jpitchford

I am planning on doing one night in Tortuguerro. I would arrive @ around 2pm on a boat Sunday afternoon and would have to leave Monday morning. Is this even worth going if I would only have Sunday afternoon/evening to spend here? Would I have time to do a tour?

Molly2

Some questions:

Do you have a tour boat planned, or is the boat just transportation? If a tour, your guides will point out animals and vegetation along the way.

Will you have time for an a.m. tour of the canals? If not raining, this is a prime time to see wildlife.

Where are you staying?

Besides more time to see wildlife and other sights, two nights allows off-time for bad weather and makes for a more relaxing stay, but, if well-planned, and the weather holds, one night could still be rewarding IMO.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

I assume your staying at one of the lodges up there?

I've done the one-night tour of Tortuguero. It was rushed, but I thought it was fun. There was time after the afternoon arrival either to relax before dinner or to go on a canal tour. There was another tour after dinner. And then, if we wanted, we were roused out of bed at 5 a.m. for an early-morning bird watching tour. We departed after breakfast. I've since done two-night stays, and those were much more relaxing.

As for weather, it rains most of the time in Tortuguero. Prepare to get wet. But these things seem to run rain or shine.

jpitchford

I was planning on taking a bus to Moin and then a boat ride from Moin to Tortuguerro. Not an official tour setup, but I think you get to see wildlife and stuff on the boat. Good news that they have night tours.
Although the following day we fly out of San Jose @ 5:30pm back to the US. We would either have to fly back to san jose or take the boat/bus again. Either way, we would have to leave super early and dont think we would have time to do a morning tour.
So would this be worth it, to go just for the boatride there and possibly a night tour? Or do you think my time would be better spent adding another day to a city we are already at?
We are spending 2 nights in Monteverde, 1 night in arenal and are doing the Pecuare river rafting trip. To do this, we will probably have to spend 2 nights in San Jose.

So, we could do:
1) the Tortuguerro trip for a night
2) add a night to Arenal or monteverde
3) make the pecuare rafting trip a two day trip instead of one

Any thoughts?

THANKS!!!

shillmac

I'm big on not doing an area until you have time to do it right, but have been guilty of not following my own advice, so what do I know?

Two thoughts: You could definitely use an extra night at Arenal. DEFINITELY.

Also, while the 2 day Pacuare trip is surely a real treat, you are going to get the same amount of whitewater time with a one day trip. The two day just allows for a more leisurely experience and the overnight, of course. Regrettably, I haven't done either, but have heard many people express the opinion that the two-day seemed like a bit of a waste. I think, though, that if one had plenty of time and weren't trying to conserve time, it would be great! I'm thinking this is a way for you to add an extra day at Tortuguero. And therefore maximize your total experience in CR.

Molly2

My choice would be to add a night to Arenal, and substitute the Cano Negro trip from La Fortuna for the Tortuguero trip - you'll see a lot of wildlife - some even see more - and not be as rushed.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Keep in mind that the tours that I mentioned were organized as part of my stay through one of the lodges. Usually, an outsider cannot tag along. You didn't mention where you're staying, but if it's in the village, rather than one of the lodges, you'd likely need to line something up on your own once you arrive. You also didn't mention the time of year you'll be there. Some sort of turtle viewing, depending on the species, takes place Feb.-Nov., but there's not as much to do outside those times. (It's interesting that two of Costa Rica's biggest tourist months are Tortuguero's low season.) And without the turtles, there are really no night sightseeing tours going on.

LA_FadeAway

I second the suggestion to skip Torutuguero (until next time when you have more time) and add a day trip up to Cano Negro from Arenal. We saw more wildlife in one afternoon there than anywhere else in CR!