Tortuga Island vs Playa Fantasia Costa Rica

A candid comparison of two beaches

Hello everyone, Sarah here. About seven years ago, when I first visited Costa Rica, one of my family’s “must-do” trips was a day trip to the beautiful Tortuga Island also people commonly say Isla Tortuga or Turtle Island. I envisioned something from a magazine, and from having seen pictures plastered at every tour office on the Jaco streets selling the tour, it seemed like a paradise.

Coming from Canada in January – everything is a paradise that is warm and has sand. My family and I had a great experience in the turquoise waters and white sands. My mom, who has owned snorkel gear for who knows how many years – finally got to use it.

Tortuga Island

On the way to Tortuga, you will cruise across the Gulf of Nicoya and almost always spot spinner dolphins, mantas and whales when in the right season.

In this comparison, I would like to make it very clear that Tortuga Island is a place I recommend many of our clients visit – at least once. I have been many times, and for the below reasons, I do not have much interest in going these days. My interest has faded, the longer I have lived here, and the more I have experienced.

The more I experience and immerse myself in the nature, culture and diversity of Costa Rica; the less attractive manufactured tourist traps have become.

Coming from a background that is not tourism, I had no idea of how the tourism industry functions after I bought my tickets. I would browse online for “the best tours (fill in the blank with the location),” and this was how I decided on what we did.

However, what you do not know is that those companies may not offer the best tours. They are just the companies that have enough profit margin to provide a higher commission to third-party sellers such as Expedia, TripAdvisor etc. Some of the best tours are unknown and do not have the profit margin to offer 35% commission to get their tours on the top of those lists. So what you see is not the best tours in your area, just the companies giving a higher commission or charging more to offer the tour on those sites.

Playa Fantasia, Jaco Costa Rica

Tortuga Island is very, very touristy.

Trust me on this; everyone who comes to Costa Rica will hear about Tortuga Island. Either from online searches or local tour guides. This means that several 100’s of people will be travelling to Tortuga on any given day. Tourists can get to Tortuga Island from virtually every location in Costa Rica. It is easily accessible from Mal Pais, Montezuma, Jaco, Puntarenas, San Jose, and the list is pretty exhaustive.

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Playa Fantasia is not offered by many boats because of the sheer thrill and popularity of Tortuga Island and the thrill of the white sand beaches, which are not common in Costa Rica. Most common in Costa Rica is dark sand because of the veins running from the volcanoes and the colour of the rock and reef around the Costa Rican shores.

This being said, we have managed to keep our Tours to Playa Fantasia unique and very authentic without the manufactured souvenir shops, beach sellers, and hustlers.

Please note that this is something I love about Costa Rica – that unlike places like Mexico, people never harass you to buy anything. Not even when you are in a souvenir shop, they let you browse in peace. However, this does exist at Tortuga.

When we arrive at Playa Fantasia, it usually is our boat only and possibly some locals fishing off the rocks in the distance.

At Tortuga Island, larger companies have reserved many chairs and areas. When the boats arrive these will fill up, unfortunately if a chair is not included in your package you will be sitting on the east side of the beach in the sand or renting a chair.

At Playa Fantasia we have many areas for seating, in the shade by the bar, on the beach on a lounge chair, or around our lunch tables.

Boats will flood the beach by midday.

By noon the beach at Tortuga will be packed with anchored boats bringing all these people from all different locations around the Nicoya Peninsula for a day tour. Although there is a designated swimming area, marked by markers, you will still be dodging jets skis, pangas, banana boat tours, snorkelers, and paddle boarders.

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At Playa Fantasia, you will never have the issue of seeing the open waters and explore the beauty of the beach. It is never crowded.

Tourists will flood the beach by midday.

By mid-day, Tortuga Island will have all the boats arriving for their tours and day trips with guests. People will be flooded on the beach. There is room for everyone to enjoy their little piece of paradise, but it is still crowded.

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At Playa Fantasia, it usually is just our guests. We have our own spot secluded within the palm trees where we have a bar, chef and kitchen area, lounge chairs, hammocks and washroom just for our guests. Being crowded is not something we ever need to worry about at Playa Fantasia.

It depends on the Tortuga Island Cruise you choose

This is something I can never stress enough. Many different boats are running to Tortuga Island every day. All these cruises offer a different experience – and not all of them are good. There are so many options to choose from, and every choice has various exclusions. The most important is that every tour company has different amenities available once you get to Isla Tortuga, and others have none. Some companies drop you off at Tortuga, and the rest is up to you. Think beach chairs, water activities, snorkelling and lunch. Everyone will be using the same washroom, and if this is not included in your tour, it costs $1 each time.

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We run all our tours to Playa Fantasia. We have on every tour a beautiful fresh lunch prepared right on the beach over a charcoal fire by our private chef. You will have an open bar included hand-mixed cocktails, beer, soda, water and fruit juices. For us, everything is in the small details and food and beverage is a considerable portion of what makes our tour an experience – not just another tour.

We include beach chairs for each guest, a washroom for our guests only, beach volleyball, snorkel gear, paddleboards, and boogie boards. On private tours, we include banana boat rides.

We pride ourselves on the experience our guests have not just on the boats to Playa Fantasia, but our service extends to the beach. We have thought of every detail and do our best every tour to improve the way we operate.

Tortuga Island – a very long day trip

For most boat cruises to Tortuga Island, you can plan on a pickup of 7 am or earlier, depending on your departure point and a return of 5 – 6 pm plus the trip back to your hotel. For me, with a young son, I could never imagine making this trip. It is just not feasible for a young family. My son has travelled long days but the extent of packing food, bottles, and managing to keep him comfortable on a boat then an island for this long – it scares me. My advice to all families is to find a provider that will take you privately to the island so you can leave when you wish.

Even with a private tour from Jaco, the boat ride alone is from almost 2 hours, depending on the tour provider.

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Playa Fantasia is so perfect for families and perfect for clients who are looking to experience the best of both worlds in a half day. Most tours we offer are 4.5 hours long, the ideal length to experience sailing, a cruise and a secluded white-sand beach full of animals. We offer many options to experience Playa Fantasia private and public tours. Playa Fantasia is only a short 40-minute cruise to the beach from Jaco.

Finally, animals, diversity, protection

At Tortuga Island, they have a significant advantage of not having rivers mouths too close to the island. This allows for accessible snorkelling pretty well all year round. When you have river mouths, this brings a lot of debris and clouds the waters. The snorkelling at Tortuga Island happens around a rock. I have snorkelled and have many clients dive there, and they give it a 5/10 for the most part.

There are very few snorkelling locations that are AMAZING in Costa Rica. If you are looking for incredible snorkelling, here this is found at Isla de Cano or Cano Island. Something I do like about the Snorkelling at Tortuga is they offer equipment and a safety snorkelling vest for guests who are not strong swimmers.

At Tortuga Island, they have many “pets.” Scarlet Macaws, local birds, and pigs. Great to look at and take pictures.

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Playa Fantasia has some snorkelling spots surrounding the beach that are okay. We never advertise or offer snorkelling tours because Playa Fantasia is a beach connected to the land, and the time, tide and season need to be perfect for fantastic snorkelling. I have done excellent snorkelling at Playa Fantasia. I have the luxury to go when it is incredible, in summer, in the morning and the high tide, perfect conditions. On private charters, clients have the opportunity to choose the time they visit the beach, and we have a higher chance of fabulous snorkelling.

WE DO NOT BAIT FISH. Something we stand for in concrete is the protection of the very little remaining coral and wildlife we have thriving in Costa Rica (and the world)! When you bait fish 1. this introduces marine species to a source of food that is not natural to their marine ecosystem 2. baiting fish makes them friendlier to humans and thus making them more susceptible to predators. 3. fish will lose their natural forging ability.

The most beautiful part about Playa Fantasia is between two mountain ranges, with a jungle that flows naturally down to the white sand beach and blends with the water in high tide. When you arrive at Playa Fantasia, it is a wow moment.

All the animals at the beach come by their own free will, passing by and searching for food. Macaws often line the almond trees on the beaches, monkeys monkey around in the trees above our kitchen, long-tailed raccoons (pachotes) and sloths hang out some days, and many birds will visit the diverse species of trees.

No animals are forced or fed here; they usually just steal the food themselves from the kitchen. We do have dogs we have rescued from the mountain behind the beach and never left, now they are family.

Snorkeling at Tortuga Island

Snorkeling at Playa Fantasia

In Conclusion

I love Tortuga Island because it is beautiful, but my love for Playa Fantasia can never be matched. The untouched beauty and the sheer uniqueness of visiting a secluded beach that is not crowded or touristy are much more appealing.

Please read our reviews here , where many clients compare our tour to the Tortuga Tours.