Tortuguero National Park Getting There
Accessible only by boat or plane. The 30-minute flight from San José can be arranged with any of the private charter companies, or on the regularly scheduled TravelAir service. Both SANSA and Nature Air fly daily from San José if they get two or more passengers. You can also charter a light plane from San José.
Boats can be hired in Moín (just north of Limón) to take you up the canal system to Tortuguero. The length of time depends on the vessel (averages between two and four hours). You can hire private boats from Tortuguero, Moín, Los Chiles, and Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí. This is a longer, but equally scenic journey that takes you down the Sarapiquí River to the San Juan River (at which point you will technically be in Nicaragua and thus must go through the corresponding border checks on both sides of the river), and then through Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge to Tortuguero. This route usually takes from four to six hours.
A rough road leads from Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí to Pavas (at the juncture of the Ríos Toro and Sarapiquí), where you can also charter a boat. Do not attempt to reach Barra by boat without a guide, as there are several braided channels to negotiate and it is easy to get dangerously lost.
A Copetrac (tel. 506/767-6139) bus departs Gran Terminal Caribe (Calle Central, Avenida 13), in San José, for Cariari, from where it’s a 200-meter walk to connect with a noon or 2 p.m. bus to Puerto Lindo on the Río Colorado, or a 2:30 p.m. bus to La Pavona. A lancha (water taxi) runs from here ($6 pp); or lodge boats will pick you up by prior arrangement. Buses also depart Guápiles to Cariari (21 km north).
Morpho Travel (tel. 506/711-0674), in Tortuguero, has boat service from Tortuguero to Pavones at 6 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., and from Pavones to Tortugero at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
