After spending hours researching and reading many posts on this forum, I think we have decided how to spend our first trip to CR. We will be traveling in early September for @ 7 nights. Understanding it is the green season, we are opting for the Caribbean side—Tortuguero and Puerto Viejo.

Arrive in San Jose @ 11:30 am—do we stay the day/night or travel on to Tortuguero? Anticipate staying two nights there.

How do we get from Tortuguero to PV? And back to SJ for departure?

Please ring in on lodging we are considering:
In Tortuguero Pachira or Casa Marabella or Turtle Beach Lodge?
In PV: Banana Azul or Azania Bungalows?
In SJ: Orquideras Inn/

If I am really off with any of this please let me know. All comments most welcome! Many thanks.

Can't comment on Tortugero, but both Azania and Banana Azul are great. We have more love for Banana Azul, but Azania is nice as well. With Azania you have the restaurant (which we thought was just ok and overpriced), a nice pool, just across from the beach, walking distance to PV and biking to beaches and Manzanillo, a somewhat reserved staff, lovely bungalows. At Banana Azul you have the most wonderful staff/owners, great breakfast and I think they serve dinner now too, gorgeous lodge and grounds and coy/turtle ponds, just about on the beach, several cool dogs you can take to the beach with you, walking distance to PV and biking distance to Manzanillo ( little longer than Azania since it's on the north end of PV whereas Azania's on the south).

Orchideas is very nice, great food and cool bar, wonderful pool, nice place to chill 1st and last night.

For your Tortuguero portion, won't your question as to whether to stay first night in San Jose be defined by the tour operator you choose to take you there? From what I understand you have to either fly or go via boat, hotels and tour operators offer different packages, but since there are no roads you don't drive yourself to an area and wait to be picked up.

We're going there for the first time, first night San Jose at the Don Carlos where Fran Watson will pick us up the next morning for the Riverboat Francesca 3 day/2 night package with Laguna Lodge.

Many Tortuguero tour operators only pick up at certain San Jose area hotels.

Orquideas Inn gets great reviews on this forum for first/last night lodging near airport.

julierose:

We stayed at the Pachira Lodge and it was fine. They handle a lot of people and it is pretty much a people mill with mass meal sittings and tour packages.

However, their tour guides, river and jungle were excellent.

We were picked up at our hotel by a smaller transfer and met a larger bus [owned and operated by Pachira] then driven to their lodge. Breakfast stop on the way was included.

We took their bus back, but one way ride would have been sufficient. Other people flew out of Tortuguero and next time I would do the same.

Our travel [two months] in Costa Rica was worked out by Swiss Travel, head office just outside of San Jose.

They were the best we have ever experienced and I would highly recommend them if you do not already have an agent.

We found the Ticos very friendly, accommodating and exceptionally hard workers. Some taxi rip offs.

No matter what your vacation choices are I am sure you will have a very good time.

Good luck,

Woodie

Thanks so much for the tips. Any other suggestions for staying in Tortuguero? Also, since we won't have a vehicle there, how do we travel to PV? Thanks again.

We stayed at Mawamba Lodge in Tortuguero and really enjoyed it. We took the bus-boat there, and flew back.

Tortuguero has a small airport. We flew Tortuguero-SJO. I don't know if you can fly from Tortuguero to Limon, and if so how you then get to PV. You can probably also take a boat a good part of the way, but I don't know how you arrange that. You could probably fly Tortuguero-SJO-Limon on Nature Air and rent a car in Limon, but that seems like a bit of a hassle. Take a look at the Nature Air schedule.

Sorry I can't be more help.

Colibri`s suggestion a good one. I don`t think you beat Fran and Modesto Watson and the Riverboat Francesca for tour guides. Fabulous. They`ve been in the area for more than 20 years and he is native Mosquito Coast Nica. Very knowledgeable. They are kind and gracious and fun. Laguna Lodge is a bit basic, but liked it just fine. Hotel Don Carlos is in an excellent location for see downtown San Jose in the daylight hours. Everything worth seeing (almost) is nearby.

Everything else sounds good. We liked Azania Bungalows, didn`t eat there. . .too many other very good places nearby (Totem, La Pecora Nera). Ask for Walter is you`d like a great massage. I think they have his card in the lobby at Azania. We love biking that area.

You will have to spend the first night in San Jose. All of the lodges offer transportation as part of their packages. But it is a very early pick up from your San Jose hotel.

Regarding Tortuguero? I don't know anything about Marbella. Pachira is very reputable. But they have absorbed the adjoining lodges, and have become a huge complex. My guests have complained that the service is impersonal. I am glad to hear that they are using "feeder" vans to fill the buses. That was a complaint that one of my own Costa Rican staff members had when she went to inspect them a couple of years ago. She spent two hours on a bus riding around to different hotels in San Jose.

I did an inspection of Turtle Beach last year. The staff and management seemed like very nice folks. But I found the lodge to be pretty isolated. ALL of the accommodations in this area are a little basic. But this was even more so.

My favorite lodge in the Tortuguero area is Mawamba Lodge. They tend to offer smaller groups and I have always found that they offered good service. Plus, they are only a short walk away from the little village there. If you aren't on a tour, you can wander into town for a little local flavor. I think you get the most bang for your buck here.

The best way to get to Puerto Viejo would be to arrange transport from the take out point when you leave the lodge. For Mawamba, we usually arrange for our guests to be met at their restaurant on the main highway. The tour stops for lunch on the way back to San Jose, and this is a good meeting point.

I have never inspected either of the hotels in Puerto Viejo, so I can't give you firsthand information. But it is funny you mention those two hotels. We tried to make reservations at Azania for some guests recently (at their request).

We found the reservations dept at Azania difficult to work with. Not unfriendly, just disorganized. We did not feel comfortable accepting money from our guests, for a property that did not seen to know if the reservation was confirmed from one day to the next. Or even remembered our conversations!

We finally gave up, and advised our guest that we needed to come up with another option. She made her own arrangements at Banana Azul, and is headed there in a week or so.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel professional)

Pat,
I'm curious, why do you recommend Mawanda over Tortuga Lodge? I thought Costa Rica Expeditions had a good operation there, and the lodge was newly renovated. We're trying to decide which to reserve.

If I can jump in, Pat what about Manatus Hotel?

to the OP, can only comment on Orquideas and I always stay there at least once a trip and always enjoy it. Great staff, reasonable rates and great restaurant. It's not fancy or anything, just a nice simple inn.

We just returned from our honeymoon and the first leg of our trip was San Jose to Puerto Viejo to Tortuguero. We stayed at the Hotel Don Carlos. We got picked up from the hotel at 6-something in the morning for our Pacuare rafting trip. If you are considering the rafting trip at all, Exploradores Outdoors offers free transportation from San Jose to Puerto Viejo. They lock up your luggage while you're rafting and breakfast and lunch are included. It's a WONDERFUL trip...and we're debating on whether that was our favorite activity. In Puerto Viejo, we stayed at Banana Azul for $69/night. I loved this place. It's right on the beach and all of the staff are great. One of the posters commented on traveling from Puerto Viejo (vs. San Jose) and I have to say, we had a challenge getting from Puerto Viejo. We spent about $50 for the cab ride to Moin (although I know you can take the bus to Limon and then to Moin). Then we took a water taxi from Moin to Tortuguero. This is a GREAT ride...it's just like the canal tour you get in Tortuguero, but longer. Our driver stopped to point out wildlife. Our problem came up when we missed our connection in Tortuguero (the town). We had reservations with Turtle Beach Lodge and they waited for us, but with all of the stops on the water taxi and a stop for lunch, we didn't make it on time. We went with Tropical Winds and I'll just say that they did not appear to care that we were going to miss our connection. They convinced us that they always kept to a certain schedule and the lodge boats would wait for us. We were supposed to arrive at 1:30 but he got us there at 2:20. Turtle Beach Lodge was great...we really enjoyed ourselves. Everything is included in the package price (including transportation from San Jose). So your itinerary is doable - just give yourself time for the transfers. Depending on your group size, you may want to look into a bus or shuttle from Puerto Viejo to Moin, but if it's just for two, the water taxi is good. Cost is $30 if you reserve it through Turtle Beach Lodge. Tropical Winds was charging everybody $40/pp when we arrived and I showed him an email from Christian (TBL) quoting $30/pp and they accepted that. Do the night turtle tour for an amazing experience...you can witness the turtle nesting. I think it's still going in September. Incredible!!

guti girl...I'm surprised, well, a little miffed actually, that Christian helped you with Transportation from PV. I asked him the same question and was told he couldn't help me with that.

As for flying in and out...Nature Air wrote me the end of July and told me they would have to cancel my reservation to Tortuguero because the air strip would be under repair until from July 19th?until December 15th. Sansa confirmed the strip would be closed (as did Turtle Beach Lodge) but had other dates. Last time I checked Nature Air didn't have anything about this closing on their website. Another poster told me they were recently in Tortuguero and saw the planes flying, but Sansa said it wouldn't be closed until August 5th. Quien sabe? Nature Air will, as they put it, "allow" me to ask for a refund! They could fly me still into Barra del Colorado, but I'd have to get boat transportation from there and Christian (TBL) said he couldn't help me with that either.

I must say though that Christian has been very cooperative helping me re-arrange travel arrangements from San Jose. When I made my flight reservation I also reserved a room, and paid for it, in a B&B very near the Tobias Bolanas airport where Nature Air flys from very early. By the time Nature Air told me they couldn't fly there, it was too late to get a refund for the room. Christian agreed to pick me up from there even though it isn't considered a downtown hotel. Please tell me I'm not going to spend hours running around picking up people at other hotels! I really regret not being able to fly in at least one way. This will be my first trip to Tortuguero, but having flown in the past to PJ, Drake Bay, and Liberia, I just love the excitement of seeing where I'm going from the air in those small planes! The coastlines are spectacular from up there. Really, If I had known about the airstip closing sooner I might have postponed my trip until next year. So, before you make any plans to fly in or out check with the airlines before you give them any money.

Bad experience at Orchideas for me 2
weeks ago was checked into 2 mildew
filled low/no A/C rooms chose to switch to

www.thealtahotel.com Escazu

$100/nt expedia.com

It was great...

Just a heads up hope your stay there
is better than mine...

Hi julierose!

I've read a lot on these forums as well and although people seem to love Orquideas Inn.. I also have some good, some bad things to say about it.

It's very pretty there, bright, exciting colors, lots of charm.. however, the linens and whatnot have been extremely worn (to the point of holes in them) both times we've been there which for me is a turn-off. I also found the restaurant average, not even that good, but pricey. That being said, the place has enough character that I would likely stay there again though it may not be my first choice.

For Pto. Viejo, I've also had some trouble booking with Azania, but it is one of the only locations I know of in the area with a pool. I personally liked Costa de Papito when I stayed there, but I haven't stayed at Banana Azul and have heard wonderful things about it so it would probably be one of my top choices if I were to return.

Tortuguero is one of my favorites without a doubt. Are you going for two nights? I have some friends that went with Fran and Modesto, and they said that although the experience was fun, they saw barely any wildlife on the trip up there. I have stayed at Laguna twice, but it seems that as time goes on they are more and more concerned with the quantity of guests they can get through and less with the quality of service they provide. The guides are good and it's not their fault that management is more concerned with the money making aspect. I am returning to Tortuguero in December and I am going to try out a different place, maybe Pachira, maybe Mawamba but I'm seriously considering Tortuga Lodge. I've been in contact with their staff and some people that have stayed there and loved it. When you go to Tortuguero I would recommend putting some money and time into finding a guide in town to take you out in a kayak or canoe.. you see so much more wildlife if you do that, it's way more bang for your buck. Cheers and good luck!