Our Isla Tortuga boat tour is a full day all-Inclusive activity. Spend a wonderful day at the beautiful white sand beach of Isla Tortuga. Enjoy a tropical beach lunch, chill in a hammock on the beach, engage in a volleyball game or put on a mask and explore the coral reefs and its colorful fish.

As a special treat, we also take you past another island that is inhabited by spider monkeys. When they come down to the shore, you can get a very close up encounter with them.

This tour, which is all day from 9am to 3:30 pm, offers a lot in one package.

Isla Tortuga boat tour with spider monkeys and snorkeling
First of all, the boat journey in itself is truly enjoyable. We take a max of 10 persons on each of our boats, so you get personalized attention from the crew.

On the Isla Tortuga boat tour, you’ll frequently see rays or dolphins, or even some turtles, there are several species that lay their eggs on the nearby beaches.

Snorkeling the reefs off the beach at Isla Tortuga, is like swimming in an aquarium. There are so many different fish species. At Isla Tortuga the beach is white, which comes from the coral reefs in the area.

The beach at Tortuga Island (actually named Tolinga Island) is some of the whitest in the area, and on sunny days is astoundingly beautiful. The water is clear and the small waves makes for family friendly swimming.

You can rent beach chairs, kayaks, paddleboards and go on a ride on a “banana” tube, rent a wave runner or just chill in a hammock in the shade. If you get enough of sand and water, you can hike up the mountain and explore the trails There is also a gift shop with internet.

Monkey island | Visit endangered spider monkeys
We never get tired of watching the monkeys in Costa Rica. Spider Monkeys are wonderful to see swinging gracefully through the trees with their long arms, legs and tails. Spiders are the most mobile of Costa Rican monkeys. They speed through trees using their forelimbs and tail in a breath-taking fashion.

At isla Nancital we are fortunate to have a family of Spider monkeys. They do not have any natural predators on the island, and are by nature very curious. So when we come by with the boat, we often see the treetops starting to move high up as the spider monkeys are rushing down to greet us.

Snorkeling rock | like swimming in an aquarium
Even though there might be a dozen boats and several other snorkelers in the water, there’s still a remarkable amount of fish. We arrive at the snorkeling rock before most other boats, so we often get the place almost to ourselves.

Before entering the water, our friendly and professional guides will be on hand to assist and instruct you. Once you descend “the stairway to the sea”, you will discover the wonders under the sea with rough volcanic rocks and an abundance of marine life.

We supply good quality snorkeling gear, floaters and safety equipment.

Isla Tortuga | Animals on the island
For those who want to get away from the beach for a while there are some hiking trails around the island. You have to pay extra to access them, but it’s worth it because you can climb to some beautiful viewpoints to take photos. If you tread carefully you can come across some of the wildlife that lives on the island.

Isla Tortuga is home to the national animal of Costa Rica, the white-tailed deer and a rather large family of Collared Peccary, which is a type of wild pig. You can also see both green iguanas and the more common black ctenosaurs, and a variation of other lizards. Walking around a bit on the island almost guarantees you spotting parrots.

What to expect on the Isla Tortuga boat tour
This exceptional day starts with pick up at the Paquera ferry landing. You’ll board one of our comfortable power boats that are fully equipped with a cooler with refreshments, music, safety equipment, and plenty of space as we maximum take 10 people on board.

We will start the day with taking you on a 25 minutes boat ride along the coast with lovely views of the coastline and the surrounding islands. About half way to Isla Tortuga we’ll do a little detour past Isla Nancital, the monkey island.

The Spider monkeys usually come down to the shore, and you can see them from the boat. They are very entertaining, and photogenic.

During the boat ride, we often come across dolphins, jumping manta rays, turtles or if you are lucky in the season you can even enjoy watching humpback and pilot whales.

Once we get to the beautiful Tortuga Island we will anchor our boat next to the best points for snorkeling. The volcanic rock reef is surrounded by crystalline waters and home of many tropical reef fish. You can snorkel as long as you want. We always take out small groups, so we can customize the tour.

After an amazing snorkeling experience our captain will take you to the wonderful white sand beach of Isla Tortuga where drinks and fruits will be waiting for you at our private lunch spot. We serve fresh fruit and authentic Costa Rican BBQ lunch with either fish, chicken or a vegetarian meal.

After lunch, the afternoon will be yours to enjoy. You can go for a hike, a swim, rent a kayak, a banana boat, take a little “siesta” in the hammocks we provide, or just chill at the beach. And then as the day comes to an end, we will get back on the boat for a beautiful ride back.

Our guides go above and beyond in order to provide you with a memorable experience! Like showing you how to open a coconut to drink fresh coconut juice, or swimming around with you at the snorkeling spot if you are a novice swimmer. Their focus is to ensure you have a great experience and get to see lots of fish, monkeys and other animals.

The Isla Tortuga boat tour is a great experience that is highly recommended.

Isla Tortuga boat tour Logistics

Practical details:
- Departure from: Bahia Rica Beach (Google map)
- Departure time: 9:00 am
- Duration: Approximately 6 hours
- Capacity: Minimum 2 and maximum 10 persons per boat

Bahia Rica reserves the right to refuse passengers on the boats, if the customer is under the influence of alcohol or drugs or has inappropriate behavior.

Includes:
- Boat transfer
- Snorkeling gear
- Bi-lingual guide
- BBQ Lunch, fruit, snacks, coffee and drinks
- Shaded area with tables and hammocks
- Beach volleyball, frisbee and other beach games

What to bring:
- Sandals or water shoes
- Light breathable clothes
- Swimsuit
- Beach towel
- Sunscreen, sunglasses and cap/hat
- Camera
- Extra money for the souvenir shop and rental of beach chairs, paddleboards, kayak etc