Excursion de nidification des tortues à Playa Grande, CR

Pablo is a knowledgeable, helpful, communicative guide. The tour is at a remote and lovely beach about 25 minutes from Plays Grande where we were staying. With his assistance, we saw more than a half dozen nesting turtles come ashore, and were very fortunate to see a nest of turtles hatching and making their way to the ocean. We are senior citizens, and Pablo was helpful and patient while we took our time to carefully traverse the somewhat steep trail from the car to the beach (a 15-20 minutes hike). Excellent value. Highly recommended

such a great experience super fun- would recommend wearing some type of hiking shoes and outside hiking clothes. to get to the turtles it is about a 15 min walk over some rocks but was very worth it and so much fun! Would highly recommend

A highlight of our trip - we were able to see both a mom turtle and a baby turtle during our tour! Some things to know, as I was confused initially. The tour is not in Playa Grande, it just picks up there (we had our own transportation, so we drove ourselves about 20-30 mins to the beach where the turtle nesting viewing actually happens.) I would also advise wearing sneakers/hiking shoes - it's a solid 15 minute hike down to the beach, and it's rocky and hot. You also spend a good amount of time waiting in the dark, so use the bathroom prior/bring water with you as once you get there you could be sitting there for quite a while in the dark just waiting. But it was all worth it to actually see the turtles! The guides are very knowledgable and respectful of the turtles themselves. We had grandparents as well as a 7 and 10 year old in our family who came with us, and everyone enjoyed it.

It was very special to see the baby turtles leave their nest and then make their way to the ocean. And then our highlight was seeing the Mama turtle on the beach returning to the sea. One unfortunate part of the experience is that there were at least 3 other groups there and the other guides were not asking their tourists to give the turtles more space. Some people followed the turtles so closely that they could have stepped on one of the babies and interfered with the big challenge of getting to their ocean home. Our tour guide, Paolo was very friendly and kept us together during the hike to and from the beach. He also gave us water bottles and shared some interesting information with us. I was surprised that I was expected to drive my family to the beach. It was a 25 minute drive from Playa Grande. This was not mentioned when we booked our tour and when I asked if I could receive a reduced fee, I was informed that was not possible since it was already a good price. It was just a little frustrating that the other 5 people were able to drive in the tour guide’s vehicle and they did not have to pay for gas or drive in the dark on dirt roads. All in all, we had a very memorable experience but I think that the tour company should make it clear that we had to drive ourselves or they should not have booked more than 5 people that night.

Our family had a great experience with Pablo. He was knowledgeable and friendly and accommodating with our 7-year-old son. It was amazing to see 2 mommy turtles, a turtle hatching with many cute little turtles making their way to the ocean, and bioluminescence in the sand on the beach. We took a video of the sweet baby turtles; I’m attaching a photo. The only problem was that there was a big group coming after us making a lot of noises, which must have disturbed the mommy turtle trying to dig a nest. She took a long time and couldn’t get it done. We left early due to the commotion.

Be respectful to the turtles. No lights, only red-light. ............................................

Pablo was great, very friendly and knowledgeable about the area and the turtles. We managed to see a big green turtle just as we arrived at the beach!

It's not so likely to see turtles. It costs a lot of money. The beach was also very narrow, where should the eggs be buried??

Felt off from the start. Was contacted the day before and asked to meet at a different location. Drive to location was long and uneasy and my husband and I were both worried about where this guy was taking us. When we got there we walked to a beach where another tour guide was with their guests and our guide left us to scout the area. Turns out he actually left… to two other locations. Left us alone on a dark beach with strangers who we didn’t know. We didn’t know when he was coming back or when. The whole thing was unnerving. Eventually the other guide told us to follow them and our guide would meet us in the parking area. Result, no turtles and a lot of anxiety.

Although we weren't able to see any turtles, the beach was an experience. Pablo worked hard to try to find them but it was not guaranteed and off season. Definitely would like to try again and the beach was extremely secluded.