Tortuguero Costa Rica with Kids (on a Budget)

Tortuguero Costa Rica with Kids (on a Budget)

Costa Rica is a wonderful choice for an exotic and beautiful vacation for kids.  It’s a very popular destination for long term traveling families.  The scenery is amazing, the wildlife is fun and the people are friendly and helpful.  The peninsula (not an island) of Tortuguero on the Caribbean side of the country is full of wildlife and culture and adds a very unique experience to any Costa Rican trip.  Tortuguero National Park on the end of the walkable area of town is a lovely gem of trails and wildlife.

Tortugeuro and Costa Rica in general can be a very affordable vacation.  It’s much more convenient to have a travel agency set up accommodations and transportation.  We were able to comfortably plan our trip on own own with a little bit of increased anxiety and uncertainty but it actually went very smoothly.

Costa Rica was the second country we visited outside of the US but it was the first country to push at our comfort zones (Canada was our starter trip).  We spent our first 5 days in La Fortuna at a lovely small hotel just outside of town then 5 days in Tortuguero.  The last 4 weeks of the trip we booked a house in the mountains.  We learned how to drive in Costa Rica (not such an easy task), visited Jaco Beach for a weekend of surf lessons, stopped to see the Crocodile Bridge, explored the kids museum in San Jose, took a day trip to the Festival de la Mascarada in Escazu and enjoyed hanging out in our rental house and the surrounding mountain towns.  We had fun celebrating Halloweeen in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica I get but – So How Did you end up on Tortuguero?

Well, it all started when …

We went to a travel show in Denver prior to starting our family gap year adventure and a random travel agent circled a few “family friendly” areas on a Costa Rica Map. One of those areas just happened to be Tortuguero.

I absolutely love sea turtles so I knew I wanted to go to an area where we had a high chance to see them in the wild.  I also really liked the idea of being on an island (or peninsula in this case) with no cars.  Tortuguero just sounded like a great little adventure for our family.  Now when we were talking to the travel agent she was probably thinking of a guided tour to the area – we just don’t travel that way.  Since we were planning on a full year of travel, guided trips aren’t in the budget.  We pretty much winged it and even though we sometimes questioned our choices it turned out to be a wonderful trip.

About Tortuguero

Tortuguero is on the north-east side of Costa Rica on the Caribbean Coast and just South of Nicaragua.  It’s a small town on a peninsula surrounded by canals, lagoons, the Caribbean and dense jungle.  The only way to get to the area is by boat or plane.  The Tortuguero National Park makes up a large part of the area and the town has its own unique vibe.  Wildlife is everywhere. If you’re a nature fanatic looking for a very different vibe – this may be your place.

Getting There

We ended up getting our hotel in Tortuguero to hire a car for us.  It was a little bit of a budget buster (about $200 from La Fortuna to the Island then back to San Jose) but I still think it was the safest way for us to get there.  I don’t think we could have figured out the buses (especially with 3 kids in tow) and we would have gotten completely lost trying to drive.  Plus you have to pay to leave your car at the dock.  If you have a little wiggle room in your budget – hire a driver.  Many of the hotels on the island have driver packages.  We just piece our trip together but it may be better to do an all in one package.

The drive itself was pretty cool.  We passed by pineapple, banana, papaya, sugar cane, watermelon, and coffee plantations. We stopped to see a little 2 toed sloth in a tree on the side of the road and saw Cayman in a river.  After miles and miles of driving down small roads and through small towns we drove even farther miles down a dirt road.  I’m not sure how we didn’t end up in Nicaragua.  We were totally off anything on Google maps.  We like to try to follow the maps as we go but this time we were just a dot in the middle of a whole lot of green.

The Boat Ride

The boats were docked along a muddy river bank.  Parking, restrooms and a small store are also located at the dock area.  Our transportation price included the boat ride and a guide to get us all the way to our hotel.  The river boats are great.  It was about a 45 minute very scenic ride through the jungle to get to the island.  The boat ride was probably my favorite part of the trip (besides the turtles).

(For our journal entry on our journey and boat trip click here)

Getting the Feel of the Town

Our guide took us straight to our hotel.  I do think it would have been a little tricky to find it without him.  The island does not have cars so it’s more of a side-walk and alley system.   At first it can feel a little overwhelming and “sketchy” walking down a bunch of alleys.  You get use to it and find the routes that you are most comfortable with.  I don’t think I’d like to walk them alone at night.   I was comfortable with the larger areas but I just did not like the smaller alleys.

The area around the boat docks has several small sodas (restaurants) and groceries.  They also sold fresh coconut.  Only spend 500 colons and get it from the older guy with the cooler.  The rest will over charge you for a hot coconut.  My youngest loved to keep a 500 colon on her most times for her “coconut money.”

The town itself is very photogenic and a lot of fun to explore.  We loved going on daily walks down the main street.  There our plenty of places to buy souvenirs and eclectic choices for places to stop.

There is also a nature museum at the end of town – we had trouble finding it but on that day’s walk the kids were getting hot and sticky and ready to be back at the hotel.

(For our journal entry and more info about the island and town click here)

Our Hotel – HOTEL TORTUGUERO NATURAL

I was a little anxious at first since this part of the trip ended up being so far out of our comfort zone but I ended up loving the little hotel we stayed at.  Our hosts greeted us with yummy papaya drinks and they were very patient with our communication barriers.  The rooms are simple and do not have AC – but that’s what we where expecting.  The hotel had a little eating/game area just outside the rooms on the second floor and we spend a lot of time there playing Uno and reading.  Even though the island is so remote we were able to log in to the internet and get some work done.  There were several groups and couples staying at the hotel from all over the world.  Some were specifically volunteering for turtle research.

The hotel was 1 block from the beach, 2 blocks from the middle of town and about 3 blocks from the national park.  This is a budget hotel. I really enjoyed it but you should have reasonable expectations.

Also look in to Casa Marbella.  We spoke to one of the owners of this hotel prior to getting to town and it sounded like another wonderful place to stay.

Our Days on the Island

Most of our days on Tortuguero we spend just being fairly lazy.  We’d get up, eat a little breakfast from the grocery store, go to the playground, explore a little, may be go to the beach or we’d just hang out and play cards.

We went to about 6 different sodas (restaurants) and they were all pretty good.

The kids liked stopping at the playground.  It was an old one and badly in need of repair but they were able to talk to other kids.  My oldest did fall off the monkey bars and give us a little scare but it wasn’t the monkey bar’s fault. I got to use my first aid skills and our travel insurance but everything ended up OK

The Beach

We had beach access fairly close to the hotel and we took advantage of it.  Swimming is not recommended in  this area.  The rip currents are too strong and there is something I read about sharks and salt-water crocodiles? The waves and beach actually looked pretty calm and the waves were smaller than the other side of Costa Rica but if a beach says it’s not safe to swim and none of the locals are in the water – don’t get in.

Not being able to swim on the beach was difficult for the kids to understand but we were able to limit them to ankle-deep only.  The beach also closes somewhere about 4-6 pm.  After that time it’s illegal to be no the each without a guide.  This helps protect the turtles.  Since sunset was our favorite time to be out we spend several evenings in a rush to get back and off the beach in time. Otherwise it’s a beautiful area and full of palm trees.  One or our last days we saw about 25 green macaws flying outside of our hotel.  They were amazing and so much fun to watch.

Canal Tour

For one of our things to do we picked a boat tour through the canals.  We chose a canoe.  It was quiet, peaceful and beautiful.  The canoe could get in to smaller areas and give vantage points that the power boats could not.  Our guide was wonderful.  We saw Howler Monkeys, Bats, Caymen, many beautiful birds, and river turtles.  The hubby even helped paddle which he loved.

(more canoe photos here)

Tortuguero National Park

We didn’t hike the whole part – just the beginning section but it was worth it.  You must wear close toed shoes to do this hike.  There are snakes.  We walked down a well-marked trail and near the very beginning we found a group of about 6 Spider Monkeys climbing over head.  We stopped and watched them for several minutes.  They were so much fun – jumping, climbing and socializing.  We kept walking and eventually made our way to the beach then back down the trail.   – I just loved those monkeys.

and I can’t Forget – Sea Turtle Babies!

Our first afternoon on the island we were walking down the beach and came upon a group of people near the forest line.  There were sea turtles hatching.  We missed a large group making it down to the water but we were able to watch a group of 5 wiggle their way out and wobble down to the sea.  It was such a magical experience.  They were so stinking cute.

(Turtle Journal Post- Click Here)

and Sea Turtle Mommas

We booked a guided night tour to see the turtles lay their eggs.  I stayed at the hotel with my youngest (she was tired and a little bit of a grump).  The guide picked up the hubby, 6 and 10-year-old and they were off.  The tour had particular rules.  Dark clothing only, no photos, and you had to make sure you did not do anything to scare the turtles.

Two nights previously there was a crazy amount of turtle tracks.  The night that they did the tour there were just a few.  R and the kids ended up taking a water taxi to the other side of the island then walked with the guide through the forest to where one of the momma turtles was spotted.   They got to watch her lay her eggs then return back in to the sea.

I’m so grateful that my kids were able to have such an amazing experience (and a little jealous) … but mostly grateful 🙂

The Overall Experience

I do think Tortuguero was a great experience for our family.  A 3 day stay would be enough to get a generally feel of the area.  I recommend booking transportation directly through your hotel.

Good points:  The wildlife was amazing, the kids got to experience a different culture, the scenery was beautiful – and sea turtles!

Could be better: I would have enjoyed having more activities for the kids during the day.  If our hotel had a pool (I’m not sure if any of them do) then the kids would have really enjoyed their stay.  It’s really hard to be on a beach and not be able to swim.

I did not feel completely safe in the alleys at night.  It may be totally safe – I just didn’t feel totally safe.

Bring bug spray.  The locals didn’t complain of mosquitoes but we had several bites.  I’m not sure how common mosquito viruses are in the area but I don’t like to take chances. Consider bringing light long sleeve clothing.

Would I do it again – yep.  Would I choose Tortuguero over the Pacific Coast?  It depends.  If I was planning another long-term stay I would likely choose the Pacific so the kids could surf and play in the waves.  If I was looking for a few days of a unique experience then I’d choose Tortuguero.

And what do we think 3 years later?  This part of the trip was definitely a favorite time and the kids bring it up often.  I would still aim for a short stay but the boat ride, the wild-life, our wonderful little hotel where we hung out and played cards all day is still something the kids talk about.

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Would you like more information on Cost Rica?  Here’s the guide book that we used and Recommend (these are affiliate links – see below for more information).

and don’t forget the bug spray …

For more information on our Costa RicaTrip Click Here 

We’re a family of 5 taking a gap year from normal life to travel.  For blog posts, locations, and more information on how we did it and how you can to click here.  

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