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Turtle Nesting Tour: An Unforgettable Experience on Hidden Beaches
4.4
82 Ratings
Tamarindo
Spend a truly unforgettable evening observing turtles nesting!
- Venture off the beaten track to beautiful, hidden beaches
- Look for turtle tracks in the sand that will lead you to their nesting sites
- Observe sea turtles making their nests on the beach above the high tide mark and laying their eggs, before returning to the ocean
Spend a truly unforgettable evening observing turtles nesting!
- Venture off the beaten track to beautiful, hidden beaches
- Look for turtle tracks in the sand that will lead you to their nesting sites
- Observe sea turtles making their nests on the beach above the high tide mark and laying their eggs, before returning to the ocean
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Playa Mina - We’ll pick you up from your location in Tamarindo before driving approximately 17 miles / 25km or 40 minutes through scenic tracks to a hidden beach, close to the beautiful Playa Minas. Once parked, the turtle nesting beach is only accessible via a 10-15 minute walk. As the beach is inaccessible by car it remains dark and undisturbed…
- Playa Mina - We’ll pick you up from your location in Tamarindo before driving approximately 17 miles / 25km or 40 minutes through scenic tracks to a hidden beach, close to the beautiful Playa Minas. Once parked, the turtle nesting beach is only accessible via a 10-15 minute walk. As the beach is inaccessible by car it remains dark and undisturbed for nesting sea turtles. This is why they choose to nest on this beach.
On reaching the beach we’ll walk looking for turtle tracks, which will lead us to where the turtles are making their nests. We’ll then sit facing the back of the turtle. observe them deposit their eggs and return to the water; a truly unforgettable experience!
It is possible to see more than one kind of turtle; including the green, black, olive ridley and if we’re lucky the leatherbacks too.
We respect the turtles at all times by closely following rules laid out by the government conservation authorities so as not to be noticed by the turtles while observing them very closely.
We’ll spend approximately an hour on the beach before returning to drop you off at your location in Tamarindo.
Minimum 2 bookings are needed for the tour to operate.
What's Included
- Bottled water
- Flash Light
- Snacks
- Bottled water
- Flash Light
- Snacks
What's Not Included
- Gratuity
- Long sleeve top and trousers, must be dark clothing as not to distract the turtles
- Comfortable shoes for walking
- Mosquito Repellent
- Gratuity
- Long sleeve top and trousers, must be dark clothing as not to distract the turtles
- Comfortable shoes for walking
- Mosquito Repellent
Location
Pangas Beach Club
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.4
(82 Ratings)
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Gregmy8730cw
Apr 23, 2025
Turtle Excursion, 22 Apr 2025 - Although at the end of the season, Luis went above and beyond to ensure that we saw both an adult turtle and baby turtles hatching, when the other tour guides/groups left. We went to two different beaches to see the adult turtle. He's very devoted to ensuring his guests see turtles; highly recommemded!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
265jessid
Apr 11, 2025
Turtle nesting and sunset - Luis was amazing. He was a wealth of knowledge. He also got us there early to capture the most amazing sunset of a lifetime. We say baby turtles hatch and make their way to the ocean and momma turtles come to shore to try to lay eggs. Luis taught us so much along the way about the wildlife and the area. Also amazing driving skills for a bonus.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Z7334xjmarinas
Mar 8, 2025
An adventure - The turtles were cool but the guide is fantastic. We had a blast walking (sometimes running) up and down the beach with him finding turtles. He was informative and hilarious with a dry sense of humor. Make sure you are ready for a lot of fast walking and seeing some cute turtles. Take water. We liked that we could drive our rental car there by following him from town and we didn’t have to take a bus. Be ready for an adventurous drive if you go that route. It was also nice that he had only a small group - although many different guides bring groups to the beach at once. One of our group decided not to come because she has some issues with getting winded/tired quickly and wasn’t feeling the best (recently finished chemo treatments) - it was the right choice to sit this one out. Make sure you are in reasonable shape - could walk at least one mile in sand and a good clip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
341kilianr
Feb 28, 2025
Just awesome! - We were early at the beach and were the only and first group to enjoy the sunset and pick up the mood with the twilight. At nightfall we were suddenly very many groups on the beach section. Suddenly Luis said that we would change the beach. We need to wake up shortly after 19:00 to get to another booth section. For this we had to make the tedious way back to get to the other part of the beach. But the whole thing was more than worth it. We saw six young turtles that had just hatched and made their way into the great sea. In addition, we could also observe a large turtle. They were very impressive moments.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sw13allendale
Feb 21, 2025
Turtle viewing - best guide EVER! - Our guide went above and beyond to make sure we had the best possible experience. Sure a mystical experience to witness!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
365evertb
Feb 4, 2025
Luis is your guide! - Luis is a very good guide, explains things well, takes time for you and on the beach he’s the (gentle)man! We have seen multiple turtles coming on the beach and one making a nest. We even stayed langer than normal , and at the end he brought us back to our hotel. Muchas gracias Luis. Pura vida
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Colette_g
Feb 3, 2025
We got to see three sea... - We got to see three sea turtles returning to the sea after scoping out the area for potential nesting spots.
Review provided by Viator
L520zdmiriams
Jan 18, 2025
Magic experience - This tour was magical, we had the feeling of having a good guide with luis as he took us to the beach before all the other crowds arrived and we could see the sunset. He knew very well and could answer all questions about these special animals. It was fantastic! He always made sure that the welfare of the animals was the focus!
We would do it again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sue_c
Mar 5, 2025
You can't predict nature! - Luis was friendly and informative
He collected me on time and we headed to the beach in time for the sunset, we walked the length of the beach and saw many empty nests, lots of crabs and some broken egg shells but we waited and out of the water the turtle came
I think she was unhappy with her chosen location or maybe intimidated by the groups present as she turned around and went back to the sea
I needed to get back but others stayed and saw more, but my mission was accomplished so I was happy to set off when I did
Review provided by Viator
Mascha
Mar 23, 2025
Don't book a turtle tour if you care about the animals! No matter what tour it's about! - This tour has been absolutely terrible. I relied on the previous reviews and regretted that a lot in retrospect. My group was quite small and initially only we were on a beach, but as soon as the sun had set several more groups came, so in the end around 40 people surrounded the poor turtles. Although reference was made not to use flash, almost everyone present was unable to implement this. The guides were beyond measure. Unfortunately, we saw some turtles hatching. People were so insensitive and walked around so confused that I'm sure a few of the animals died because of the humans. I was really ashamed to be there.
If you like turtles DO NOT BOOK THIS OR ANY OTHER TOUR!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
