Heraldo and his wife run a great set up here and are so helpful and friendly. If you can speak some Spanish it goes a long way here .Fablous location ,just plenty of bug spray for this area..Its a very local area here San Francisco, and quiet, just nature all around.Owen a local guide is great and very knowledgeable, with very good English, recommend doing a tour with him,well worth the time and money ,plenty of sun screen and bug spray and off you go

Stayed in April 2024

Chinitas Eco Lodge is a wonderful place to stay. It is in a place called San Francisco which is a boat ride away from Tortugero. We were so happy to stay in such a wonderful quiet place. The garden, overlooking the canals, were stunning. The rooms were quite basic but clean. There are a few nice places to eat within walking distance including a lovely bar overlooking the canals. The 'Bus/boat stop' for Tortugera is right next to the property. The Nature Reserve is a few minutes walk away (or a boat drive into Tortugero). The owners are wonderful - so helpful. We met Owen who did a tour of the canals for us - and provided great knowledge of the birds and wildlife and helped us go on a night reserve walk and a Nature Reserve walk. It is such a stunning place to stay and definitely one of the highlights of our trip. The owners arranged a boat trip to Moins Limon which we would also recommend.

Stayed in March 2024

The bathrooms would benefit from an upgrade and the pool put us off using it.

Location: Away from the hubbub of Tortuguero yet the quay for the public water bus there is outside the front gate. Very attentive and helpful staff, very knowledgeable on wildlife. Relaxed stay among friendly local community.

Stayed in March 2024

The garden and place to eat at the river is magnificent. The owners are very helpful. Lovely little village with good soda.

Stayed in April 2024

If you want to stay away from touristic areas this is the best place to stay. For us this was the best place in Tortuguero to stay. Close to local town (San Fancisco) and quiet relaxing amosphere. Would really recommend it! The view at breakfast is also very nice, with the sunrise. There are a few restaurants around but you can also order pizza if you don’t want to leave the place (just ask Rita). Easy to walk to cerro tortuguero (for free! no nood to pay any tour/tickets.. you can perfectly do it on your own). Also the hammock’s were a plus!

Stayed in April 2024

Not exactly an eco-lodge, more of a small hotel by the water close to incredible natural beauty.

A charming little place with a lovely owner. She arranged wonderful tours with us with a great local guide. We loved being so close to the national park, where we could walk and see all kinds of wildlife. Breakfast on the patio overlooking the water was delicious. It was nice being away from all the tourists and getting a feel of a local village.

Stayed in February 2024

We were very happy here but only breakfast on site. No bar. We were able to purchase beer in the local shop and keep it in the fridge in the kitchen.

A simple B&b with no frills but good value for money. Very pretty setting directly on the river so easy access to local waterbus with transfers to La Pavona and Tortugero village.Very welcoming owners and friendly local community. Excellent freelance guide. Easy access to simple sodas in the village of San Francisco. A good insight into the local Carribean way of life.

Stayed in March 2024

The bathroom shower had very low water pressure. Our first night tour on Tortuguero was with a guide with limited English, which made communication sparse and challenging. Our second night tour with Owen was much more interesting.

Located in San Francisco, it was a quiet and authentic setting away from tourist attractions of Tortuguero-- though easy enough to hop on the ferry to visit the national park and bustling Tortuguero scene. We loved exploring nearby Cerro Tortuguero both on our own and with tour guide Owen, who also led our family on a morning kayak tour. Our time with Owen was a highlight-- he's friendly, knowledgable and respectful while sharing fascinating details of the environment and wildlife. The nearby restaurant was convenient and delicious. Room was comfortable, bathroom was rustic, and the riverside location invites bird/boat watching and contemplation from the dock or hammocks. With gracious hospitality, delicious breakfast, and a beautiful setting, I highly recommend Chinitas Eco Lodge!

Stayed in January 2024

The surrounding area is magnificent, the hosts do everything to make your stay unforgettable.

Stayed in October 2023

It is a bit rundown, but has his charm as well and for a couple of nights it has everything you need and want.

Awesome location, much better than the touristic village Tortuguero. Very peaceful, garden full of birds, breakfast with a view of the river. Easy to catch the public boat to Tortuguero. Private tour with a boat early in the morning into the national park. Owners are super friendly, sweet and helpful.

Stayed in September 2023

Breakfast was good, but could have done with second helpings. If there were tea/coffee making facility all through the day. that would have made our stay better.

Beautiful location. Looking out into the water was really nice. Owen, the guide who took us around was fantastic. He knew the area well.

Stayed in July 2023

It is in San Francisco, a boat ride away from Tortuguero itself. We quite liked that - it felt like a place people actually lived rather than a tourist destination - but it won’t be for everyone.

Great spot on the river and Anna was really helpful (there was a power outage on our first night so the nearby restaurant was closed and so she cooked fish and vegetables for us). Also, the guide who does the tours from the property, Owen, is great - friendly, knowledgeable and really respects the local environment.

Stayed in July 2023

The pictures and amenities for the room are somewhat misleading. Our experience was, unfortunately, that the restaurants that take credit cards closed after our first night there and we were not prepared to use cash the whole time. We expected there to be at least one restaurant that took credit open. This isn’t necessarily the properties fault but it did impact both my enjoyment and length of stay.

It’s a good location in San Francisco y Tortuguero with hiking easily available. Many small shops nearby and it is very quiet.

Stayed in July 2023

View. Village

Stayed in April 2023

As the kitchen is only open for breakfast, it means eating out and there are limited options in San Francisco, especially on days like Monday and Tuesday when not all restaurants are open. Chinitas were very sweet and surprised me with a lunch meal one day which was a real treat (especially as they had made it vegan for me). You could also take a water taxi to Tortuguero. I ate out here one night; if you like being surrounded by other tourists and paying at least twice the price, you'll love it. Definitely more options/variety of food in Tortuguero though.

This place is fantastic! Based in San Francisco village away from the touristy hustle of Tortuguero on the other side of the river. This place is tranquil, quiet and surrounded by exquisite forest and animal life. I was travelling solo and am the kind of traveller who likes to feel away from the crowds. I prefer authentic cultural experience and immersive nature photography. I got all of those things here as there are almost no other tourists in this town. There a two or three eateries serving nice, traditional Costa Rican food (I eat vegan food and managed quite well). Everyone in the little town is welcoming; you won't find a lot of English speaking but plenty of smiles. Owen is the recommended tour guide at Chinitas, and I suspect he is one of the very best in the entire region. After my first early-morning boating tour I immediately booked two more trips with him. He sees things that aren't there, hear's things that can't be heard, and has all the other tour guides following in his tracks to show their group what he has found. You know a good wildlife tour guide when they are as excited as you are and are also taking photos. As boats filled to the rafters with tourists pootle off down the canals, Owen took me away from the crowds on his boat, tracking down some fantastic wildlife, just the two of us. Chinitas is a great place to relax after a tour in the hammocks, and a lot of toucans, hummingbirds and parrots were eating around the gardens which was fantastic for photographs. It is a short walk to the forest nature reserve, a fantastic place to photograph spider monkeys, howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys and plenty of bugs & frogs. A longer walk north will take you to the beach, which is completely deserted but has a lot of organic waste such as seaweed and fallen trees. The accommodation was very clean, quiet and comfortable. Wonderful to have the option of using the air conditioning too.

Stayed in February 2023

The distance. No food. Had to rely on others at the hotel for info.

The place itself is lovely! But it isn’t advertised correctly that it’s not in tortuguero it’s one of the only hotels that you need to get a boat too, which only come every 3 hours and the last one is at 5! So had to pay for private taxis which were 8,000 colones. I traveled alone so it was very remote for me! If you’re with a partner or friends then maybe it would have been a lot nicer. The guid Owen is lovely and the island has its own national park, but don’t rely one the ‘restaurants’ for food as they were just closed and the hotel doesn’t offer lunch or dinner so I was very hungry. The owners were nice enough, not the best for helping with tourist information ie directions into the national park. But you get a bit more for your money if you’re on a budget with the rooms. The breakfast is nice enough but you don’t get any options just a plate of food put before you in the morning.

Stayed in March 2023

owners were very helpful and welcoming

Stayed in March 2023

The description stated that a restaurant is on the premises. This is not entirely accurante. Only bearkfast is served. you must fend for yourself for the other meals. The description stated that the check out time is until 10:30am but we were asked to leave by 9:30am which is quite early and redundant since the boat comes at 9:00am or 11:00am.

Great location, the host was very helpfull; she helped arrange a boat tour for us as well as helping us understand the boat schedules since all transport is done by boat. The "island" has some great hiking areas. This hotel is not on Tortuguerro but the other "isalnd" of San Francisco. Access to Tortuguerro is done by boat.

Stayed in February 2023

National park is a short ferry ride away, the public ferry is cheap and runs early morning and late afternoon. After that one needs a private water-taxi

Much quieter than Tortuguero village and close to airport. Three or four nice eating places and local walk to hill-top view point. Staff very accommodating and friendly. Great place to relax.

Stayed in February 2023

Room was very basic but functional. Distance from town (and additional cost) would be a problem for some, depending if your priority is peace and outside (garden) space or convenience.

I was very unsure about the location initially as it is a river bus or taxi ride out of Tortuguero town (as at January 2023, river bus ‘periferica’ $2 pp, taxi-boat $15), but in the end I was happy with my choice. It was wonderfully quiet with beautiful gardens and a great place to relax between canal trips and walking in the national park.

Stayed in January 2023

The room was very basic.

Fabulous location, just a boat ride away from main village. San Francisco is a lovely friendly area with a few places to eat, though we only found one that accepted credit cards. We took a lovely long walk and enjoyed the forest, the beach and the wildlife. There is also a small hill to climb for views, but we hadn't realised we needed to pay 2 dollars on line first! At the eco lodge there is a nice restaurant area overlooking the river and a wonderful hammock area as well as extra seating.

Stayed in January 2023

No downsides, just book your stay with these amazing people and beautiful location!

We loved the great owners of this hotel in the most beautiful part of Tortuguero. We've gotten a lot of tips from them and therefore saw an amazing view of Tortuguero and the Ocean on a volcano climb which we otherwise wouldn't have found. The owners are very friendly and do everything to make your stay great. The breakfast is very nice and a bit different every day.

Stayed in January 2023

The rooms were a bit musty and even with the fans it was stuffy. You had to take a public boat ferry to the bigger part of Tortuguero and the schedule only ran until the early evening. Taking a private taxi boat was quite costly.

The hammocks were a great place to relax and the coffee was great. It was walking distance to a national park and the town was quaint and very friendly. Linens and towels were very clean and changed frequently.

Stayed in January 2023

shower had some issues, otherwise ok

amazing location: not touristic and very authentic with all the facilities at the same time. spacious room, very good common areas, next to water with its own pier (you gonna be picked up and dropped off by most of the boats there) very friendly owners.

Stayed in January 2023