Isla Tortuga Tour: Explore Marine Bird Sanctuary

Embark on a full-day Tortuga Island cruise from San Jose and explore the Gulf of Nicoya’s archipelago paradise. Discover white sand beaches, marine birds, and native flora and fauna.

Duration: 14 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Teatro Nacional Costa Rica - Hotel pick-ups start at 06:00 am from San José downtown

After pickup from your hotel in the San José metropolitan area, travel by bus to Puntarenas, enjoying a light breakfast along the way.

What's Included
  • Professional guide
  • All taxes, fees, and handling charges included
  • Live entertainment
  • Complimentary lunch
  • Breakfast includes sandwich, juice, and fruit
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels)
What's Not Included
  • Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

The archipelago paradise of the Gulf of Nicoya is comprised of a plethora of islands teeming with natural richness. The region serves as a refuge for sealife birds, featuring white sandy beaches and indigenous flora and fauna of our Central Pacific Coast. The world-famous Isla Tortuga is a part of this stunning archipelago.
Situated 12 miles away from…

Location
Teatro Nacional Costa Rica
Second Ave. and Fifth St.,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.8
(12 Ratings)
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1 star
Clare_g
Jul 13, 2024
Awesome time - The guide was so caring and enthusiastic. The boat ride was amazing. I truly enjoyed the island. The food was good. People were so friendly.
Review provided by Viator
Jakima_w
Oct 5, 2023
The whole trip was great.... - The whole trip was great. The hosts were nice and there if I needed anything. The trip really was for the whole day also. We left at 6AM and didn’t get back until 8PM.
Review provided by Viator
Carolyn_a
Aug 17, 2023
Loved Tortuga Island. - Our tour was amazing. The tour company was so nice, they picked us up at the bed and breakfast we were staying at outside San Jose instead of making us go to a hotel for the morning pickup. The bus ride was nice not too long about 2 hours, then onto a bilevel catamaran to go to Tortuga island. The weather, beach and water was perfect. We were exhausted when we got back to our B&B, too much swimming and sun. We really enjoyed our trip, and highly recommend it.
Review provided by Viator
Anthony_m
Feb 5, 2022
Excellent All Day Trip from San Jose - This was an excellent all day trip from our hotel in San Jose (Marriott Hacienda Belen). We were picked up at 5:45am and brought back to the hotel by 8:30pm. The coach bus was comfortable. 2 hour trip to the coast. 2 hour boat ride to the island. Same coming back. The breakfast was good; though light, so I recommend you bring something to supplement. Drinks on the boat bar were good. The island is stunning and we were on there for 5 hours. Did the snorkeling and banana boat activities (for extra fee). Both were fun and worth the nominal fee. Gift shop with shirts, sundries, and sunscreen was on the island. They accepted credit cards. Paid for a wifi password and it was worth it. Lunch (included) was more than expected: salad, potato salad, rice, chicken, and fish. Tasted good and did not leave us hungry. Cash bar on the island was good too (nice that you could start a tab on the boat in the morning, continue it to the island, and then continue it on the boat back!). The ONLY downside to the trip was the location of the volleyball court. It was literally right in front of our beach chairs (chairs provided by our tour). I can't tell you how many times the ball hit people trying to relax. Other than that it was really a perfect trip. Bring your own towel. There were some street vendors selling kabobs and a small convenience store selling snacks before we got back on the bus home. I entertained 9 co-workers and 14 clients. I would recommend again!
Review provided by Viator
Harky1903
Oct 9, 2019
Fun boat trip! Fabulous uninhabited island, good lunch! - We had music to entertain us on the boat. Beautiful scenery . A good lunch and enjoyable afternoon on the beach!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Selene_g
Feb 15, 2023
Good fun in the sun, SKIP SNORKLING - Excellent communication and service thoughout. The bus ride was comfy. The catamaran ride was fun. Food was mostly good, lots of fruit and snacks are given. But the main meal was just ok, and I would've liked a vegetarian option. Now, what I really was upset about was the snorkling, it was a total waste of money. The water was murky and there was NOTHING to see; barely any fish and the coral was all brown. If you're an experienced snorkler skip this at all costs. The guide picked up two starfish and showed them to us which 1-breaks the rule of not touching sealife and 2- two colorful starfish for a 40minute session is not worh it.
Review provided by Viator
Matti
Mar 4, 2019
Long day on bus and boat - It was a long day on the boat and bus. It was fun and a good start to the trip but I think you can do better for a full day in Costa Rica.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
434stephl
Sep 27, 2023
Tortuga Island Day trip - Overpriced ridiculously long day. Coach pick up was great, but the boat was absolutely packed full. When it started to rain, there was not enough space under cover for people to sit. It was basically a rowdy group of people just paying for over-priced drinks. The island itself was ok, but nothing to explore since the trails were blocked off. The sun loungers were like sardines layed out next to each other. Lunch was extremely basic.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
969heidi
Feb 16, 2022
Not worth it - Way overcrowded. Sooo many people and boats, which is really sad because the beach is beautiful, but hard to enjoy. And I paid extra to go "snorkeling" which was very disappointing. No fish to be seen. And red tide (stinky murky water that makes your skin sting). And you feel stuck there, and there's no way to get back until your boat departs. The very definition of a tourist trap. We went with Tolinga tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
G4979afmauricior
Nov 30, 2021
STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE, from this Tour, from this company - STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE! Horrible from the beginning until the end: - The bus picked ups 30 minutes LATER - The bus was already SO packed and in a pandemic time! we had to sit next to another person being NOT part of our "bubble" it was that or not take the tour at all - The Catamaran was SO PACKED too, that there was almost NO space to sit on - Before disembarking there was SO many people wanting to leave first that basically they turned the first deck in to a "tuna can" and then one of the Staff was asking the people to "keep distance". Really? I mean, if you really care about Covid, DO NOT FILL the freaking boat that much - The place was naturally nice, but there was SO MANY people in the beach, and SO many boats in the see that really makes you fill in a crowded place and takes away all the beauty of the place - The beach chairs were all packed too, and that simply added to the feeling of overcrowding, with literally being under the sun (burning our skin) we had to pay 10 box for a sun umbrella because the company in charge set the layout of the chair so you MUST pay for that umbrella. At that point I was really in the need of leaving that place (obviously I couldn't) - I was late for the lunch and I get there when they were starting to packing, and they didn't want to give me the lunch, they even brought someone to confirm whether I had a lunch or not, TERRIBLE, once I was allowed to have my lunch I asked ONLY for chicken as I don't eat fish, the guy basically gave me the SMALLEST piece of chicken he could find, I ask him if they could give me at least one a bit bigger (as I didn't have the other meat) and they didn't wanted to, as "all is counted" - really? we ALL know how buffet works. After arguing with the guy they let me have another peace of chicken, again: TERRIBLE. - the return back to Puntarenas was oddly long, what was a 90 minutes trip back from the island took 3 hours (from 3 - 6 pm) Basically one on the WORST tours that I have ever taken in my life!
Review provided by Tripadvisor