I took the back way to Tortuguero, down the Río La Suerte. I actually like this route more than the trip from Caño Blanco or Moín, which the bigger hotels use. It is also a lot less expensive, because it's the way local residents get back and forth from Tortguero.You take the 9 a.m. bus to Cariari from the Caribe Terminal in San José. The San José-Cariari trip takes about 2.5 hours. When you get to Cariari, walk about 4 blocks down the main street to get to the local bus terminal and catch the 12 noon bus to La Pavona. The 2700 colones that you pay gets you two tickets: one for the bus to La Pavona and one for the boat to Tortuguero. The Cariari-La Pavona bus ride takes about an hour and a half. The boat waits until the bus gets there. At the Río La Suerte is a still-under-construction building where there are bathrooms, etc. The boats are covered and quite comfortable.
Do not bring big luggage on these boats. You can leave your major luggage at your hotel in San José. Anything that you cannot have at your feet on on your lap will be piled on the front of the boat, and they do not seem to be that concerned about whether it will fall off or not.
The trip is pretty, down the winding Río La Suerte. It gets more jungly as you near the National Park. The boat trip takes about an hour.
Cariari-La Pavona buses leave daily at 7 a.m., noon and 2:30 p.m. The Hotel Sura is a nice place to stay right across from the Plaza in Cariari. Return boats leave from Tortuguero at 6 a.m., 11:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. to go to Pavona. Buses to Cariari meet the boats.
There is another boat that leaves from La Geest, but you have to go through a banana plantation and it's more complicated. You also have to walk through this disinfectant solution before you can enter the plantation.
Boats from Moín, Limón's port, cost about $35 or $40 per person as opposed to about $5 from Cariari.
Miss Junie's is definitely the most pleasant place to stay in Tortuguero village. It is the only hotel that has a park-like area in front of it, so there is a nice view of the waterway from the hotel. Miss Junie's cooking is famous, and she has a breezy restaurant, also with a nice view of the water. The new, wood-paneled rooms on the second floor of the hotel are also pleasant.
