Turtle Nesting Tour
4.5
Full view
from per adult
S$75.52
from per adult
S$75.52
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 4-80, max of 10 per group
Duration: 3–4 hours
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
English, Spanish
Features animals
- Flash Light
- Bottled water
- 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
- Departure details
- Pangas Beach Club, Main road to Tamarindo, 500m SW from Auto Mercado, in front of El Tesoro, Provincia de Guanacaste, Tamarindo, 50309, Costa Rica We will meet on the road across from the entrance to Pangas Beach Club
- Provincia de Guanacaste, Huacas, Costa Rica We will meet at Supermercado La Oruga
Return details- Returns to original departure point
- Not wheelchair accessible
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 215677P2- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Most travellers can participate
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travellers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- What you can expect during your visit
- Regular temperature checks for staff
- Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
- Guides required to regularly wash hands
- Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
- Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
- Face masks required for guides in public areas
- Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
- Gear/equipment sanitised between use
- Face masks required for travellers in public areas
- Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Community- Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
- How much is Turtle Nesting Tour?
- Turtle Nesting Tour price starts from S$73.98. Discover and book Turtle Nesting Tour on Tripadvisor
- What is the Turtle Nesting Tour cancellation policy?
- Turtle Nesting Tour cancellation policy: For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience. Discover and book Turtle Nesting Tour on Tripadvisor
- Which company provides Turtle Nesting Tour?
- Turtle Nesting Tour is hosted by Sol Eco Adventures. Read reviews, discover additonal experiences or contact Sol Eco Adventures on Tripadvisor. Discover and book Turtle Nesting Tour on Tripadvisor
- How much time do I need for Turtle Nesting Tour?
- On average, this experience will take approximately 3h. Discover and book Turtle Nesting Tour on Tripadvisor
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 215677P2
Itinerary
- You’ll have 2 starting optionsSee departure details
- 1Playa MinaStop: 3 hoursWe’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.Read more
- You'll return to the starting point
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About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator.
O9504FZbrianw
00Great Experience among the Mangroves
Enjoyed paddling deep into the National Park and seeing quite a lot of wildlife along the way. Luis did a fine job.
Dreamtravele
00Amazing experience
Capitan Island is very beautiful and the diversity of sealife in the tidal pools is really incredible. Las Baulas…
julie p
00Learning experience
Captain Tom is one of a kind. A bit cold at first but revealing to be a passionate and well caring guide. We have l…
angelagN3312YO
00Our guide did NOT show up and failed to give us a refund
Do NOT book this. We were confirmed to meet at El Chiringuito for the morning trip, but Luis never showed up. Whe…
sebastiankvi
00Worst guide of Costa Rica
Luis asked us to arrive early at 8.00 AMand we thought it was to start earlier than planned.. We found out he wante…
l_anep2023
00Needed a smile
Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling good because our guide screamed at us before and during the kayaking. Even at child…
766hunterd
00Absolutely horrible. Do NOT do this
Luis is literal at the worst ever. He rushed the whole tour and it was wildly underwhelming. Do NOT do this tour. H…
MCCrustyJuggler
00Ok
A nice bit of kayaking but there are probably better tours around. The forest you go to has well trodden paths whic…
H5463BPchristopherh
00Fantastic tour provided by Captain Tom
Captain Tom approached my wife and I on the beach and engaged us in conversation before offering us his card and ex…
347jessiep
00Excellent experience!!
Tom was an excellent guide. I can’t recommend him enough! He was flexible with booking & a very helpful teacher. In…
837jaredd
00This guide is self absorbed and mean.
Our guide Luis/Tom was incredibly rude. When we got in the kayaks he just told us to paddle with no instructions an…
avrahamt2018
00Avoid at all costs - tour guide is abusive!
Tom (Luis) is an incredibly rude and unprofessional tour guide who not only failed to communicate the basic plan fo…
Beryl M
00horrible experience
Our guide Luis was extremely rude. We were waiting at the location he sent us on whatsapp (not the location as it a…
Razvan M
00Great experience
Really fun and interesting experience. Louis is a great tour and a very friendly person. The whole experience was g…
Angotaku
0010/10 would recommend
Tom was an awesome guide! He was so knowledgeable and excited about all the life on Capitan Island and it was infec…
More to explore in Tamarindo
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
23 reviews
Excellent
19
Very good
1
Average
2
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Penny B
1 contribution
Feb 2023 • Family
We took this tour in late February with our 2 sons (9 and 11). These tours are clearly done for the masses and the coordination between all the different tour operators to get in as many tourists as possible makes you feel like you are being herded a bit. But it was still one of the highlights of our trips because our guide was efficient, knew his turtles and how to get us the best sighting available on our night. We were lucky to see mama turtles digging nests and babies making their way to the sea in their natural environment. Our two kids coped well with the trekking, waiting and following of turtles in the night.
Written 7 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Chad S
2 contributions
Jan 2023
It was a great experience! Our guide / Luis was a ton of fun with great knowledge to share. He got us to the beach at dusk, which gave us a beautiful view - and sure enough, almost like he had someone plant it, a sea turtle was emerging from the water. We were the first group there, so got more of a private experience than the others. The hike is a bit steep, dark and rocky etc, so if you're uneasy with moderately challenging hikes you may want to reconsider. Otherwise, it was wonderful and Luis was a treat.
Written 23 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Scott L
Billings, MT12 contributions
Dec 2022
One of the best things we've done in Costa Rica. If you take the time to listen, Luis has a wealth of knowledge, he took time and extended patience, showed concern on what was a non trivial hike and equipped us with all the necessary gear including a walking stick for my wife. I'm not sure what happened for these other folks, but this was the most reasonably priced tours we found and there were a lot of tour operators out there that night but we were a half hour ahead of all of them...so early that my wife and I were alone with the turtle on what i can only describe as a humbling experience.
Combine that with the fact that other tour providers and towns people confidently told us that leatherbacks hadn't yet come back, and Luis is really the only choice. Amazing, thank you.
Combine that with the fact that other tour providers and towns people confidently told us that leatherbacks hadn't yet come back, and Luis is really the only choice. Amazing, thank you.
Written 16 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Joe
Bellevue, NE5 contributions
Jan 2023
Luis was awesome, really knew his stuff, very entertaining, tells lots of great stories. We rode with him in his truck out to the country a bit to a trail that took us to the beach. Saw a turtle coming to shore right as we got there. The stars were amazing. Whole trip took around 2 hours. Would highly recommend it. It is a little bit of a hike to the beach, around 15 min of up and down wooded trail, so make sure you're good with that.
Written 22 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Maryorie S
10 contributions
We had a great time during our tour with Luis! After we went to the wrong pickup point he was very friendly and gave us a new location to meet at. We went to a beautiful beach during sunset but failed to find turtles so we moved to another location (El Nombre de Jesus) but Luis shared a lot of interesting information about the turtle nesting process and we saw some turtle tracks and empty nests as well. Once we got to the second location after a 15minute we waited at the beach for the guides to find some turtles. There was one other group there when we arrived and some others joined later. At the beach we saw nesting baby turtles running to the see, a big turtle who decided to abort her mission and finally we saw another turtle actually laying eggs. In addition Luis pointed out the luminescence of the beach which was filled with shiny blue plankton which was pretty cool to see in combination with the starry night. In summary we had a great experience and Luis was an awesome tour guide!
Written 25 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Floran B
Bartlesville, OK135 contributions
Jan 2020
Wear bug spray, long pants for sitting around on the beach and shoes that are comfortable for walking in sand. We were given a "Costa Rica massage" getting to the beach where they gave us flashlights and told us we need to hustle to see a turtle on the beach. I'm thinking, "What? Only "a" turtle." I know this is wildlife but I'm thinking okay there'll be a few more later. The flashlight I was given kept going out and we were moving fast in total darkness on uneven ground. At the beach, only the guides' flashlights with a red light are used to not disturb the turtles. We did end up seeing one turtle heading back into the water and later (after sitting on the beach for about 3 hours) another turtle who came onto the beach but couldn't find a spot she liked. These turtles use a lot of energy trying to find the perfect spot and one turtle may try numerous times during the evening and end up never laying eggs. So, we saw 2 turtles (one almost back in the water and one who spent a half hour trying and failing to find the perfect spot). On our info sheet, it said "Cameras are NOT allowed". The guides then tell us you can take pictures but no flash. Well, our good cameras are back at the hotel so we did the best we could with their red lights and our iPhones. The good: the evening was warm, the stars were amazing, we did actually see turtles, and the guides were informative. The bad: it was the end of the nesting season and there are no restrooms for the 5-6 hours you're out there.
Written 20 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
33Kim
Marietta, GA29 contributions
We had a wonderful experience with Luis. He knew the best time and place to go, and was very informative in telling us facts about sea turtles. We appreciated the fact that our group was small compared to some of the other groups coming onto the beach as we were finishing up. Those groups were very large and we enjoyed that it was just our family of 5 plus Luis. We were fortunate to see four green sea turtles come onto the beach. Highly recommend this experience!!
Written 27 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
JORC25
Tonbridge, UK12 contributions
Jan 2023 • Family
Beautiful moon lit evening, we saw 1 green turtle make 3 exploratory nests under the tree line and 3 others making scouting trips up the beach.
Louis gave us lots of information about turtles on the 45min journey to the beach. He was determined that we should see as many parts of the nesting process as possible, which made for quite a confusing evening, dashing to & from different parts of the beach.
The various competing guides were in radio contact with each other so most groups got to see at least 1 turtle but there did appear to be some competative tension between the guides.
We were surprised to see one of the other guides assist the turtle digging and someone approached a turtle as she was coming out of the sea. This didn't seem in keeping with CR eco ethos we had been expecting.
Louis gave us lots of information about turtles on the 45min journey to the beach. He was determined that we should see as many parts of the nesting process as possible, which made for quite a confusing evening, dashing to & from different parts of the beach.
The various competing guides were in radio contact with each other so most groups got to see at least 1 turtle but there did appear to be some competative tension between the guides.
We were surprised to see one of the other guides assist the turtle digging and someone approached a turtle as she was coming out of the sea. This didn't seem in keeping with CR eco ethos we had been expecting.
Written 11 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
MonaDona
Leon, Spain17 contributions
Mar 2020 • Friends
We really didn’t know what to expect with the turtle nesting tour, we read the great reviews and thought might as well give it a try. But it was an incredible experience. We saw so many turtles come up onto the beach and slowly dig holes in the sand, laying dozens of eggs. The guide, who also helps to conserve the area, knew everything about the process and made us feel comfortable being there, that we were not disturbing the turtles and their egg laying process.
Written 2 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Rujul
2 contributions
Feb 2023
Due to Luis' knowledge, we arrived quite early at the beach. We managed to see some hatchlings and two mother turtles as a result! There were larger tour groups who came after us and did not seem to get as lucky. The stars and sunset were an added bonus. I am incredibly glad we picked this tour!
Written 5 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
bvflp
San Francisco, CA11 contributions
Have there been many turtles recently?
We are here the entire week.
Thanks!
ElizabethCanada2019
1 contribution
Do we actually have to wear a mask?
Joe
Bellevue, NE5 contributions
Nope, not a mask in sight.