San Jose to Tortuguero in the afternoon

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mdevel
mdevel

Hi everyone. We want to travel from San Jose to Tortuguero but seems difficult because we are arriving in San Jose in the early afternoon. We are arriving at San Jose international airport at 1:30pm, and there is no way we'll be able to get to La Pavona in time to catch the last boat to Tortuguero (at 4:30pm). Is there any way to get to Tortuguero from San Jose this late without having to stay the night in Cariari?

I did consider public bus to Cariari, then taxi to La Pavona, and then if possible to hire a private boat from La Pavona to Tortuguero at around 6pm. There are 4 of us traveling together so we can share the costs. Has anybody done this? Is it easy to find a boat driver this late in the day from La Pavona? If so, how much would this cost? Thnx

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mrmoto
mrmoto

You can't do it.

You would miss the bus connection in Cariarri, which head to La Pavona at 3PM, and meets boats to Tortuguero 3:45, which then takes 45 minutes to the village. It gets dark 530...

You also need to clear Immigration/Customs, then hire a taxi to downtown SJ caribe terminal, which is 30-45 minutes, and then get a bus to Cariarri...

Even if you taxi hired directly from SJO to La Pavona you would not make the last boat...

Head out early next morning, get to bus station by 8AM so you make the boat at 12, otherwise you will wait to 3PM for a bus and a boat connection...

Adventure Travel to Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, South Africa, Morocco, Turkey, EU, USA National Parks, enjoying culture, cuisine, motorcycling, scuba diving, surfing, sailing, rafting, hiking, fishing, camping, nature, wildlife. Get a Guidebook, and get lost!
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mdevel
mdevel
In response to #1

Thanks mrmoto!
Damn, as I suspected. So there's no chances of a private chartered boat from La Pavona? I didn't consider the fact that it would be dark, though that's not a deal breaker from my perspective. The only issue is if the boat drivers all disappear at nightfall :)

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mrmoto
mrmoto

You will have 2 issues-

There is no bus from Cariarri to La Pavona, so thats a $30 taxi to docks. Then, the dock will be empty as all the boats are in Tortuguero, for the 630AM return to docks...so you would need a local to call a boat, and then he has to agree to travel at dark on river, many don't have lights, and also the price would be $$ roundtrip....

Adventure Travel to Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, South Africa, Morocco, Turkey, EU, USA National Parks, enjoying culture, cuisine, motorcycling, scuba diving, surfing, sailing, rafting, hiking, fishing, camping, nature, wildlife. Get a Guidebook, and get lost!
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kayak05
kayak05

You didn't say when you plan on going. If it is in peak season (December to April) there is the option of flying.

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mdevel
mdevel
In response to #4

Kayak, going at the end of October. I saw that flights only go in the morning, so I suppose we could fly first thing the next morning. But at $100 each for 4 of us, poor value. If we could get there late the night before, we'd much prefer that. But if we can't then maybe we'll think about flying. Thanks.

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mdevel
mdevel
In response to #3

Right, good point, they would have to do a roundtrip... Ok I will contact a hotel in Tortuguero to enquire about the possibility of doing this. Like I said, there are 4 of us. So even if we have to pay for the roundtrip and a $20 taxi, my guess is that will still be cheaper than say flying the next morning. Thanks for the tips!

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