Private Shuttle from La Fortuna to La Pavona dock (Tortuguero)

Leaving Arenal for Tortuguero · La Pavona is easier when someone else handles the road. Your driver picks you up at your hotel at the time that suits you, loads the luggage and drives your group, and only your group, straight to your accommodation in Tortuguero · La Pavona.

One price covers the whole vehicle: fuel, tolls, taxes, insurance, bottled water, WiFi and child seats, with nothing to pay on the day. Standard takes you straight there; VIP, for $80 more per vehicle, adds sightseeing stops and a driver who doubles as a guide.

Tortuguero is a village and national park on the north Caribbean coast, crossed by canals and lagoons and reachable only by boat or small plane. The park is famous for its nesting turtles, especially green turtles in the main season, roughly July to October, and for wildlife-spotting by canoe and boat through the canals.

Our transfer ends at the La Pavona dock, the most common road access point. The boat to Tortuguero is a separate service: many lodges, such as Tortuga Lodge, Manatus and Pachira Lodge, include it or arrange it, and public boats also run from the dock. Tell us your boat time when you book so we plan the pickup in La Fortuna with a margin.

We confirm the pickup time with you when you book. With approximately 3 h 15 min of driving, even a late-morning departure from La Fortuna leaves most of the day free.

Tortuguero cannot be reached by road: the last part of the journey is always by boat along the canals. The road trip from Arenal crosses the northern lowlands to Muelle and follows Route 4 east through Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, a river town in lowland rainforest, towards Cariari.

From Cariari, rural roads lead north through banana and pineapple plantations to the dock at La Pavona, on the Suerte River, where the boats to Tortuguero leave. The final stretch is narrower and slower, through flat, very green country.

After Cariari the road narrows and runs north between plantations to La Pavona, on the bank of the Suerte River. Parts of this rural road may be gravel depending on maintenance; the dock area has parking, a small shop and the boat landing.

The Caribbean lowlands are among the wettest areas of the country, and rain can fall in any month. Heavy downpours can slow the drive or flood low spots for a few hours; if that happens we take a detour or wait, and tell you if the timing changes.

The main roads are paved; the final rural road to La Pavona can have gravel or potholed sections, and in heavy rain parts of this lowland area flood. All our vehicles drive it. Route 32 is not used on this route.

If a road closure or extreme weather means we cannot run your transfer on the day, our terms give you the choice of rescheduling or a full refund.