Activities
Isla Tortuga: The Island Is Three Kilometres Out. Your Day Might Be Nine Hours.
Guanacaste Experiences editorial team
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6 October 2026
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5 min read
Hero photo: micah420 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
In this guide
The same island, three very different daysThe listing that is not what it saysWhat you actually getThe cheapest version is also the most interestingSo is it worth it?Isla Tortuga is about three kilometres off Curú beach, and boats leave for it at nine in the morning. The crossing is short, the water is calm, and the island is as good as the photographs.
Almost everything that decides whether this is a good day happens before that, on land. The listings are vague about it, and that is where people get caught.
The same island, three very different days
Published operator figures, checked September and October 2026. All prices are per person.
| Starting from | Total day | Price |
|---|---|---|
Curú refuge itself | About 6 hours, combined refuge-and-island package | $77 |
Paquera | About 6 hours, all-inclusive with beach lunch | From $98 |
Small-group snorkelling trip | About 5 hours, itinerary adjustable on the day | From $80 |
Santa Teresa | 8–9 hours door to door | $90–108 |
The last row is the one to read twice. From Santa Teresa the operator collects between 7:45 and 8:20am on Calle Cóbano, transfers about 35 minutes to Montezuma, boards at 9:30am and gets you back around 4:30pm. That is most of a waking day, and a large part of it is spent in a van and a boat rather than on a beach.
It is not a bad trip. It is a nine-hour trip. Whether that is worth it depends on how many days you have, and our Santa Teresa day trips guide sets it against the alternatives that are forty minutes away rather than nine hours long.
The listing that is not what it says
Worth flagging because it is the clearest example of how these trips are sold. The same operator’s "from Jacó" listing is a hotel pickup at 6:50am followed by a 7:45am departure from Herradura — a different town. You are not sailing from Jacó. You are being driven to a boat.
That is not dishonest, exactly, and the trip still happens. But "from Jacó" sets an expectation about a 6:50am alarm that the words do not carry. Read any of these listings for the departure point and the pickup time, not the town in the title.
The question that settles it
Before booking, ask: what time do you collect me, where does the boat actually leave from, and what time am I back? Three answers, and they tell you more than any amount of description about white sand.
What you actually get
The island is a white-sand beach on a forested island in the Gulf of Nicoya, which is sheltered enough that the crossing is usually easy even when the Pacific side is rough. The standard day is some combination of a beach stop, a snorkel, and lunch.
Two things to calibrate. The snorkelling is decent, not spectacular — the gulf is a sediment-rich, tidal body of water, which is why it supports the wildlife it does and also why visibility varies. If world-class snorkelling is the point of your trip, the Catalinas on the Guanacaste side are the better-known option; see our Catalina Islands guide.
And everyone arrives at once. Boats leave on a common schedule, so the beach is at its busiest in the middle of the day and quiet at the edges. The small-group snorkelling trip explicitly offers to adjust its timings on the day, which is worth more here than it sounds.
The cheapest version is also the most interesting
Going through Curú is the option most visitors never see advertised. The boats leave from inside a private wildlife refuge, three kilometres from the islands, and the combined refuge-and-island package is $77 for about six hours — less than the Paquera and Santa Teresa versions.
You also get the refuge, which is an unusual place in its own right: a working hacienda whose owners had it declared a national wildlife refuge, with monkeys, deer and a lot of birds in a small area. For anyone who finds a beach day slightly thin, this is the version that has something else in it.
Curú takes cards only
Refuge admission is $18 per adult and $10 per child for foreign visitors, and its own FAQ states that payment is by Visa or Mastercard at the entrance and that cash is not accepted. Our packing list covers why Guanacaste needs you to carry both.
So is it worth it?
Yes if you are starting from Paquera, Curú or anywhere on that side of the peninsula — it is a half-day to a genuinely lovely island for well under a hundred dollars.
Probably not if you are in Santa Teresa on a short trip. Nine hours is a lot to spend reaching a beach when you are already on a famous one, and the same day could cover Cabo Blanco and Montezuma with hours to spare. On a longer stay, when you have run out of things within forty minutes, it becomes a reasonable use of a day.
Almost certainly not as a "from Jacó" booking unless you have read the pickup time and accepted it.
Compare the Isla Tortuga tours
Check the departure point and pickup time before the price.
How long is the Isla Tortuga day trip?
It depends entirely on where you start. From Curú or Paquera it is about six hours. From Santa Teresa it is eight to nine hours door to door: collection between 7:45 and 8:20am, a 35-minute transfer to Montezuma, boarding at 9:30am and back around 4:30pm. The boat crossing itself is short — the island is roughly 3 km from Curú beach.
How much does an Isla Tortuga tour cost?
Around $77 per person for the combined refuge-and-island package from Curú, from $80 for a small-group snorkelling trip, from $98 from Paquera, and $90–108 from Santa Teresa. The cheapest option is also the one that includes a wildlife refuge, which is why it is worth looking at first.
Is the Isla Tortuga trip worth it from Santa Teresa?
On a short trip, probably not. Nine hours door to door is a lot when you are already staying on a good beach and Cabo Blanco, Montezuma and its waterfall are all within forty minutes. On a longer stay, once the nearby options are used up, it becomes a reasonable day out.
Does the Isla Tortuga tour from Jacó leave from Jacó?
No. The operator’s own listing shows a hotel pickup at 6:50am followed by a 7:45am departure from Herradura, which is a different town. The trip is real but the title describes where you are collected, not where you sail from. Always check the departure point and pickup time rather than the town in the listing name.
Is the snorkelling at Isla Tortuga good?
Decent rather than spectacular. The Gulf of Nicoya is tidal and sediment-rich, which supports its wildlife and also means visibility varies. If snorkelling is the main point of your trip, the Catalina Islands on the Guanacaste side are the better-known choice.
Sources
Facts in this guide were checked against these references on the dates shown.
Isla Tortuga Tour — Tortuga Island day trip from Santa Teresa — The Santa Teresa itinerary collects passengers between 7:45am and 8:20am on Calle Cóbano, transfers about 35 minutes to Montezuma, boards the boat at 9:30am and returns to Santa Teresa around 4:30pm — roughly eight to nine hours door to door, at about $90–108. The trip is routed via Montezuma, not via Paquera. The operator’s separate Jacó listing shows that "from Jacó" is a hotel pickup at 6:50am followed by a 7:45am departure from Herradura, not a sailing from Jacó. (accessed 23 September 2026)
Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Curú — visitor information — Boats to Isla Tortuga depart at 9am from Curú beach inside the wildlife refuge, roughly 3 km from the islands; a combined refuge-and-island package is sold at $77 per adult for about six hours. Day admission to the refuge is $18 per adult and $10 per child for foreign visitors, and the refuge FAQ states that payment is by Visa or Mastercard at the entrance and that cash is not accepted. (accessed 23 September 2026)
Guanacaste Experiences — tour listings for Isla Tortuga — Isla Tortuga Snorkeling Tour: from $80 per person, 5 hours, run in small groups with the itinerary adjustable on the day. Isla Tortuga boat tour from Paquera: from $98 per person, about 6 hours, described as all-inclusive with a beach lunch. (accessed 6 October 2026)
OpenStreetMap routing via the OSRM public routing engine — One-way driving estimates from Santa Teresa: Montezuma 15.1 km/40 min; Paquera 43.3 km/75 min; Cóbano 9.7 km/27 min. (accessed 23 September 2026)
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