The tour was incredible and our tour guide Israel, was so great at pointing out wildlife and making sure we felt safe around wildlife. This tour guide was certified so no surprises that you may face with other guides in town. Also really nice having no motor which is better environmentally and gets you deeper into the smaller canals!

Abel was such a lovely guy. He had loads of information and was very dedicated on our journey. We were lucky to be the only 2 people on the tour so it kind of was a private tour. You could’ve asked him anything. We even went on a dark adventure through the jungle! Where we saw toucans, banana spiders and a sloth with her child on the belly.

All three tours have been great. Our guide was very nice, knew everything we asked and had a lot to tell and above all was funny as well. Would recommend it highly to everyone. The groups were small and the atmosphere great.

We were in October for one day with Tortuguero Eco Experience. Our guide, Israel, was so great 😀 everything is well organized. What a wonderful experience to see the turtle lay and camouflage its eggs. All that with the respect of nature and biodiversity education. Bravo

We did two tours with this company - the canoe and the turtle tour. However, this review will be solely based on the canoe tour. This is because I did not enjoy the Turtle Tour, but this was at no fault of Tortugero Eco Experiences, but the National Park Authority and their lack of regulations and allowance of so many people at any one time. That is in a separate review of Tortugero National Park. For the canoe tour, we met our guide at 5.45pm. We were given binoculars which was absolutely great, they were good quality and allowed us to see so much more. We paddled over to the entrance of the national park and our guide Israel showed them our tickets. Our tour then began and we saw so much! Very impressed with the amount of wildlife in the reserve. We saw a baby crocodile, howler monkeys, caimans, a variety of birds, green iguanas, anteater, toucan, sloths, herons, spider monkeys, Jesus Christ lizards and river turtles. It was a very productive canoe ride and I’m so pleased we opted for the canoe rather than a powerboat tour as we were able to get right into the ecosystem where a lot of other tour groups weren’t going. It was incredible. Israel was very knowledge of the ecosystem and the animals generally. There were times when he was a bit condescending, but I don’t think he meant to be. The only thing I would say was we got rather close to a Caiman and I didn’t feel comfortable with how invasive we were into the animals personal space. All other species, Isreal was generally quite good at keeping a fair distance, but for the Caiman I did feel like we were encroaching on the animals space too much.

We had a fabulous day with our guide, Andre Junior. His knowledge of Tortuguella is astounding, and he gives the perfect amount of explanation. We started the day with canoeing on the river near the preserved national forest and saw howler monkeys, spider monkeys, a caiman, and even a sloth, as well as numerous birds. We had enough time for breakfast and a quick freshening up before heading out for a hike. Andre continued to astound us with his knowledge and it was obvious that he is passionate about nature and the rainforest. He even took a moment or two to move a grasshopper out of harm’s way! The icing on the cake was observing a green sea turtle lay and cover her eggs on the beach. This was fascinating and will forever be ingrained in our minds as one of the true wonders in nature. Andre clearly explained the rules and reasons behind being quiet, not using flashlights, and being respectful of the turtle’s space. Be aware that this day requires you to be in fairly good shape. It’s nowhere near challenging, but it requires a fair amount of strength and ability to walk a few miles at a brisk pace in a very hot, humid environment. Bring lots of water and make sure your shoes are well broken in before this trip! Overall we had an extremely fun day and it’s well worth the money!

Our guide Israel was so kind and knowledgeable. He was with us for the whole day. We were two families of 4 travelling together.We were lucky to see a turtle laying her eggs and a sloth moving on the ground that had come down from it's tree. It rains alot but the tour company provided great ponchos to help keep dry. A normal rain mac is just too hot to wear. Flip flops are great for the canoe trip but you need closed toed shoes for the hikes.

The tours were both great. We first did the turtle nesting experience and it was incredible. We were lucky enough to see the whole three stages of the process and it was memorable. The guide Israel was very careful at all times, explaining us the process the turtles go through and how important it is to respect every stage without interrupting them. The next day we went on the canoe trip and had the chance to spot a great number of birds, caimans and other animals. Israel shared so much information that made the trip a great learning and enjoyable experience. Definitely recommend!

Our guide, Israel, was amazing! He was extremely knowledgeable, very friendly and had an amazing ability to spot animals. They also take good care not to disturb the animals. The views of the national park were just stunning. We’ve done lots of tours in Costa Rica, but this was definitely one of the best ones. Highly recommended!

Our tour guide, Israel, was patient, kind, and incredibly knowledgeable. The way he could spot things was magical. We were with him all day and he never seemed to tire or lose gentle enthusiasm for the incredible world around him. He is the kind of guide that when you meet other tours, you know you have the best guide. We felt very lucky that we were assigned to him and that our travel agent chose this organization to book with.

We booked this tour at Aracari Garden Hostel. The whole team could not have been more helpful. They arranged our early morning boat transfer, as we were staying on the other side of the river. Our canoe tour group was only four people and the canoe had proper back rests, much to Mum's relief. They even gave her a cushion to sit on. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and kept us away from the busy areas and bigger motor boats as much as possible. My favourite part was when we canoed into the much smaller canals. We saw birds, cayman, iguanas, lizards, monkeys and a sloth.

English: I did the tour with Leonardo one week ago and I left after 20 mins. He did something illegal in Tortuguero, he was digging the turtle’s nests in order to find the little turtles that were not ready to go out. If you check with the authorities they will tell you that you are not allowed to touch the nests, therefore even if he tells you that it’s completely fine, that only 1 out of 1000 will make it, it’s a lie. It’s not fine and we should not take their opportunity to make it opening their nests. It’s the only bad experience that I had in 20 days in Costa Rica, he is harming the wildlife. There are plenty of good guides, that’s why I highly recommend to not hire any of his tours. Español: Hice el tour con Leonardo hace una semana, a los 20 minutos nos fuimos del tour. Leonardo abrió los nidos de las tortugas que no estaban listas para salir todavía, cosa que es ilegal en Tortuguero. Si consultas con SINAC o cualquier otra autoridad te dirán que es ilegal tocar los nidos, por lo tanto cuando el te dice que no pasa nada solo 1 de 1000 sobrevivirá te está mintiendo. No deberíamos quitarles la oportunidad de sobrevivir. Después de 20 días en Costa Rica y mil tours hechos esta es la única mala experiencia que he tenido, Leonardo perjudica y daña a la fauna. Hay muchos otros guías muy buenos en Tortuguero para elegir.

Israel taught us so much and was so enthusiastic and sweet! We saw a baby turtle hatching and it was one of the best experience of my life! The night tour was also amazing and we were able to see a beautiful red eyed frog!

I had a great day of tours with this company/hotel. It was the same guide all day, and he was great, very knowledgeable, speaks english, and knows where to look for animals. -They said the meeting point was Aracari Garden, and it turns out the tours are run by this hotel, which is fine, no problem. Reception is very nice, and on their desk is the ONLY road/path map i ever saw of this town, so i took a picture and posted it here too (note some paths have changed, it must be older map). -I met there with a few others (6 others? + guide= 8 total), at the hotel reception desk. We were given life vests, binoculars, rain ponchos, and some got paddles, and some carried foam seats for cannoe. Guide and everyone was on time, he explained what we were doing, collected the ticket number for the park entry, and gave out the gear. -Canoe trip in morning was good, saw lots of birds, lizards, 2 Cayman, and monkeys, and the great scenery of the river and jungle. It started raining about 15 min into the 2 hour trip and didnt stop the rest of the trip. But we had rain ponchos so it was no problem, and i had go pro with case for pictures. Returned all our gear to the hotel and left for breakfast, around 8am-830. -HOW I KNOW ITS A GOOD COMPANY: At the start of the canoe trip, we were walking to the docks with the semi old life vests and standard paddle and seat and ponchos, and there was another group of 4 guys that had brand new matching life vests from their company and a better boat, and i wondered to myself if i maybe picked one of the lessor companys. I was wrong to think this. Later after it was raining for about a hour and we all had our ponchos on and we were crusing along, the boat with those 4 guys in it came past us, and they had no ponchos, they were huddled up with arms crossed because they were cold from the rain, and they looked like they wanted it to be over. So i was with the better prepared company and guide. -Return for the 11am day hike, meet at the hotel reception desk again. Same guide as the morning. We went in the park and saw many animals, monkeys, sloth, deer, spider, little rodent bunny thing, red arrow frog, bugs. Showed us and we did open a coconut from a tree and drink the water. Showed us that the turtles reach the surface and then wait, and you can see their flipper in the hole, i later found another when walking on beach because i knew what to look for. -Hotel said they would email me about the time for night turtle walk as it gets arraigned every night around 4pm-5pm. They told me to meet at 710pm at the hotel for the night walk. Same guide again, he was great all day. we went out to the waiting station and he explained alot about turtles and local life and any questions we had as we waited. by 9pm there still wasnt any turtles, but a little later they said there was one digging a nest but it was 1 or 2 Km away, so we walked down there, southward from town, and at the 50 marker, we went out to see a turtle returning to water, then turn around and try to make a few more nests. We waited as long as we could, but we had to return to let the turtle nest in peace. At least we saw the turtle moveing and trying to make a nest. -The guide was the same guide all day, he is in a few of the pictures, he was a very good english speaking guide. very passionate and knowledgeable about the local life and area. Has some good humor in his tours too. -No pictures of the night turtle tour, because no cameras or phones or light of any kind is allowed (except red light), same as all other turtle night tours, its national park rules. Overall the tours with this company were well prepared, communication was great (about buying park tickets in advance and meeting times and places), and the tours themselves were a very good experience of tortuguero.

Israel was a fantastic guide, very competent and kind. The experience is totally suggested if you want to see wildlife and the rainforest from peculiar viewpoints.