Tortuguero Travel Guide

Tortuguero National Park lies on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast in Limón Province, its name deriving from the Spanish tortuga, turtle. Protected since 1975, it holds the most important green sea turtle nesting site in the Western Hemisphere. There is no road here and no way to drive in—you arrive by boat or small plane—which is why it is often called the Amazon of Costa Rica. A maze of natural and man-made canals threads through lowland rainforest so dense it feels enclosing; howler monkeys roar from the canopy, manatees drift in the shallows, caimans and crocodiles lie submerged, and macaws streak over the water. The signature experience is the dawn canal run, taken while animals are still active before the heat rises; later the peaks are simply lost in cloud. The real highlight happens at night. From June to October, with a green turtle peak in August and September, turtles come ashore to nest after dark, while leatherbacks nest from March to May; to protect nesting females and their nests, beach access is barred between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. from 1 March to 31 October, and night turtle tours must be run by licensed guides. The Sea Turtle Conservancy (formerly the Archie Carr Wildlife Refuge) is based in the village and its visitor centre is worth a short visit. Two practical warnings: the park receives 5,000–6,000 mm of rain a year with no real dry season, and neither the sea nor the canals are safe for swimming because of strong currents and caimans. The best windows are relatively drier February–March and September–October, the latter coinciding with the green turtle peak.

Las Baulas Marine National Park lies on Playa Grande along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, created to protect the nesting grounds of the endangered leatherback turtle. From October to March, giant leatherbacks haul onto the beach at night to lay eggs — one of Earth’s most awe-inspiring spectacles. The park also shelters mangroves, estuaries and coral reefs.