Tortuguero Jungle Canals Excursion
3 days & 2 nights
A trip to the Tortuguero Canals – Costa Rica’s Amazon – takes you up jungle-lined waterways that are home to an array of wildlife to a remote village and sea-turtle nesting beach.
The journey to Tortuguero is a true jungle adventure that takes you down tranquil waterways lined with exuberant rainforest where you might spot monkeys, sloths, iguanas, crocodiles, or hundreds of bird species. The final destination, Tortuguero National Park, protects large tracts of remote wilderness ranging from lowland rain forest to 14 miles of palm-lined beach that is the world’s most important nesting site for the endangered green turtle. Four species of marine turtles nest there at night, including the leatherback, which is the largest sea turtle, but the park is most famous for the thousands of green turtles that lay their eggs in the sand from July to October. Hawksbill, loggerhead and leatherback turtles are less common, and come ashore to lay their eggs between March and October. Optional night tours allow visitors a chance to witness one of these gigantic reptiles bury their eggs in the sand – an unforgettable experience.
Day 01 San José – Tortuguero National Park
This tour begins with a scenic drive in a minibus from San José past the mountain views and dense foliage of Braulio Carrillo National Park and down to the lowlands of Limón province. En route, your friendly guide will explain about the Tortuguero Canals – a vast system of natural and man-made waterways used for basic transportation and jungle exploration. In Matina, on the Caribbean coast, you’ll board a boat for the journey up the canals to Tortuguero National Park, stopping along the way to look at crocodiles, monkeys, sloths and varied birdlife. After checking into the rustic lodge, you’ll be are invited to explore a hiking trail through the tropical rain forest, where you might see iguanas, toucans, collared manakins, tanagers and other wildlife. The rest of the afternoon, you can spend at the lodge’s pool or in your bungalow. That night, enjoy a delicious international, or Caribbean dinner at the friendly, family-style restaurant. Overnight at Pachira Lodge, or similar.
Day 2: Boat tour on Tortuguero inland Canals.
On the second day, you’ll take a boat tour of the nearby canals and rivers. The boats use quiet electric motors, so you get close enough to photograph some of the wildlife, which may include kingfishers, cormorants, boat-billed herons, green iguanas, crocodiles and monkeys. Overnight at Pachira Lodge, or similar.
Day 3: Return by boat to Matina & by land to San José
You can spend your final morning at Tortuguero bird watching, relaxing in a hammock, lounging by the pool, or playing a spirited game of volleyball with fellow visitors. The trip back to San José takes you back down the same canals to Matina, and up through the misty mountains of Braulio Carrillo National Park again.
All-inclusive package: round-trip transportation from San José by land, bilingual guide and jungle boat through the canals. Includes 2 nights lodging at the Pachira Lodge or similar, 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners and jungle canal boat tour.
Optional tours: Fishing for tarpon, evening jungle exploration and turtle nesting tour at night. One-way air transfer is also available.
Rates
January – December 2012
$289.00 per person in one double room
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