Costa Rica del Caribe: Tour de 5 días con el Parque Nacional Tortuguero y Puerto Viejo

My rating for the places themselves - Tortuguero and Puerto Viejo would be five out of five. They are stunning! Tortuguero is a natural wonder - stunning miles of riverways and jungle, where you can cruise and spot incredible wildlife from Iguanas, through Camans, to monkeys and a plethora of birdlife. The vegetation is HUGE and incredibly diverse and beautiful... like being in an Indiana Jones movie! The main guide I had when I was there was very well informed and incredibly good at spotting things - I got so much more from going with him than I would have on my own. The lodging I was in, in Tortueguero was nice, just on the edge of the water, but a bit more basic than I expected. E.g. No bedside table or lamp, no hairdryer, no tv in the room. The restaurant was excellent though, with delicious, very well cooked food - especially the fish! Puerto Viejo is a gorgeous, jolly town on the Caribbean coast. The beach at sunset is gorgeous, the the water quite rough - great for surfing, not so great for swimming. The main tour I had there was ok - we saw the Iguana rescue (a bit underwhelming), a little village where we saw how chocolate was made and a frog nursery (both amazing!) then a waterfall (nice but not remarkable). I found the guide for this tour a little annoying - not so well-informed (tended to repeat the same information), and a bit loud and forceful (insisting multiple times that I take photos of things I didn't want to photograph!). The accommodation in Puerto Viejo was much more luxurious - a beautiful bedroom with hammock and little terrace. A lovely resort, with pool e.t.c... Overall, it was a great experience. My biggest reservation though was it wasn't really one tour. I think this is common in Costa Rica, but I was the only person who had actually booked this tour on this day, so the tour operator basically acted like a travel agent - booking me in on multiple individual trips/ transportations/ tours. So I was passed between about 10 different entities - sometimes alone, sometimes joining a group who had booked a different tour but doing the same activity... no one guide explaining what was happening, and no traveling companions across the days. Traveling as a solo female, this was a bit unnerving, and I was never super sure what was happening in much detail, or whether I'd be picked up successfully for the next bit e.t.c.... but in the end it all worked out well and the customer service via email was very prompt and effective, so when I was confused I generally got an answer virtually within the hour.

This was a fabulous 5-day trip with Destiny Travel which we decided to book at the last minute, We found the trip on line purely by chance having done no prior research and received a response immediately that our reservation had been accepted. Any concern we might have had regarding our own naivete was quickly dispelled as from that moment on, everything worked like clockwork starting with regular ongoing communication with the Destiny Travel Specialist through travel logistics, hotel pickup in downtown San Jose and subsequent transportation (bus & boat) to Pachira Lodge in Tortuguero. We had a great guide who guided us expertly through the planned itinerary. We were really pleased with the accommodation, a quality 3-star lodge, good meals and friendly staff. We could not have been happier with the place or the itinerary. The same level of satisfaction with respect to travel, accommodation, itinerary, guides attended the second part of ourtrip to Puerto Viejo. Again, we loved the accommodation, (Cariblue), another quality 3-star hotel with its excellent amenities, comfortable, clean bungalow, restaurant, friendly staff etc. In short, we chose the trip on a whim not really knowing what to expect and finished the 5-day excursion feeling we had seen it all while being very well taken care of throughout the entire trip. As far as value for money is concerned, we could not have been more pleased. It was exactly the type of travel experience that my wife and I really enjoy. Kudos to everyone and especially Desting Travel for making this such a memorable 5 days.

The tour was really well organized. The operators are super responsive, kind and flexible with the plans. The transportation has always been precise and on time. The hotels were really good, with nice restaurants and spacious rooms. I think the price is fair and it would be more expensive if self-organized, with no opportunity to meet other people. 10/10 for Destiny Travel Costa Rica :)

From Start to Finish Destiney Travel made our 10-day vacation Amazing. We started off with the 5-Day Tortuguero NP and Puerto Viejo. The lodging and food in both locations were excellent. The tour guides were all knowledgeable and spoke many languages. Destiny Travel was a what's app call away when ever we had a question on our itinerary and confirming pick-up times along the way. A big shout out to Freddie, one of our drivers and guides from Tortuguerro to PV and then again from Monteverde to the Airport. My only wish is that we would have stayed 1 additional night in PV, to chill and see the village. Instead we went rafting on the Pascuare River, which was amazing. I highly recommend using Destiney Travel for any Costa Rica Travel! They accommodated our schedule, budget and added days after this tour.