Tortuguero Travel Forum

I am going to this area in December, and I am rather confused about the lodging
in Tortugero. I keep finding lodges which include bus transport, boat transport, and lodging as one price. Is there no way to fly in from San Jose,
stay in a hotel, hire a guide for the area, without paying the high price of the all-inclusive packages?
Anyone been there to help me plan this out?
Thanks.
Viktor

There are of course the all inclusive resorts which are expensive. If you don't need luxury and want to watch a bit your budget try and stay at a nice guesthouse such as Casa Marbella - the owner is also a biologist and a guide and will take you around for boat trips around the area. You can eat in one of the local restaurants, which is cheap and it is an insurance that you get real local food.

You can opt to fly to Tortuguero or else go by bus to Puerto Limon and then catch a boat. I would really recommend you do one leg of the journey with the boat because it is very interesting. Preferably fly on the way back.

Tortuguero is magnificent, so try to go.
I did it twice by bus-bus-boat. It was not through Limon, there is also another option. But I forgot the names of the towns.
It takes a long journey actually, but it is indeed worth it. The boatride takes you really inside the park, and you can see allready some wildlife.
I think in december flying in can be expensive. On the whole (check in, going to airport, etc), it can even be that you don't win so much time.
At tortuguero itself, you don't need to go to those resorts. They are beautifull, that is true, but in town there are many cabinas. Prices are a bit higher than in the rest of Costa Rica, but 20 dollars for two persons a night is possible.
Even I think that if you arrange it on your own, tours can be better. In the restaurants nearby the watter, you can arrange a guide who takes you in a canoe for 2-3 hours, price is relatively cheap, so try to tip him a bit also). I went with such a guide and saw an incredible amount of wildlife. Everytime a tour of one of the resorts passed, animals got freightened and went away. Try to do it on a boat without a motor... You see much more (and get some excercise).
Enjoy it