Historic Jungle Train (Limon Shore Excursion)

Multiple Cruise Lines (Carnival, NCL, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America) — operated by local Costa Rican shore-excursion contractors on historic INCOFER rolling stock
Costa Rica
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The Journey

Navigate from Saborio Village (board after pier transfer from Puerto Limón cruise terminal) to Saborio Village (Circular Loop) across a span of 15km.

Scenery Highlights
  • Dense sloth-inhabited rainforest canopies visible from the open-air wagons
  • Active banana plantations showing the full fruit development and packaging cycle
  • Matina River historic railway bridges (originally built for the 1890 Atlantic Railroad)
  • Towering jungle trestles threading through the coastal lowland forest
  • Caribbean coastal wildlife spotting — howler monkeys, toucans, and tropical birds
Quick Facts
  • Duration

    3.5 hours

  • Distance

    15 km

  • Est. Price

    $59.99–$74.95 per person (Carnival from $64.99 adult / $59.99 child; Princess from $74.95; NCL pricing published in CAD; verify with your cruise line at booking)

Official Booking Provider
Classes & Accommodations

Meals: Snack only

Ensuite: No

Meals: Snack only

Ensuite: No

Engine / Locomotive

Historic diesel locomotive (vintage INCOFER rolling stock, some cars dating to 1940)

Locomotive Weight

Varies by locomotive class — early 20th-century heritage units

Track Gauge

1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Cape gauge

Braking Technology

Air brake system (heritage diesel-hauled consist)

Route Engineering Challenges

  • Narrow-gauge heritage track with limited maintenance budget

  • 1991 Limón earthquake damage to the original Atlantic Railroad — only the surviving coastal segments remain in use

  • Coastal humidity, tropical rainfall and occasional flooding affecting track stability

  • Open-air vintage wagons with minimal modern safety features

  • Heavy seasonal banana-industry freight on the surviving mainline limiting excursion windows

Route distance

~15 km (circular loop)

Journey time

~3h 30min (including pier bus transfer and banana-plantation stop)

Track gauge

1,067 mm Cape gauge

Rolling stock

Historic narrow-gauge wooden open-air wagons (some from 1940), diesel-hauled

Original line

Atlantic Railroad (Ferrocarril al Atlántico), San José ↔ Puerto Limón, completed 1890

Operator

Local Costa Rican shore-excursion contractors, sold through Carnival / NCL / Princess / Royal Caribbean / Holland America

Service type

Cruise shore excursion (cruise ship days only)

Boarding point

Saborio Village (after bus transfer from Puerto Limón pier)

Quick Facts
  • Duration

    3.5 hours

  • Distance

    15 km

  • Est. Price

    $59.99–$74.95 per person (Carnival from $64.99 adult / $59.99 child; Princess from $74.95; NCL pricing published in CAD; verify with your cruise line at booking)

Official Booking Provider