Toucan and Tarpon

With a family of five we stayed two nights in Toucan and tarpon. A top spot on the other side of the river from Tortuguero, which reminded me a bit of Venice, so full of tourists. Understandably, because the egg laying turtles are unique. Still, we liked it a lot to have our home for two days away from the village. The host Ever is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the area and it's flora and fauna. We did a night tour and a canoe tour with him, especially the latter is a not-to-miss. |Breakfast was great, all freshly cooked: banana bread, cinnamon rolls, toast, eggs and fruit in abundance.|We had one cabin that accommodated five ok. Room sufficient, beds ok, shower present 😊|

I'm going to be a contrarian now and say that I wasn't wholly taken with Tortuguero. Mostly it's the village - it's touristy to the max. and there's a lot of hassle going on in the village, including the guy who approached us and asked if we wanted to see an Iguana - when I asked him where it was he pointed to a boat with four shady characters lurking around it. When this sort of thing happens in Latin America it's generally speaking best to head to the nearest Gringo restaurant and hide...||||Thank goodness for Toucan and Tarpon and Ever and his sweet family who will make you feel at home on the other side of the river from the banging choons and litter of Tortuguero Village. It's descried as a Lodge, but be warned that it is very rustic indeed. The rooms do have reliable hot water now, and mozzie screens to keep out the worst of the critters, but they're fairly small and have no air con. Fortunately they do have access to the sweet breezes of the Caribbean and howler monkeys to wake you up at 4am, which is what you came to Costa Rica for. Oh, and they have crabs too...||||The grounds have lots of hammocks scattered around the place, perfect for relaxation - everything is muy tranquil in this part of the world so the best thing to do is to sit back and watch the world go by. They will also cook you traditional Caribbean food for a small fee, and this saves you going into the village if you prefer. Ever is very keen to make sure you enjoy your stay and relax - he took us on a canoe tour of the canals and a walk in the slightly degraded part of the park accessible for the village. This is where we got to dig deeper into Tortuguero and find out about the complexities and welcoming character under that scuzzy surface - like that the Iguana Man used to be one of the best guides in the National Park but succumbed to the demon drink, plied on him by tour groups. Or that the bottles that litter the river every day are actually attached to crab traps. It's hard to love but after a couple of days you start to forgive it its faults!||||The only downside is that it's necessary to use the water taxis to get between the village and the Lodge - Ever knows the ones that will charge the "Local" rate, rather than the "Tourist" rate. It can feel slightly isolated, but sitting on the dock watching birds while boats chug up and down is one of those holiday experiences that makes the whole thing worthwhile.||||Plus, Ever admitted that he wanted to call his boat "The Black Pearl." Yes!

We didn't want to stay in the main town so this was perfect. If you get the right water taxi driver it is only a couple of minutes over to Tortuguero. Also Ever kindly took us over a couple of times.||||From arrival here I don't think we stopped smiling.||||The water is one side and then the Lodges are position through the garden into the rain forest. The gardens are very pretty and well kept.||Hammocks are strung within the gardens and are lovely and relaxing to have a swing in.||||There was an abundance of wildlife within the area of the lodge. A sloth in the tree in the garden, Toucans and parrots in the trees behind our lodge and spider and howler monkeys in the trees around us.||||Ever was a great host and gave us lots of information. He took us for a nightwalk, which is just out the back of the lodge and was excellent. Armadillos, snakes, red eye tree frog amongst others. Ever made sure we saw everything. The next morning he took us for a three hour canoe trip on the water, where we saw a huge amount of different birds, monkeys, sloths, kaymans and more. Ever has a great knowledge of the wildlife and the area and if he doesn't know will research any questions asked and give an answer. He has such enthusiasm and in his words, his job and where he lives is a gift. I would certainly agree with that.||||Alia cooked a great breakfast too. She baked her own bread and everything was cooked from scratch. You would not be disappointed.||||The lodge itself was comfortable, but did lack hot water for the most, but remember you are in the rainforest and not in a fancy hotel, therefore getting a proper experience all round with a beautiful location and great hospitality to make your stay memorable.||||I would fully recommend Toucan and Tarpon

Toucan and Tarpon is a resort like I've never been to before. It is located in the jungle and is opposite side of the river to the main town - the only way to get there is a short boat ride. We stayed here as a couple for 3 nights in March 2017. ||||As it is in the jungle it is surrounded by a lot of wildlife, and during our stay we saw wild parrots, spider and howler monkeys (even got a wake up call from a howler monkey one day), fire flies, toucans, lizards, amongst other animals just at the resort; which was incredible. ||||The water taxis will charge $2 per person per trip for transport across the river to the main town, but the owner Ever will most likely give you lifts across the river in exchange for some petrol money at the end of the trip. ||||The place is run on solar power and the resort can get pretty dark after sunset (~6pm) - a torch of some sort is definitely required. ||||As per the main town, the resort is extremely laid back and it is easy to chill in the luscious gardens. ||||The rooms themselves were individual cabins, which are adequately sized; we stayed in a room with a double bed with a top bunk which consisted of a single bed with another separate single bed; so it could've fit 4 people in altogether. The room was very clean. ||||Breakfast was included and was freshly prepared by the owner each morning. Breakfast was great, we had a bowl of fruit accompanied with toast, pancakes, Gallo pinto, and a choice of fried or scrambled eggs. It truly set you up for the day. ||||The staff were great - really friendly and accommodating. Ever would give us lifts to the town whenever we liked and even had contacts to help organise onwards travel or trips to do whilst in Tortuguero. ||||Only potential downside for certain visitors may be that when you stay in the jungle you have to expect a few creepy crawlies. In addition to this the rooms were really hot on a night time - a fan may have been nice in the room. I'm not sure if a fan would've been possible due to the solar power. Also wifi here isn't great and I couldn't get internet in our rooms. But this wasn't a major problem for us, in truth it was all part of the experience. ||||You have to realise that this is out of the main town, and your own holiday requirements will determine if you want to stay out of the main village. I would recommend this property to any travellers, it was a fantastic experience.

The cabins are built in the middle of the tropical rain forest, and the site being across the lagoon from Tortuguero isolates it from the noise and buzz of Tortuguero village. There is hardly anything between you and nature. Toucans fly above your head, the iguanas enjoy right-of-way on the paths connecting the cabins and a sloth mother and baby took quarters in the tree above our terrace.||Also, Toucan and Tarpon staff organise excursions by canoe (which we had to cancel due to heavy rainfall) and to see the sea turtles on the beach. We did that, and it was an amazing and unforgettable experience (although I felt sorry that the guide urged us to leave after just less of an hour when we had booked a two-hour tour and the other guides stayed for longer; was a bit awkward).||The cabins and amenities in general are very, very basic though. We had a cabin for three people, with two chairs only and not enough room for three suitcases. In the not unprobable case of heavy rains, when you can't go on an excursion, you can't just spend the time in your room because it's really too uncomfortable, which is why we decided to shorten our stay and travel on when this happened to us.||People are very friendly, and with some minor changes for a bit more comfort, this could become a fantastic place.

If you want to stay in the jungle, and not be in the village with other tourists around you, this is the place to be. Only 3 small bungalows on the lodge. ||The lodge’s manager Ever is the perfect guide. We had two canoe tours and one night walk with him, and everything he promised us we would see, we got to se during our stay there :-) He brought us longer into the rainforest than other guides. The tours were perfect, just the two of us and Ever. No noice from a boat motor, just paddelning longer and longer inti the rainforest. ||We highly recommend a few nights stay at Toucan and Tarpon.

4 days was not long enough. Fly fished from the dock! Ever took us on trips to see wildlife in national park by boat. Animals and birds all around the accommodation. One of the most spectacular and spellbinding places we have been to. Ever the host helped us get boat trip back for bus connection too. So good to be on this side of the river!! Fresh river fish very tasty too! Ever found us a sloth right next door and a small tree frog on our patio

NOTE: I would eagerly add another star if the HVAC issues are resolved.||||First off, T&T is not for everyone. It is rustic, slightly remote (across the river from the main town of Tortuguero), and potentially uncomfortable. We were there for three nights in September, the driest month of the year in Tortuguero. We received exceedingly little rain.||||The good: Ever, the host, is fantastic. He's personable, kind, generous, helpful, and always ready to help. He's clearly excited by the jungle, and by ensuring his clients are happy. His partner, Ali, is a fine cook, and while she isn't as outgoing and gregarious as Ever, she is a pleasant addition to the team. Ever and Ali have two well-behaved young children who were pleasant to be around.||||The grounds at Toucan and Tarpon are beautifully tamed jungle. The flowers are gorgeous and the grounds are tidy. It was a great place for birding, especially in the morning, and we added several species to our life lists, including Trogon, Montezuma oropendola, Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Wood Rail, Laughing Falcon, and various hummingbirds. Hammocks are placed around the property for relaxing.||The rustic lodge feels somewhat remote which makes it feel more like a jungle experience. That same remoteness makes for a minor inconvenience getting to town across the river, but Ever is either willing to taxi his clients over, or hail a taxi, both at a moment's notice. We desired a more remote location, so this worked perfectly for us.||Ever guides a night-walk on the grounds, and the adjacent property. Ours was abbreviated for logistical reasons, but Ever is very good at spotting animals in the night and we were not disappointed. He is excited, and amazingly fearless walking into the jungle at night!||||Ever will make any and all arrangements to hire guides for the various activities around Tortuguero. We used guides for a canal tour and for a turtle tour, and they both shuttled us to and from Toucan and Tarpon.||Waking to the sounds of the jungle, and especially the primordial Howler Monkeys was an amazing experience that can't be matched! It made an otherwise uncomfortable night's sleep seem worth it....||||The not-so-good: No fans in the cabinas made for very uncomfortable sleeping (or even sitting). The primary reason for the absence of fans is that they are trying to get the kinks out of their solar-based electrical solution; fans simply draw too much current and drain the storage batteries too quickly at night. They have recently had to replace the batteries at considerable cost. There was not even a whisper of air moving in our cabina. Sometime during the night, the temperature seemed to drop suddenly to one conducive to sleep, so we managed. This problem requires a solution for us to return to Toucan and Tarpon.||||Despite claims to the contrary, there was no hot water. As it turns out, we had no need for hot water because we used the showers to cool off. Because of that we didn't bother to raise the issue with Ever (it actually didn't even occur to me during any of my chats with Ever).||||Because of the climate condition in our cabin, privacy was of some concern because we did not want to draw the (primitive) curtains. This was a minor inconvenience, more for my wife than myself.||||Our cabina had a queen bed and a bunk bed, which occupied most of the living space. The only shelves were crammed behind the bunk bed and difficult to access; we placed our suitcases on the lower bunk, and other stuff on the upper. A few small items were placed on the shelves. So, at least in our cabina, storage is an issue, especially if the bunks are also being occupied.||||Cabina's are close enough together, and essentially open-air, that if there are noisy tenants, it could be disturbing. Doesn't seem to be much one can do about that, except use earplugs. It was not a problem for us, since we couldn't get to sleep as early as we would have liked because of the heat.||||All in all, we really enjoyed our experience at Toucan and Tarpon. The number one thing they can do is get the electricity figured out so that fans can be installed (ceiling fans, plus supplemental floor fans for extra hot nights). We would not return if this was not remedied. We would return if it was.