Costa Rica: Coast to Coast with Tortuguero

Your Small Group Discovery tour begins! Your hotel will be available for check-in the afternoon. A Globus representative will provide details about your Tortuguero National Park adventure. Please note: The Tour Director does not accompany guests on extensions. Services will be provided as outlined in the itinerary. You will meet your Tour Director on day 4 in San José.

Shell Games Journey east to the Caribbean shore and Tortuguero National Park. On the way, pass by several banana plantations and see one of Costa Rica’s main exports being harvested. Later, board a motorboat for your cruise along the Tortuguero Canals, waterways crisscrossing a national park dedicated to the protection of endangered turtles. The trained eyes of your guide and boatman help you spot freshwater turtles, caimans, herons, toucans, egrets, and monkeys. Upon arrival, enjoy a welcome drink and briefing at your lodge before free time before dinner this evening. (B,L,D) TOUR HIGHLIGHT WONDERS OF NATURE Your time in Tortuguero National Park includes naturalist-guided visits to the bio-diverse park—home to many species, including white-faced capuchin, howler, spider monkeys, toucans, macaws, tapirs, ocelot, manatees, and jaguars! The area is also famous as the annual nesting site for the five species of turtles.

Natural Beauties A local naturalist accompanies you on a guided cruise of the remote yet extensive Tortuguero canals. Watch for abundant wildlife, including over 125 species of mammals, 124 species of reptiles, and over 375 species of birds. Return to the lodge for a nature walk into the rainforest with your naturalist guide who explains the flora commonly found here and its uses. This afternoon, visit the small town of Tortuguero and visit the Sea Turtle Conservancy Museum in the protected nesting habitat and largest green turtle rookery in North America, as well as Hawksbill, Leatherback, Loggerhead, and Olive Ridley turtles. Please note: nesting of the sea turtles typically occurs between mid-July to mid-October. (B,L,D) TOUR HIGHLIGHT CONSERVATION MATTERS The Sea Turtle Conservancy Museum has been working with green turtles in Tortuguero since 1959, making it the world’s oldest sea turtle research and conservation group. Learn about sea turtle species that nest in Tortuguero, their life cycle, migratory routes, the research that was started in the early 1950s, and preservation efforts to help protect these endangered species.

Make Waves A morning boat cruise and drive take you back to San José where you will meet your Tour Director. (B,L) TOUR HIGHLIGHT SCENIC RIDE Pass the plentiful fields of banana trees on your way to San José where the Costa Rican plantations produce this main export to the rest of the world.