A day at Isla la Tortuga. - Absolutely an amazing experience. For those curious souls here’s what the day looked like when we went Begin the day being picked up at a local hotel (6:40 a.m.) We had roughly a 1 hour bus ride from Jacó to the place the boat set off from. It was broken up midway by an adorable souvenir shop/ restaurant where you could get breakfast/ anything you may have forgot (sunscreen, towels, etc.) once we arrived we were given a place to change and restrooms before we set off on a 1 hour boat ride to the island. In this boat ride we actually got to see wild dolphins playing which was really cool. Once on the island you were offered to either get off and enjoy the island or to wait on the boat to snorkel before returning to the island. In all this probably took 20 -30 minutes to snorkel. They boat you a short distance to a rock that has tons of tropical fish you can swim with. Then you reboard the boat and they drive you the short distance back. (Personal note, it can be tricky to get back in the boat.) Once on the island, you are greated by a tropical paradise. They have beach chairs with umbrellas already set up. It is $10 per chair and someone will come by to collect payment and give you a sticker to note they’re paid for. Then people can begin coming by to sell you things (this included:someone selling massages and hair braiding, someone selling necklaces, and a bar tender selling drinks). You can refuse but they do accept Apple Pay and other forms of cards. They also have experiences such as kayaking, banana boat rides, stand up paddle boarding, nature hike and more snorkeling. I personally would advise having colones/dollars on hand in case the card acts up. The tide rose throughout the day so if you want rock photos do them early. Lunch was served at 12 and included fish or chicken, with rice, small salad and fries. I personally liked the chicken a bit more than the tuna, however both were delicious. Before this, we were given fresh fruit to eat. They also offered a coffee and cookie time at 1, however I can not comment as I was frolicking in the ocean at this time. We packed up and left at 3, however some did leave around 2:30. This put us back at the dock by 4 where we were offered to change and use the restroom before leaving on the buses. The bus ride back was an hour long so it put us arriving around 5. Personal suggestions: pack some sort of water shoe so you can safely explore during low tide. Also be on the look out for local wild life. I saw both pigs and deer on the island.

Fun excursion - The guide and communication was first rate. Saw Dolphins, monkeys and other animals. The boat ride was fun and informative.

Great tour - The trip was amazing. Isla Tortuga was such a beautiful island. Our guide did an amazing job and the vibes were great! Deff recommend.

Isla Tortuga tour. - Tour itself was great but the “added costs” once at the island were a frustration. None were identified in the tour ads materials. $10 each for a chair and 600 Col to use the bathroom each time. Just beware the costs are not all inclusive, but we did have a very good time. The fact they heavily feed the fish to get them to come to you when snorkelling was a bit much too. Can’t do that in most places we have travelled. Gives a real false impression.

Transportation Communications Issues -Costa Kat better option from Jaco - I signed up for tour to depart at 7:10 AM from Puenta Leona. I received a text the night before to arrive at 6;05. I texted back that my pickup was for 7:10 and no response. I got a message from the guide who was very nice but was a free agent said he would contact the company who said if we weren’t at the meeting point at 6:05 AM we’d lose our money. The guide Alonso nicely worked out that we could meet at the restaurant at 7:00 AM and kept in communication even though the company didn’t. The drive was fairly long from there but the shuttle bus was comfortable. The boat was fine. The snorkeling was nice (I think they threw in food to cause fish to swarm). We paid $20 for 2 beach chairs and maybe $14 for a coconut drink and beer and enjoyed the beach. We learned later that Kosta Cat departs directly from Jaco and includes. Breakfast, snorkeling banana boat beach chairs and unlimited drinks for just &150. Obviously would have been a better option.

Good experience with staff, a bit of other surprises. - The staff were great we went with inside tours. I was a little disappointed in the snorkeling and that has nothing to do with the tour company itself the visibility was horrible and the water was really murky so we saw very little. Additionally, I brought a couple extra things with me to drink and I'm glad I did it was kind of surprised that I would have liked to know about that one has to rent chairs to sit on the beach one has to pay to go to the bathroom. I totally understand needing to do that because it's an island with minimal service however the tour companies should advise people of that so people know before they go. Although all in all it was a decent day, but quite pricey for what we ended up getting.

So so - Disappointed as the snorkeling was over crowded, the food not good and you have to pay for everything over and above. Suggest trying other tour groups who offer a much better value and experience.

Needs improvement - First, I want to say that all of the guides were great and did a fantastic job. The issues with this tour had nothing to do with them and are more operational in nature. First up is communication. It would have been nice to get a rough itinerary up front. We didn't realize when booking that it was about 1.5 hours from our pick up spot in Jaco to the boat, so that's 3 hours right there. We stopped for breakfast, which was nice, but didn't know that it was not included in the cost. We only got about 30 minutes to snorkel, which wouldn't be a big deal if it was communicated. The snorkeling was not that great, but that was likely more of an issue with the currents and water clarity that day. There were a lot of fish in the area, but the currents were strong and the water relatively cloudy (this is not a complaint about the tour, there's nothing they can do about that). What they could do though is provide swim fins. It's pretty difficult to fight ocean currents without them, and it would be an easy thing to supply. The tour sold water bottles for $2 each, but this was not mentioned, nor was it ever mentioned that it was cash only. Oddly water bottles are not available on the island, but there are several bars there to order drinks from (which do take contactless card payments, Apple Pay, etc.). Lunch was great, no issues there!

Island is fantastic, but maybe use a different company to take you there - The actual island itself was amazing. The fact that we had to pay $10 per beach chair and $1 to use the bathroom was not. (And it's not like setting up on the beach is an option as the tide comes in so high all your belongings would be soaked) If you are traveling from San Jose the transportation might be fine, but if you are coming from Jaco (like we were) expect 3+ hrs of driving and multiple stops before even making it to the island. (We left Jaco at 6am didn't arrive on the island until 10am. Coming back left island at 2:20pm didn't get back to property until 6pm) They also messed up or transportation back so that was kind of a hassle. Overall I would recommend you book with a different company (we had family that did and had a way better experience than us)

Careful with jellyfish - Tour guide did not advise the group about jellyfish in the water, so some people got stung by them. Also we asked for any remedy but they forgot our request. Also there was not proactiveness from your guide in regards of free beverages or the start of the activities.