How to Travel to Tortuguero, Costa Rica for only 7 dollars

Public Transportation to Tortuguero

Getting to Tortuguero Village
for only $7 USD:

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Most people don’t know that they can get to Tortuguero very easily from the capital of San Jose for as little as $7 US Dollars.

Here how you do it:

From the airport:

If you are coming straight from the Juan Santamaría Airport, the easiest way is to take a taxi for 18 USD (US Dollars) to the Terminal Gran Caribe Bus Station.

A much cheaper, and slightly more complicated option is to take one of the many public buses that run from directly outside of the airport to San Jose (just ask the driver if they go to San José Centro), and then either:

1) taking a taxi to the Terminal Gran Caribe Bus Station. (it will cost about 3 USD from here)

2) walking to Terminal Gran Caribe Bus Station (click here to see map)

From Terminal Gran Caribe Bus Station:

This bus station is also referred to as “Caribeños”. The buses that leave from here are very modern, secure, and comfortable. They have under carriage compartments to stow your luggage which locks and is monitored by bus station personnel when it is open while loading.

This option will get you to Tortuguero almost as fast as any private provider, and for only about
7 US dollars.

CAUTION: To get the best price for bus tickets to Cariari, go inside the main terminal and buy tickets at the authorized location (the "Guapiles" ticket booth), instead of buying bus tickets from any other sellers outside the terminal who claim to have a monopoly on tickets to Tortuguero. Contrary to what they may tell you, you do not have to buy your boat tickets in San Jose, you can easily buy them once you arrive in Cariari from one of three local transportation companies (see "Cariari" section below).

Once inside the bus station, go to the ticket counter labeled ‘Guápiles’ buy a ticket for the 9am or 10:30am bus going to CARIARI (there are also direct buses to Cariari at 1pm, 3pm, 4:30pm, 6pm, and 7pm. But you will not get there in time to catch the last bus/boat to Tortuguero and you will have to stay the night in Cariari. It will cost 1170 colones (about 2.30 USD). This bus will take you to Cariari (click here to see a map of the route). This is an amazing trip crossing the country through the high rain forests of Costa Rica, so get a window seat if possible, the views are incredible. The trip will last about 2 and a half hours. Stay on the bus until the very last stop which is Cariari.

CARIARI

Cariari is a rapidly growing town, but does not have much to offer a tourist. For most independent travelers it is the gateway to Tortuguero. There are a few hotels here in case you arrive in the evening and have to wait until the next day to take the boat to Tortuguero. (click to see a map of Cariari and click here for info about hotels).

Now that you are in Cariari, you have a few options of boats to take. There are three boat operators that will take you to Tortuguero, and each charge about 3 dollars.

Three public boat operators Clic Clic, COOPETRACA and Bananero travel the same route.

With all the boat providers, an hour long bus ride is required to get to the boat launching point (click to see a map of the bus route). This is an interesting ride through the banana plantations and the ‘banana towns’ that were first developed and operated by the United Fruit Company. In all cases, the boat you will be taking will be waiting for you at the last stop of the bus ride. So, choose one of the three boat providers:

Boat Provider	Bus Cost	Boat Cost	Schedule Leaving Cariari
Bananero	600 colones (1.20 USD)	5000 colones ($10 USD)	11:30am, 2pm
Clic Clic	1000 colones (2.00 USD)	1600 colones ($3 USD)	6am, 9am, 12am, 3pm
COOPETRACA	1000 colones (2.00 USD)	1600 colones ($3 USD)	6am, 9am, 12am, 3pm

If you choose Clic Clic,
you do not need to buy a boat ticket in Cariari, but you DO need to buy the bus ticket. The bus you need to catch leaves from a bus station a few blocks away, they call this the ‘old bus station’ (estación viejo). (Click here to see how to get the Old Bus Station). Walk to the old bus station and go to the ticket counter and buy a bus ticket to RANCHO LA SUERTE (or, Antigua Pavona) (this is what they call the docking area), it will cost 1000 colones (about 2 USD). At this point do NOT buy your boat ticket. You will buy this ticket on the boat. If you take the 9am bus from San Jose you will arrive at around 11:30, just in time for the 12noon bus to RANCHO LA SUERTE. If you take the 10:30 bus, you will arrive at around 1:00, and can hang out and eat or go shopping until the 3pm bus leaves for RANCHO LA SUERTE. At Rancho la Suerte, boat providers from Clic Clic, Morpho, and Bananero will be there to greet you. Make sure you let them know that you wish to travel with ‘Clic Clic’, and they will direct you to the correct boat. You will pay after you board the boat; as the boat nears Tortuguero an employee will collect all of the fares. It costs $3. The bus takes a little longer than an hour, and the boat takes about an hour. The boat will be waiting for the bus to arrive. (click to see this route)

If you choose COOPETRACA,
the bus you need to catch leaves from a bus station a few blocks away, they call this the ‘old bus station’ (estación viejo). (Click here to see how to get the Old Bus Station). Walk to the old bus station. Go to the ticket counter and buy a bus ticket to RANCHO LA SUERTE (this is what they call the docking area), it will cost 1000 colones (about 2 USD). Here you will also buy a ticket for the boat to Tortuguero, it will be 1500 colones (3 USD, they take US dollars). If you take the 9am bus from San Jose you will arrive at around 11:30, just in time for the 12noon bus to RANCHO LA SUERTE. If you take the 10:30 bus, you will arrive at around 1:00, and can hang out and eat or go shopping until the 3pm bus leaves for RANCHO LA SUERTE. At Rancho la Suerte, boat providers from Clic Clic, Morpho, and Bananero will be there to greet you. Make sure you let them know that you bought a ticket to travel with Coopetraca and they will direct you to the correct boat. The bus takes a little longer than an hour, and the boat takes about an hour. The boat will be waiting for the bus to arrive. (click to see this route)

If you choose Bananero,
This is the aggressive company who may approach you to buy their ticket as soon as you get off the bus from San José and also in Cariari. To buy it go to the office that is located at the bus station where you just got off. They call this the ‘new bus station’ (estación nueva). If there is nobody at the office, you will have to travel through one of the other two providers. If someone is there, they will sell you a 10 dollar ticket for the boat and inform you to catch the bus at either 11:30am or 2pm depending on what time you arrived in Cariari. You pay for the bus when you get on, it is 600 colones (about 1.20 USD, but the driver will most likely only take colones, and they don’t typically give change for large bills). The bus ride is about two hours, and the boat ride is about an hour and a half. The boat will be waiting for the bus to arrive. (click to see this route). Bananero now also offers boat service from RANCHO LA SUERTE, which is the same location where the other boat companies will meet the public bus.

Welcome to Tortuguero. We hope your stay will be amazing.

NOTE: There have been recent occasions when the boats of COOPETRACA have not fulfilled their requirements to travelers leaving them stranded. We recommend that you never buy return tickets (they are not needed since you pay passage on the boat), and that you travel with the boat company, CLIC CLIC. Clic Clic is a local company who has always looked out for the town and have donated services with public projects. We have never received any complaints from those traveling with Clic Clic boats.

NOTE: You do not have to buy boat tickets in advance when you want to leave Tortuguero. You can pay on the boat itself, or right before you board for all boat travel to and from Tortuguero. Likewise, you do not need to buy round-trip tickets. By law the boat companies must have sufficient space to provide for all travelers (they have numerous boats). But it is always wise if traveling with large groups to make arrangments in advance. Along the way, many operators may try to convince you that their travel option is the only one currently available. This is not the case.

NOTE: When traveling during the turtle season (April through October) if you are traveling on the 3:00 PM bus from Cariari, and want to do a turtle tour that same night tell the boat captain to call ahead to reserve a tour. There might be other fellow travellers who could benefit from this information. Let them know too. If this is not arranged ahead of time you may arrive too late for the 6:00 PM cutoff time for guides to get a tour permit for you.

NOTE: Do NOT put your valuables in the overhead compartment of any bus while you are in Costa Rica. The majority of all reported thefts of travelers en route to Tortuguero are bags taken from the overhead compartment. Storage under the bus is safe, and in your lap is even safer. But overhead storage is a target for theives.

Click here to see the community list of ACCOMODATIONS, TOURS, EVENTS, RESTAURANTS, and MUCH MORE.

Click here to see how to leave Tortuguero (that is, if you decide to leave).

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