Pachira Lodge

We stayed in room 202. A sloth climbed up tree right outside our window (must have come down to poop, as they do once a week - we got lucky). Our guide Ray was the best. Henry our river boat guide was also great. No AC, but no windows and a fan help cool down. Windows have screens so no mosquitos. Heads up…toilet paper must be placed in trash can (has a lid). The drinks in fridge are free (we did not know until friends checked out and told us)!

We booked onto a two night, three day package with Pachira Lodge, including transfers, hotel, all meals, and all tours. The organisation of the trip as a whole was excellent - transfers were on time, guides knew exactly who they should be picking up and when we should arrive, and timings for meals and tours were exactly right. Transfers to and from Tortuguero were on comfortable coaches. The boats to take you to and from Pachira Lodge and on your tours appeared safe and in good condition, with dedicated drivers. The Lodges are a little basic but very clean, they had nice bathrooms with eco friendly toiletries to use. We were a couple but were put in a room with two double beds, which gave us one bed to pack on which was nice! The grounds and gardens of the lodge itself are well kept but still allowed to be a bit wild, which encourages animals like howler and spider monkeys, sloths, toucans, tree frogs, and armadillos to visit the lodge. The pool area is beautiful and clean, and a particular highlight was sitting in the pool in the afternoon watching the monkeys, toucans and parrots feed in the trees around the pool area. There a self guided rainforest walk you can do in the lodge area in your free time, which was lovely to wander on our own without a big group. Food is served buffet style but is of a good quality, there was always plenty available and you could order freshly made meals such as pasta and omelettes. There was always a selection of fruit and vegetables, being vegetarian wasn't an issue. Our guide for our tours, Julio, was fantastic. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and informative. He has worked in Tortuguero for many years and clearly knew the area really well and cared for it deeply, which was lovely to see. I hope he continues to use his skills to guide tourists around this beautiful area for many years to come! Tortuguero itself is stunning and well worth a visit when you're in Costa Rica. Because it's one of the rainier areas of the country, the rainforest is particularly stunning and very different from the Pacific side of the country. Overall we had an amazing trip and would definitely return next time we're in Costa Rica.

The trip to get here is somewhat arduous and I would not recommend it if you struggle to carry your bag or in the heat due to the dock experience. Pachira Lodge looks amazing on arrival, great for the comfortable jungle experience. The dining area is like a refectory hall, you will be assigned fellow diners - ours were lovely - and the food is served school canteen style, with all of the grace of one. There isn’t a huge choice, but they always had a pasta station as well as the main offerings and we always found something to eat, even though it’s very far from fine dining. Breakfast was good with an omelette station and great coffee on tap. The rooms are cute but have some drawbacks namely zero sound insulation, no air con and a barely functioning shower. There are no coffee making facilities in the room and no fridge in ours. Beds are comfortable and you do feel you are getting the full immersive experience. We took the boat trip to Tortuguero, no turtle museum was pointed out. The early morning boat trip through the national park was an absolute highlight we saw loads of wildlife.The “hike” at $42 per person was wildly overpriced but there is little else to do except lounge by the rather lovely pool and drink cocktails. I would definitely pay for the flight back it took us all day to get to La Fortuna.