Hi,

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to CR in late October. We are interested in Tortuguero NP but are not thrilled about the idea of an all inclusive lodge as we are interested in some local culture, dining out, etc. Is it feasible to do it on our own, I have read some places that it would be more expensive. Any help, links, testimonials etc is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
S

You can do it on your own for less value

Take a boat from Moin but better to

work a deal with a nice place like Mawamba

locally owned

We stayed at Tortuga Lodge which has amazing food, so we didn't venture out for meals, but I've heard Miss Junie's is good. If you stay at one of the lodges, you'll have to take a boat into town to eat if you don't do the meal plans.

Be sure to take a guided tour of the canals and hike out at night to see the sea turtles. The wildlife in the area is incredible.

I think it is important to keep in mind that the "all inclusive" lodges in Tortuguero are nothing like the mega sized beach resorts that are found elsewhere. These lodges are mush smaller, and have a rustic feel. They employ local people and you are always free to explore the local village.

This is a remote area. The lodges combine transportation, tours, lodging and meals in order to take advantage of the economies of scale. I have always found these lodges to be a very good value, and they have their system down.

I am not trying to make this more complicated than it is. But it is time consuming to get in and out of here. This is not a part of the country where you want to miss a boat or a transfer. Once you are in Tortuguero, you need a boat to spot much of the nature. So you will end up hiring guides and boats anyway. The village is very small, and there are not that many dining options.

The lodges have reliable transportation and very good guides. Some of the lodges also offer a choice of transfers to or from Arenal and San Jose. You can go from one, and return to the other. It makes travel easier.

My advice is to wing it in other parts of the country. Take a two night package here, and avoid the hassle. I agree with qwovadis about Mawamba Lodge. We send our guests there almost exclusively. Locally owned, and well run. Nice folks too.

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

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
Travel Professional

Laguna Lodge and Turtle Beach Lodge are also very popular. None of these places are known for great food, but it's only for a couple of days. It didn't look like there were a lot of options for eating in town.

We never do tours and planned all of our trips to CR on our own, with the exception of Tortuguero. We did a two day package at Mawambe Lodge. It is on the Caribbean coast and an easy walk into the town. The lodging is rustic and the buffet style food is above average. Our package included 2 canal tours. The few hotels in town seemed very basic. I'd recommend going with a tour.

We had a 3 day/2 night package at Laguna Lodge in February and booked everything through Modesto Watson www.tortuguerocanals.com He's an excellent guide, can book you at any of the resorts. I wouldn't want to do Tortuguero on my own, too much of a hassle due to the remoteness and lack of transportation getting there.

It's an amazing place even when it's not turtle season. I personally wouldn't want to fly in or out because you miss three hours of canals and wildlife viewing, but I generally stay 3 weeks on each of my trips, so I have time for that.

Here is a link to my Tortuguero/Laguna Lodge photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brlacol...7615806699254/

Whatever you decide, enjoy this wonderful place!

I don't do all inclusive, but consider the Tortuguero packages more of a "tour" than AI, because their for a set amount of time and includes all the transportation and wildlife viewing, hiking, etc. whereas I tend to think of AI as more of lay around the pool eating and drinking indefinitely. It really does save on money to just book with your hotel and let them take it from there. You will want to do all of the things arranged in groups anyway and it will cost you more if you want to do privately.

There are a couple of places in town to eat, but it's a VERY small town, you can see it all in an hour really.

Like colibri, our vacations tend to be longer, but I did fly out the morning I left because I was connecting to a flight home. I did get plenty of time to view wildlife life as I spent hours kayaking myself through the canals, which is a big plus from Turtle Beach Lodge because you can take them right from the lodge. It's right on the beach and I guess the only lodge that's accessed by a canal inside the park. I'm not sure which other lodges offer this, so I would check if that interests you.

Have a great trip!

We never do organized tours either, but we made the exception for Tortuguero and I'm glad we did. Too complicated to do everything on your own there. We also flew out our last day. Loved our ride in on the canals, but it was enough for us.

Hey VG,
When are you going to post your photos of the white cloth picnic table with the waiter in the middle of the jungle?! Did I miss your photos or haven't you posted them yet? If I can figure it out, anybody can!

Col, don't be too sure of that - lol! Actually I downloaded Picassa, so I'm making progress - ha, ha! One of these days...

Will we grow old waiting, VG?!

No way I can compete with your pics, col! Yours were beautiful.

I have good intentions, but I never seem to get around to it. It's kind of like one of shillmac's trip reports! Tee-hee!