Tortuguero Town Tour - Pachira Lodge
Overview
This history tour of the colorful town of Tortuguero, located within Tortuguero National Park, will enrich your understanding of Costa Rica’s diversity of cultures and the value the residents have placed on protecting nature in this unique area.
Tortuguero National Park is known for its beautiful tropical conservation areas including eleven miles of coastline where turtles come to nest. It is also known for its stunning network of canals that run throughout the rainforest along the northeastern Caribbean Coast. Within this lush setting lies the quaint town of Tortuguero, visited by hundreds of people every year to learn about its local culture and interesting history.
As the town of Tortuguero is only accessible by boat or airplane, the tour will start off with a short boat ride from Pachira Lodge. Upon arrival, you will walk through this picturesque town accompanied by your bilingual guide who is well versed in the history of Tortuguero. Your knowledgeable guide will share an abundance of interesting information about this area as well as introduce you to the way the villagers live today in their present day culture.
This typical Caribbean coastal village is known for its rich history and very colorful present. As you stroll through the town, you’ll visit the town school, National Park facilities, beautiful churches, general stores and one of the most effective recycling plants in the country. On the Caribbean coast, you can definitely see a difference in culture from other parts of Costa Rica. However, one major theme seems to remain the same throughout the country: the local people will most likely impress you with their friendly and kind nature.
Did you know that Tortuguero was once an ancient place of hunting, fishing, and agriculture? Several different ethnic groups have shared this land. The majority of people who originally came to live here were from the Miskitu-Zambo indigenous group of African- American descent. They fled from Nicaragua to seek refuge in this small isolated region of Costa Rica. Their ethnic roots are still part of the existing culture, mixed with Costa Rican people from Spanish decent as well as from other indigenous tribes.
You might also learn about Tortuguero’s forestry industry and how it evolved into the present day National Park. Tourism as a sustainable economy as well as major ecological initiatives helped raise awareness to create nature conservation areas and parks that served to preserve the natural wildlife habitats in this unique part of Costa Rica.
Please be prepared for this one-hour tour, rain or shine by bringing sunblock, a hat and a rain jacket or poncho.
What to Bring
- Camera
- Sunblock
- Insect Repellent
- Rain Gear
Location and Availability
The Tortuguero Town Tour - Pachira Lodge is available from Tortuguero - Grupo Pachira
Tour Time
- 2:00pm
Tour Type
- Culture
Cancellation Policy
Location
Latitude: N 10° 32' 32.07"
Longitude: W 83° 30' 10.88"
Reviews
- Overall 83.4% (98 Guest Ratings)
- Experience: 79.4%
- Expectations: 80.5%
- Guides: 88%
- Logistics: 85.8%
- Value: 79.9%
12/19/2019
The town itself is Ok, the turtles on the beach were a highlight. I wouldn't have spent a longer amount of tome there.
08/16/2018
They just dropped us off in town, walk on the beach was nice.
10/20/2017
Alfosnso was great. My daughter (traveling companion age 11) loved the experience. In a 3 day stay, it was important to see some real CR economy at work. s
07/07/2017
A little more time in the town would have been nice.
03/10/2017
Enjoyed the turtle talk and some free time to wander.
02/27/2017
I would have liked to have had more time.
02/19/2017
Was a very small town, could probably of left it out but it was good to see.
02/08/2017
I wish we had a bit more time to explore the town. We spent a lot of time discussing the sea turtles which was interesting but a bit long.
01/22/2017
A small town experience with town full of tourists.
12/31/2016
it was a very wet day and that put a 'dampener' on the trip
12/27/2016
It made me sad because the people were struggling so trying to serve tourists
11/07/2016
Not a lot to see. If I were to do it again, I would elect to stay at the Lodge.
09/07/2016
this tour was normal, not bad, but not very special compared to the other tours we did in Tortuguero.
07/23/2016
Wish we could have had more time there. It was wonderful.
07/16/2016
Was not very enjoyable.
03/20/2016
Interesting town. Went to the turtle conservancy and enjoyed learning about the turtles but then didn't have enough time to walk through the town. Felt like I had to hurry. I needed another hour.
03/16/2016
Would have just as soon taken a water taxi over to the town and explored on our own. Not much "guiding" happening.
03/02/2016
This was fine...didn't know what to expect.
02/22/2016
Guide arranged a stop on the way back so we could get a hat at the turtle conservancy. Went out of his way to make sure we saw everything. Very knowledgeable.
01/30/2016
Excellent guide.
01/11/2016
It was ok.
07/11/2015
This was basically a visit to the town rather than a tour. This was fine. It was raining hard so we couldn't do a lot but we did find a great place for a cappuccino (Buddha Café)
05/14/2015
Had no expectations, but an adequate tourist experience. Not much but souvenirs, tho we had a great smoothie there.
02/14/2015
I did not know what to expect. But it was great to finally just walk around a bit on our own, and see the ocean.