Isla Tortuga catamaran day trip

It takes twelve hours. From the Jacó side the trip starts with an early hotel pickup and a drive north to the dock at Puntarenas, then a cruise of up to two hours across the Gulf of Nicoya, past small islets, to Isla Tortuga's white beach. Some boats stop on the way to watch spider monkeys in the trees of the Negritos islands and snorkel for half an hour.

On the island you get four to five hours. Lunch on the beach (rice, salad, chicken or fish) is part of the deal, and so are hammocks or loungers. Snorkelling, kayaks and banana boats are included on some trips and paid extras on others, and a short zip line and forest walk are also there. The bigger catamarans run a DJ and an open bar of rum punch and margaritas, mostly on the way home, so it is a party boat rather than a quiet sail. Snorkel-focused boats without the bar make it an eight-hour day instead.