We really enjoyed our day cruise to Isla Tortuga! We were staying in Manuel Antonio, so had to get up really early (like 4am) to get to Puntarenas. The cruise was 2 hours and fun- they played spanish music and served us delicious ceviche and fruit. Isla Tortuga was beautiful, we had time for the lunch and spent some time in the water. The island has wild pigs that look like baby wild boar-they kept trying to steal our coconuts but were harmless. It was a long day for us, having to travel back to Manuel Antonio, but definitely worth it. The staff on the boat was friendly and helpful.

A long 2 hour bus ride from Jaco stopping once to pick up other guests then a long slow 2 hour boat ride to a small beach. The highlight was an ok snorkeling experience that you have to pay extra for. Everything is just ok, nothing stands out. I have been to many beautiful islands and beaches around the world, this one is a 3 out of 10. The food is 4 out of 10 because of the vegetarian option. The crew are not super friendly, I tried to get a band aid for a cut, the crew member told me he had a first aid kit but I never received a band aid. Unless you want a long mediocre day with not much going on I would avoid this one

We drove an hour and half from Jacó to Puntarenas to get on the tour. My wife and I had used a different tour out of Jaco a couple years ago and had a fantastic time but that tour company was sold out for the day we wanted to go so I was willing to drive an hour and half to go again so our son would get to experience the everything too. When I looked at the map I figured it would be a quick boat ride from puntarenas. I was mistaken, it was a 2 hour ride which was longer then it took to boat from Jaco which is much farther on the water. So you will waste 4 hrs of the day boating back and forth. The main reason we went was to snorkel since there isn’t much available for snorkeling around Jaco and we wanted our son to try snorkeling the first time. He was super excited to go. We got about 20 minutes from the island and was told the waves are too big and current is too strong for snorkeling but we would get a couple drink tickets instead since we already paid for it. So instead of snorkeling we got more flat soda that we didn’t want and we don’t drink alcohol so we ended up just having cups of water after we found the soda completely flat. The bigger problem came when we got on the island finally and we see boat after boat going out with other tours to go snorkeling. I asked the staff what’s going on and in her rude way she just repeated the same story and walked away. We paid for the banana boat to and the same staffer told us we could go anytime so we said ok let’s go right now we have nothing else for my son to do since snorkeling was canceled. She said ok she would get it set up and come back. An hour later we were still sitting there waiting. We ended up paying more money for the “eco tour” to kill time. We finally came back and asked the girl again about the banana boat and was told we could do it in another hour after they have lunch. So 3 hours after she told us we could go we finally got to go on the banana boat for 15 minutes. That was it for $125 per person. Also we were told we were leaving at 3pm so at 2pm we started walking over to the corner of the island to take some pictures. As soon as we got up and started walking the same rude staffer came over and started telling everyone they needed to get on the boat immediately because we were leaving. I said to my wife what the hell would have happened if we walked away one min before to take pictures we would miss the boat?? We had such a great time with all the tours all week in Costa Rica except for this one. As I told my son, they can’t all be winners and this is one that falls into that category.

Excellent experience! My daughter and I loved the day. The staff were incredibly kind and helpful. The lunch served on the island was delicious. They also served fresh fruit and banana bread. We enjoyed the snorkeling and banana boat ride too. The water was like swimming in bath water. I could go on and on….Marvelous day and 100 percent Costa Rican!

The staff/crew are the reason to take THIS tour! Cheerful, helpful, relaxed, kind, organized and fun! They ensure you will not miss any activity offered - all without feeling herded or that they are just going through the motions. You will positively know that they want you to have a great day and know how to safely deliver. Extra perks that need to be mentioned - this tour boat has changing rooms, fresh water rinse off showers for the ride back to port and plenty room to move around, both outside and inside the air conditioned main cabin.

I was very disappointed with the boat from Bay Island Cruises. They pick you up around 5:30am and for breakfast they only served pork (ham and cheese sandwich) for breakfast so my family did not eat since we don't eat pork. We get on the boat and the music was catered only to spanish speaking people only. I feel like they should of switch the music a little bit. Even the entertainment only was speaking to the Spanish people and not one word in English. The only people that spoke English was our tour guide Mariela. At 12pm they said it was lunch but we had snorkeling since we were in 2nd group and could not eat until we returned at 1:45pm which by then the food was cold. There was a tour guide named Hazel who was trying her hardest to make adjustments and understand our situation. She was very welcoming and was communicating in english and helping us try to get food. I think they defintely need to be adjustments for non speaking spanish people but the island itself is Beautiful, water was warm. they need water on the island so people can take showers after spending time on the beach!

We took this trip from our hotel Aldea Pura Vida. There was travel agency selling trips. We were told that the trip would start 8:15AM but while we were eating breakfast 7:15AM, responsabile guy came to us to hurry because the catamaran leaves early. The trip itself was so nice, it took about 2 hours to get to Isla Tortuga from Puntarenas harbor. The island was so clean and natutal, we loved it! There was possibility to go snorkeling, to go with cayak etc. We also has a lunch there which was included. Only minus was, that in hotel we were told that snorkeling was included, it wasn’t. But that was more hotel responsibles problem..

The views during the boat ride there were spectacular, but the island stop was disappointing. The chairs are crammed together and the beach was littered with plastic, styrofoam and other trash that someone on the staff should be picking up frequently. I spent almost an hour picking up trash (see photo). The bathrooms were awful and there were no showers to rinse off. I had to spend almost five hours wet and sandy and miserable returning to San Jose by boat and bus. The gas fumes from the boat were also really strong on the way back making me very nauseated. I wouldn’t go on this tour again.

We did this tour with our family of 4. The way to Isla Tortuga was a good, fun atmosphere and the ride was scenic, but rather slow. It was nice experiencing being out on the bay. The Island looks beautiful from a distance. But then you get there and realize you are going to spend the next few hours with hordes of tourists from not just your boat but other boats. This would be a great Spring Break party location, but not the best option for an island getaway. Its still pretty, but you don't get a lot of space to yourself. The snorkeling was very poor. The banana boat was fun. The ride back to Puntarenas was painfully slow. It took about an hour longer to get back than it did to get there. We have never in our lives been on a boat moving as slowly. Maybe there was a reason (slightly choppy water?, wildlife preserve?, terrible boat?). We were in agony waiting to get back and get off the damn boat. This was hands down the least enjoyable experience on our almost 2 weeks in Costa Rica. Perhaps there aren't other options and this is the only way to experience an affordable island excursion in Gulf of Nicoya. If going to Isla Tortuga I would strongly suggest to leave from a location as close to Isla Tortuga as possible and/or with a company with a boat that goes faster than a row boat.

Bay Island Tours Isla Tortuga crew was amazing! Our guide Josue was awesome! The entire crew was so kind, attentive and made sure everyone had an excellent day- which we sure did! They provided snacks, a wonderful lunch with wine & entertainment! Loved it!

We were picked up from our hotel (5 mins away from port) at 7.15, only to depart at 8.30am. We specifically booked the tour with 5 cocktails included, however, when we came aboard we were told we could get any 5 alcoholic drinks but not cocktails. The boat ride is extremeeeely slow! Driving at around 10km/hr, so the ride takes over 2 hrs each way. There is no breeze because of the ridiculously slow speed, and indoor space is limited, so most of us were left to roast in the sun for a total of almost 5 hrs. We were unfortunate enough to have a group of people who decided to turn the boat into their own party, with a massive speaker screaming all the way, both ways (seperate to the DJ upstairs) Time at the island is limited, we arrived just before 10.30 am and were queuing up to leave by 2:50. No activities are included in the price. If you want to go snorkelling you need to pay an extra $20. Sunbeds are packed near eachother with zero personal space. The beds themselves are old and worn out. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a space under a tree for some shade, otherwise you need to add an extra $5 for an umbrella. We asked what time we will be back as we had private transport booked for 6pm. We were informed we’d be back by 5 (which you’d think is pretty reasonable for a 23 km journey which leaves at 3 pm), however we docked at 6pm, making us late for our transport Lunch was ok and staff were very helpful. Island is lovely but not worth the experience.

Boat ride was 2 hours each way. Boat was slow. Waited 90 minutes for boat to depart. Snorkeling was disappointing as water was murky and fish were limited. Staff on the boat and beach were outstanding

The beach itself was nice A lot of people at the same time The boat ride took two hours The staff was nice The food at Tortuga Island was okay The snorkeling was okay

We had a great time on this excursion, the service was excellent, and they made sure to take care of everyone. The lunch was delicious. My wife and I enjoyed the chicken and fish. We even got so lucky as to see a whale and her baby on our trip back.

Shuttle and boat service to and from the island was good to alright. The boat was as slow as they come and think the purpose of that was to push the selling of alcohol. This is a factor because you will want this day to be over as quick as possible and your stuck on a slow boat back from misery. The island experience was horrible. 5 other companies are doing the same thing on the same island at the same time so you are literally swimming in people. If you don’t get off the boat early you loose out on “REAL”shade prospects and will roast and cook under pathetic umbrellas. For a large boat of people you had only 3 island toilets for Bay Island Cruises and one of them was broken. You look around at the other company toilet facilities and they have 5-6 toilets and all are working. No communication and mass confusion because the 5 other companies sharing the island at the same time are doing all the same activities. The touted events the you paid a lot of money for are being scheduled around all the other companies. Bay Island Cruises did not communicate when their company time window for each event was. You show up for banana boat and they tell you your companies time window is in an hour. You show up 50 minutes later for the ride and you have 5 other groups ahead of you because there is no sign up for your position in line.. no communication… and total chaos. Do you think there could have been a sign up and squad the boats when I showed up 50 minutes earlier and give me a time frame when to come back. Snorkeling was a joke. Beach had no waves and full of small coral and rocks. Not a fun experience. Don’t waste your time and money for 13 hours of your vacation for 5 hours of an absolute miserable island experience.