Thoughts on Tortuguero National Park and Canal excursion

[Bluewake]

As we prepare for a fall cruise which stops in Limon, Costa Rica, I've been looking at potential excursions.  This will be our first time in Costa Rica.  We've been looking at a tour which includes a walk in the Tortuguero National Park as well as a boat trip along the Tortuguero Canal.  However, there are several different rainforests in Costa Rica.   We'd love to hear from anyone who has taken the boat trip along the Tortuguero Canal and walked in that particular park.  What did you think of the excursion?  Was it enjoyable?  Would anyone recommend a different rainforest?  We are aware that some rainforests (such as Veragua) have a tram ride but have heard conflicting things about it.  Some say it was wonderful. Others say it was nice but you really didn't see much.  Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions!

Edited July 16, 2019 by Bluewake

[Sea-Bos]

On 7/16/2019 at 4:47 PM, Bluewake said:

As we prepare for a fall cruise which stops in Limon, Costa Rica, I've been looking at potential excursions.  This will be our first time in Costa Rica.  We've been looking at a tour which includes a walk in the Tortuguero National Park as well as a boat trip along the Tortuguero Canal.  However, there are several different rainforests in Costa Rica.   We'd love to hear from anyone who has taken the boat trip along the Tortuguero Canal and walked in that particular park.  What did you think of the excursion?  Was it enjoyable?  Would anyone recommend a different rainforest?  We are aware that some rainforests (such as Veragua) have a tram ride but have heard conflicting things about it.  Some say it was wonderful. Others say it was nice but you really didn't see much.  Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions!

We have the same questions. We don’t do ship excursions so we are trying to find the best places to go

[originolsin]

Tortuguero Park and boat ride are very enjoyable.  Lots of wildlife, caymen, birds, maybe some howler monkeys.  We used Charlie Soto Okey Dokey tours from Limon.  Have been back on land vacations every year since.  It is a bit of a drive, but beautiful country side.  Some other places look closer on the map but Hitoy Cerere Biological Reserve for example took me approximately 3 hours each way on single lane dirt roads in a four wheel drive vehicle and when you get there, you have to wade through dense forest and rivers to see things.  I would stick to Tortuguero from Limon where you are going to be there just a short time.  Also, keep an eye out for poison dart frogs, they are pretty neat and come in a variety of different colors depending on the area.

[Bluewake]

On 7/23/2019 at 12:23 AM, Sea-Bos said:

We have the same questions. We don’t do ship excursions so we are trying to find the best places to go

 

 We just returned a few days ago from a cruise that stopped in Costa Rica.  We did take a ship's tour that included the Tortuguero Canal.  We didn't find it particularly interesting.  We got in a small tour boat that held about 30 people and went up and down the muddy canal for about 45 minutes looking for animals and avoiding the occasional floating debris.  We did "see" a couple of monkeys (although the view was limited to their darting figures hidden in the trees), 6-7 common birds, and 1 small crocodile....that was it. The guides tried very hard but there just wasn't that much to see.  As one part of a longer excursion or if it were a kayak tour...perhaps it would be okay. However, as a "stand alone" excursion, I wouldn't recommend it unless all you want is a boat ride and seeing animals isn't a priority.  Of course, it also may depend on the time of day.  We went in the afternoon.

 

 

[DENIE]

We were with Jorge Ramirez in 2014 (he is now owner of PortLimon.com).  He contracted a small boat for just the 5 of us (plus him).  There was a pilot and a wildlife spotter).  Consequently, we were able to get into the areas the larger boats could not reach.  With the spotter, we saw much more than the larger boats, including sloths hanging on vines just above the water line.  We saw the larger boats, and it just did not look like they could maneuver and turn on a dime like our small boat.  I think that may have made the difference.  We saw lots of wildlife.