10 US $) per person for a return-ticket
Duration: about 1 hour
We had planned to arrive at noon as the boat was supposed to leave at 12.30 pm. Ultimately, it was 1 pm before we finally moved.
And weren't the only ones making the journey but by the looks of it, the only tourists.
Locals use the same boats to travel from Tortuguero to the mainland and back, usually bringing back lots of stuff they bought there. They even tried to squeeze in a huge fridge but it didn't fit...
Nope, that's not our stuff
Very inviting river
Empty boats waiting for passengers
Where to stay
Endless possibilities... not.
Not much choice here, right?
Obviously, it will be either Tortuguero or San Francisco. You could stay in San José and drive the 116 km to the embarcadero La Pavona or take the bus and only do a day-trip.
Just know that you'll be on the road for about 4 to 5 hours only to spend a few hours in Tortuguero National Park.
That would be enough for just one of the several amazing activities to do there.
To get the whole experience, stay at least one night! But two nights would be ideal.
Tortuguero hotels or San Francisco lodges?
Like I said, San Francisco has about 90 residents. But they do have a few lodges or 'cabinas' plus a handful of restaurants.
While Tortuguero has naturally a more active and vibrant life and therefore more hotels as well, you should stay in San Francisco if you want to escape the crowds.
Plus you ain't coming to the National Park of Tortuguero to do a city-trip or stay at your hotel, right? So dive deeper into the rainforest by staying in San Francisco we'd say.
If you do want to stay in Tortuguero, check out the prices below*:
*these are affiliate links which means we earn a teeny tiny commission every time you book through one of our links at no additional cost to you.
The most lovely lodge: Chinitas Eco Lodge
Admittedly, as we are travelling on a budget, we didn't look for the most chic accommodation. But chic isn't to be expected in any kind of place in this reserve.
But you do find natural charm. And a lot of it!
When we booked our stay at the Chinitas Eco Lodge in San Fransisco, we didn't expect luxury. And yes, the rooms were basic. But what more than a clean room with a good shower and a functioning toilet do you need when staying in the rainforest?
And staying at the Chinitas Eco Lodge was an experience on itself. Look at that garden! Look at the cosy hammocks! Look at that cute restaurant area!
Oh and it all started so well already with a refreshing welcome-drink!
Ana Rita and Gerardo, a couple of septuagenarian born and raised in the area were the most lovely and caring hosts we had so far.
Chinitas Eco Lodge: feeling at home in the jungle
Whether it was for a visit to the canals or an organised tour or even providing us with food, Ana Rita and Gerardo were there for us.
In these difficult times with that virus decimating their income-stream, they still did their best to be the greatest hosts possible.
The Covid-crisis and solidarity
This is where we also experienced how people severely hit by the crisis experience it: even though they have no income whatsoever without the tourists, they are persuaded that the measures taken by the government are 'hard but necessary'.
It caused the residents of San Francisco to develop a beautiful form of solidarity: the few tourists coming are currently 'shared' by the different establishments.
This meant that on our first day, Ana Rita ordered food at one of the local restaurants for us, El Bambú.
The second day, at noon, it was her who cooked - which in normal times would be every day. And in the evening, she sent us to another one of the local restaurants, Lao's Place.
And every lodge/guesthouse/restaurant does the same.
Highlights of our stay in the Tortuguero National Park
So what can you expect to do when visiting Tortuguero?
Prepare for incredible nature experiences that already start when doing the trip from the embarcadero La Pavona to Tortuguero village: we saw caimans, lots of birds and really cool trees on the way.
Arriving in San Francisco, after having our welcome drink, we just went for a little walk in the town, all the way to the Caribbean Sea.
We encountered spider-monkeys, very friendly locals (seriously, everybody is super polite!) and already an impressive jungle-vibe.
It was also pretty cool to see where the Tortuguero river and the Caribbean Sea meet - a very particular backdrop.
To top the day off, we just chilled and worked a bit on the hammocks - the wifi at the Chinitas was good!
Paved paths in San Francisco de Tortuguero
Outside of the village, the jungle
The turtle beach and the sea in the back
Exploring Central America's Amazonas
The next morning, we had a yummy breakfast Ana Rita prepared for us: the typical 'tico' Gallo Pinto. 'Ticos' are Costa-Ricans. And 'Gallo Pinto' is a traditional dish of rice with beans and eggs.
Then we headed out with Gerardo on his own little boat to explore the canals of Tortuguero.
Tortuguero's fauna
We saw so many animals! Birds, mostly. Herons, Ibis, some yellow bird I can't remember the name of with tiny chicks, parrots, toucans and so many more.
Then the monkeys: we saw both spider-monkeys and white-faced Capuchins! And we heard to Mono Congo, the howler-monkey. Meaning we only missed one of the 4 monkey-species there are in Costa Rica: the squirrel monkey.
Sadly, we didn't get to see a manatee as they hide under water during the day. But we did see a few very big caimans!
It was a wet experience
So many interesting birds
Hello there, Capuchin
When you spot it...
Tortuguero's flora
Gerardo took us to places that really made us forget that we were NOT in the Amazonas! Eerily beautiful!
Despite the rain (that's what you get for travelling to Costa Rica in October), we had a blast and the experience was amazing. And the sun even came out at the end of the trip and we were completely dry once we arrived at Tortuguero village.
We stopped there in order to get a feel for the 'bigger' town in the National Park of Tortuguero. Gerardo showed us the main places - their recycling-centre is pretty impressive! They take this issue very seriously!
And he told us a bit about the history and how live changes in the 1970s when the whole area came under protection.
Good to know:
In order to visit the canals, you'll have to book the permit online from the Sinac. This was about 12,80 € (15 US$) per person.
Gerardo had another 17 € (20 US$) for the guiding-services.
Back to the lodge for a bit of chill-time
While doing so, we had a cute little visitor: a tame little Mealy parrot that visits Ana Rita in the kitchen from time to time.
She prepared a yummy 'casado', which is also a traditional tico dish very similar to the Gallo Pinto. Only that you get meat, chicken or fish instead of the egg and a bit more greens like a salad and 'pico de gallo' (a sauce of tomato cubes, onions and chili).
A little too much cilantro for my taste - to me it tastes like soap (google it, there's apparently a scientific reason for that, linked to genetics) - but other than that really good.
The name 'casado' means 'married' and is actually the cheapest dish you get in Costa Rica.
Hello there, buddy!
Ana Rita's homemade casado
Food = happy Sebi
Baby-turtles on the move
Being spontaneous is key
As we were preparing ourselves for the night activity, at about 4 pm, Gerardo came to see if we wanted to hop over to the turtles-beach to check if we could find some baby-turtles hatching.
It was rather spontaneous and we didn't know beforehand what it would cost - but we just went for it.
Good to know:
It turned out that this activity was about 8,50 € (10 US$) for the both of us - which isn't much considering that he took us there on his boat and spent about 2 hours with us.
Turtle hatching at night
As I already told you, turtles nest at that particular beach from February til October. The hatching only takes place approximately 60 days after each nesting.
Also, they typically hatch but stay near the egg for a few hours until it gets dark. First, because they have less predators waiting for them during the night. And secondly, the sand can get extremely hot through the sun.
So we absolutely didn't know if we were going to see anything at all.
Don't disturb the baby turtles!
If you plan on going for a turtle-hatching-watch, do exactly that: watch. Don't touch them as this can severely endanger them. And don't direct any kind of light at them if you do this at night.
Once the baby-turtles manage to get out of their egg, they run straight towards the sea once it's time.
During the night, they only manage to see a large white line that guides them - that's the sea. So when you light on them, it'll disorient them and they won't know what direction to run.
Don't touch or carry the baby turtles!
Also, baby sea turtles imprint on the sand where they hatched. This serves as a gps in order for them to find their way back to the same beach once they're adults and ready to nest!
That's very impressive as they migrate for very long distances between their primary feeding grounds and the nesting beaches.
Also, if you touch them, you could destroy the white dot they have on their belly. This dot is actually what hold their food they'll need for the next few days to survive.
The sad reality
Of all the babies hatching (if the eggs weren't eaten already by snakes or other predators), only one in 1.000 makes it to the sea.
Once they arrive, the struggle ain't over as there are even more predators in the water.
Which means that in total, only one in about 10.000 turtles reaches adulthood. But when they do, they're up for a looong life: they have a natural lifespan of 50 to 100 years.
Once they reach the sea, they'll have to get to their hiding and feeding ground, several kilometres into the water. This is where they will hide until they reach about 20 cm and their shell is hard enough for them to fight off attacking fish.
They are insanely cute and super fast!!
Look at them go!! We were lucky enough to watch a few reaching the sea!
And yes, it's kind of hard not to interfere and we probably did a little bit nevertheless: as long as we were there, the big birds didn't dare to come closer - so we might have helped the natural selection a tiny bit.
But yes, we saw lots of babies that didn't make it and it breaks your heart a little. But that's nature!
How cute is this??
The sad reality...
Almost there, little guy!
Fun fact
Scientists refer to the time between the 20 cm and reaching the nesting-age as 'the lost years': they have no clue where they go or what they do in the years in-between.
They tried to put tracking devices on them but as the turtle grows, those things fall off.
Only when they reach the nesting-age after 20 to 30 years do they reappear and can they be follow and their behaviour analysed again.
Back to the lodge
After having seen these cute little thingies, we were over the moon already.
Our next activity was already planned, though: we were going to come back to that same beach later at night.
So we went out for dinner at Lao's Place to have some tasty 'patacones' and pulled porc. Patacones are actually fried chips made of pressed sweet plantain - you'll get them a lot in Costa Rican food and they're SO yummy!
Mama-turtle in labour?
The 'turtle-spotter'
At about 10 pm, we were waiting by wharf of the lodge again: Owen, a conservationist from the Sea Turtle Conservancy was already waiting for us.
He took us to the beach where we waited for a 'turtle-spotter' to give news if there where any mama-turtles in the area.
While doing so, Owen told us many very interesting facts about the turtles you can encounter on these beaches - amongst which basically everything I already told you about the baby-turtles and the hatching.
One being that the 'turtle-spotter' was necessary in order not to disturb mama-turtle while she's making her nest.
Because if you do, if you get there too early while she is still digging it, she'll just walk away, get back to the sea and wait for another moment to do her business in peace.
Mama turtle's trance
Once the nest is ready, mama turtle begins to lay her eggs. While doing so, she gets into a state of trance of which she will only get out once she's finished - or if you touch her tail.
And we were lucky: a magnificent (but sadly endangered) Green Sea turtle was ready to show off her work. Judging from the size, Owen told us that she was still pretty young, probably around 30-35 years - her shell was more than 1 m, though!
Her being in a state of trance meant that we were able to sit right next to her, watching her closely and she wouldn't even look up!
But: you'll have to stay at her behind and the conservationist will only shine that part with a red light. Bright light especially in her face will get her out of her trance.
Fun fact
Why is are they called Green Sea turtle when their shell isn't green at all?
This actually is because of the fat underneath that shell that gives a green colour when you cook turtle-soup for example...
So many eggs...
A mama turtle can lay hundreds of eggs at a time. If she only lays a few and then closes the nest already, this means that she did enough nesting for this year and she won't come back until it's time again.
If the nest is about half-full, she will come back in the next few days to lay some more in another nest.
Interesting facts we learned during the process
The slime that surrounds the eggs protects them from bacteria.
The temperature is what determines the sex of the future turtle babies: when a mama only wants to make male babies, she'll choose cooler sands for example closer to the surrounding fauna.
If they're supposed to be females, the nest will be more on the open beach where the sand is warmer.
Also, about half of the eggs she lays in one sitting are not fertilised and will never develop into turtles.
Fun fact
Turtle mamas are sperm hoarders! They don't always need a male to fertilise their eggs. Once they're done mating, mama turtle can store the sperm for several years.
That sperm can also be used as a nutrient-delivery when needed and she can fertilise her eggs whenever she needs.
Covering up the eggs
We watched the whole egg-laying process and how she started to cover up the eggs.
But we didn't stay long enough to see how she goes back to the water as this covering-up process can take up to one hour.
And there is really not much more to see during that hour haha. However, we loved this experience so much that we decided that this would certainly not be the last time we did this!
And next time, we'll make sure to come a bit earlier with the chance of several turtles laying eggs at once. October is already end of the nesting-season so the visits of mama turtles get scarce.
Good to know:
For this experience, we paid 17 € (20 US$) per person for a two-hours expedition.
At first glance, this might seem a lot but considering how many interesting facts you get and how incredible this experience is, it's totally worth it!
Conclusion: memories for life
After this experience, we went back to the lodge and had a good night sleep. We had a lovely breakfast again next morning with a beautiful view on the sun-soaked river and went back by boat to the mainland - saw a lot of wildlife again on the way.
Waiting for our ride
All three experiences were incredible and we would absolutely do it again! We created memories for life in the National Park of Tortuguero.
So far, Costa Rica really conquered our hearts!
Stay tuned for more guides on this beautiful country!
Pura Vida!
xx
Cyn
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