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Tortuga Island Full Day Tour from San José with Lunch

Name: Tortuga Island Full Day Tour from San José with Lunch
Brand: Inside Tours Costa Rica
SKU: 102973P26
Price: 115.00 USD
Rating: 4.5 (271 reviews)

Badge of ExcellenceSan Jose, Costa Rica

Tortuga Island Full Day Tour from San Jose with Lunch

12 to 18 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle
Lunch
All Fees and Taxes
Fresh seasonal fruits
Snorkel Tour (if conditions allow)
Soda/Pop
Coffee and/or Tea
Dolphin watching (natural event, not controlled)

Tips
Breakfast

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

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Start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

Opening hours

11/1/2023 - 5/17/2025
Monday - Sunday : 04:00 AM - 06:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Puntarenas

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Puntarenas

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Tortuga Island

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Tortuga Island

5 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Puntarenas

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Service animals allowed
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers

Operated by Inside Tours Costa Rica

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

jessica_g

My driver was Raul and guide was Alberto. Raul was a great driver and Alberto was an awesome guide. Alberto made sure we were informed every step of the way and educated us on many things along the way like the natural life of the island and Costa Rican ecosystem. The pit stop for breakfast was nice for a quick meal, nothing fancy but still filling and we could buy snacks if we wanted to. The island itself was beautiful! You can pay extra to fun activities or to rent a chair and just lounge. The island also has drinks for purchase and animals roaming. HEADS UP THOU: you need to pay to use restrooms on island so bring some cash. It’s not a lot but just wanted to mention it because some people may not bring cash otherwise. Would definitely book again on my next stay!!

Reviews

4.5

271 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 271 reviews

Amazing, Spontaneous, Great

Jhoane_H, Apr 2024

This has been by far my favorite trip. As a solo traveler, I’ll recommend for anyone and everyone. Started right on time, the views were absolutely stunning. It was my first time ever snorkeling and I never felt so safe and secured with my tour guides! This is definitely something I’ll plan on doing again, thank you so much! PURA VIDA!

Book it!

Brittany_T, Apr 2024

Don’t listen to the bad reviews! I’m glad I decided to go. I loved this experience & even made a new friend. This is perfect for solo travelers! This is a budget friendly option to get to a beach from San Jose. The bus makes several stops to pick up travelers and stops for a quick breakfast and to change. There’s also a store at the restaurant to purchase last minute items. It is a limited menu so I just went for a pancake, fruit and plantain with coffee. It was pretty good and fresh. The restrooms were very clean. The ride time isn’t that bad. Download a movie/music & bring your headphones. Or take a quick nap. The boat ride was awesome and we got to see dolphins and crocodiles. Tortuga is a remote island. I suggest bringing cash because you’ll need $1 for restroom and the card machine took a couple of tries. Drinks are very affordable! Chair rental is $10 each for all day. The lunch was just okay, but to be expected. Get the fish not chicken! The fruit ran out quickly so we only got watermelon but it was very good. It got pretty hot so drink plenty of water & bring a fan. I really enjoyed my time and I’m glad I went! My one suggestion would be to lessen the amount of pick ups to 2 or 3, because that was too much.

Great value, friendly tour guide, and excellent beach!

Andy_H, Apr 2024

Nelly is a great tour guide and she is very on time with everything. The only thing that was tough for the group is the 5 AM pick up and the 3 hour drive through traffic to return back to the hotel. It only takes 2 hour to get to the beach spot. The island is beautiful and water super warm. Not to mention the food and coffee provided is actually better than expected as well!

Wonderful Welcome to Costa Rica

Kimberly_M, Apr 2024

We had the best time! Our tour guide was amazing! He and the crew of gentlemen working with him were thoughtful and accommodating with our group from many different countries and languages. They sailed through it all not missing a beat!

Great relaxing day on Turtle Island!

Luciano_V, Apr 2024

Luiz the bus driver and Freddy the tour guide were amazing! They pick you up at around 5 AM and drop you off back at your hotel at 6 PM. It’s a full day experience with a lot of sites a lot of pretty views a lot of animals! There will be no cell phone connection at the beach you Can choose to pay two dollars for Wi-Fi for the day! Unfortunately, there were no turtles on the island, but there were some wild pigs! They give you lunch between an option of fish and chicken And they give you assorted fruits! They do not provide you with a towel so keep that in mind! Snorkeling included on the tour! It’s a great excursion for the day. Definitely bring sunscreen and aloe (You’ve been warned)

Long bus ride there and...

kelly_S, Apr 2024

Long bus ride there and back, but very beautiful and relaxing once we got there. Take cash and credit card as you will need to get chairs and an umbrella on the beach etc.

Average tour with little to offer

Sheena_T, Apr 2024

Having done hundreds of these excursions, this one ranks as just average. Communication as some other travelers mentioned is very poor. 4:30 pickup was brutal. Then you get nickeled and fined for everything in addition to the trip fee. Pay for the bathroom, pay to sit in a chair, pay for breakfast. Would rather pay one fee and have it included. The beach was nice and drinks were cheap, but we couldn’t do the beach activities without paying yet another fee. Didn’t help either that the driver was rude. Wouldn’t take this tour again.

Great day in Tortuga

Bunny_C, Mar 2024

We had a great experience with this tour of Tortuga Island. We chose to meet at the last location. While it was early, 0600, it was a great bus ride. The tour guide Percy was so knowledgeable. It was great to hear about the culture and country. We appreciated his humor and pleasant demeanor. The boat ride was beautiful. We had about an 80 degree (F) day with calm winds. We traveled during the Easter holiday. So the only disappointing thing, when we got to the island, is that the chairs and umbrellas for rent were occupied. We all walked towards dozens that were open and someone with another company told us they were not part of our tour. We were able to snorkel, saw quite a few fish, had a great lunch, fresh fruit, and spent a very relaxing day together. Percy and the other employees with Inside Tours was so attentive! He alerted everyone in the tour when we could get lunch, break for coffee, etc. Everything was well planned. The team wore matching company shirts. While you are reading this thinking of course, they are uniforms. But with so many people on the island it made it easy to identify Inside Tour employees compared to many other employees. The facilities we used, including the bus and boats were very clean and comfortable. It was a great day on the island!

Fun beach trip

John_M, Mar 2024

Great little day trip to the beach. They will pick you up from San Jose and take you the hour and a half to the boat.

Celebrating my niece becoming a nurse

skg, Mar 2024

The tide was low when boarding the boat so you have to walk sideways down the ramp no shoes, I recommend this trip we started at 5.40am and got back to our hotel at 7pm. The ride to the island was beautiful we chose to snorkel before heading to Tortuga that's when a boat pulled up serving fresh oysters Kayaking paddle board available for rental Pay to use bathroom I recommend this trip most definitely

Nice beach, not too crowded

Charlotte_W, Mar 2024

Thanks Nella!! Such an amazing tour guide. There isn't much reef here, I'd skip the snorkeling. Found a happy little waiter that greeted us with a smile named Ernesto, he got our chairs, brought drinks and took such good care of us. It's hit as hell in March, but, hey, that's the beach, right? 1.00 to use the bathroom. Rent paddleboards, Gift shop and all kinds of stuff. Very relaxing and not crowded at all.

A Birthday to Remember 🥳

Taylor_W, Mar 2024

I booked this excursion for my brother's birthday and he reported that it was the best birthday he's had in his 32 years! If you are lucky enough to get the Dream Team -- Percy, Enrique, and Joel then you are in for a true treat. The whole team had a hand in making us feel welcome, cracking jokes, bridging languages and connecting stories so much so that our bus had become a small bilingual family by the end of the day! An extra treat that we hadn't anticipated, but this trip was filled with sweet little nuggets. This is a well oiled machine. From pick up to drop off, everything ran smoothly, even making quick pivots or accommodations for folks as needed. The food was also perfectly seasoned and well proportioned for the occasion. The team even went out of their way to make my brother feel special just because it was his birthday. We truly enjoyed our time and hope nothing but the best for this mighty team. Would highly recommend!!

Must do tour

Ashwin_U, Mar 2024

Island is beautiful and has all conveniences. The beach has many rocks and will need to be careful. The stop over for breakfast and snacks was excellent!

Just having fun!

Patrick_W, Mar 2024

Had a great time and meeting new people along the way. The water was refreshing and the weather was perfect.

What a lovely day

Donna_S, Mar 2024

This was a long-ass day, but a huge treat. After a boat ride to the island during which we saw dolphins, we had a lovely snorkel opportunity, beach time, good food, a nice hike around the island for some beautiful views, and a Coco Loco.

Not a negative review, just precautions

Jael_C, Mar 2024

overall it was an average trip. it was nice to have transportation out of san jose to a beach with lunch but that was pretty much all it was— which i don’t mind but the price is a bit high for this. they did not tell us our pickup time till 9:30pm the night before despite me reaching out NUMEROUS times. i would recommend people with back/ spine problems to not do this because the speed boat is brutal and it’s about 30 minutes each way (they did say it was super windy that day but it was painful how the boat would slam into the water). i’d also recommend to bring water shoes because when we got to the island, it was SUPER low tide— it was painful to even walk on the sand. as the day went on, the tide rose so it got better but just as a precaution. also recommend bringing colones or dollars to buy other things such as using the bathroom and extra drinks. i know this sounds negative but it’s really just things i wish i knew ahead of time to make my trip more enjoyable.

Fun day at tortuga island

Robert_G, Mar 2024

My friend and I enjoyed the snorkeling and the Pina colada. It was my friend's first time snorkeling and they were very good with helping us and making sure we were doing ok while snorkeling. Best part was seeing a school of fish.

LONG TRIP

Susan_B, Mar 2024

The snorkeling was good, the beach nice and the boat ride good. I thought the beach shaded area where we had lunch was dirty. Piles of trash right by the tables and piles of old wood. The tables could have the sand swept off and be wiped off before lunch. It was exciting to see the wild boars but perhaps the trash to attract them could be moved farther away!

Great trip

Ronda_H, Mar 2024

Great trip will definitely do it again. Very relaxing food was good. Maybe could have eaten lunch a little later just to be able to enjoy the beach a little more first.

Amazing experience

DavidBryan_L, Mar 2024

The tour was well organized and our guide was friendly. Despite the traffic jam, she made sure that we had enough time to enjoy the island. I went on a Wednesday and there weren’t a lot of people. We even saw some dolphins. Must do in Costa Rica!

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