Tortuguero is Costa Rica's little Amazon: a labyrinth of jungle canals threaded between the Caribbean and the rainforest, with no roads at all — you arrive by boat from La Pavona or by small plane, and everything in the village moves on water. Glide the canals in a canoe at first light and the banks come alive: caimans, herons, three kinds of monkey, sloths draped in the almendro trees.
Then there's the beach — the most important green sea turtle nesting site in the Western Hemisphere, protected since researchers began tagging turtles here in the 1950s. From July to October, guided night walks take you onto the dark sand to watch females haul ashore and dig, a ritual older than the coastline itself. Leatherbacks, the giants, nest earlier in the year. No lights, no phones, no exceptions — and that's exactly why it still happens.
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Cantons of Limón · 6
Operators & experiences
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Good to know
Best season
Green turtles nest July–October (peak August–September); leatherbacks roughly March–May. The canals are extraordinary year-round.
Difficulty & access
Easy — everything moves by boat. Get there via the La Pavona boat launch beyond Guápiles, or a short flight from San José. Night turtle walks are guided-only, in small licensed groups.
Insider tip
Book the dawn canoe, paddled not motored — the canals at first light out-deliver any afternoon tour. On nesting walks, trust your guide's dim red light and leave the phone at the lodge.