Turtle Experience- Turtle Lodge to watch the Turtles lay eggs and the Turtles hatch. Turtles, Turtles, Turtles 🐢💚💙
A highlight of our Costa Rica trips has been visiting Ostional and seeing the turtles.
This is a bucket list type of adventure.
We incorporated it into our week long stay in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, in November 2019. For the middle section of our vacation, we drove south to the “Turtle Lodge” in Ostional and spent two nights in the tree house.
It is a small town with few amenities. Without the turtle tourist attraction, it wouldn’t have much to offer. There are a few small local restaurants and the basics like a town square, church and limited lodging.
Click here for more photos of the lodge with rates, etc.
It was a nice change from the paved roads and busy streets in Tamarindo. It was a great town for slowing down, relaxing and of course, watching the turtles.
We watched the Olive Ridley Turtles lay eggs and also watched as the eggs hatched and the hatchlings traveled to the ocean. The most action takes place during the “Arribada”. This event happens once a month and is when the most turtle sights happen and the most hatchlings are born. We were in Ostional during the November Arribada.
Walking through town in the dark and then making your way to the beach can be a little unnerving. Then with only the use of red flashlights, operated by your tour guides, you navigate the dark landscape, hoping to see a mother turtle ready to lay eggs while avoiding driftwood and large rocks.
Then when you finally discover the topic of interest, you don’t want to miss a second. Taking into account the amount of sand the turtle is able to move with just her fins, counting eggs being laid in the nest, watching the nest being recovered, and then seeing the adult turtle make its way back to the ocean.
Sure, many of us have seen an egg laid, animals being born or eggs hatching, but the sheer numbers during the Arribada are staggering. The setting makes it even more magical. Watching the waves crash as the sun comes up is a beautiful sight in itself.
I’ll be honest, I don’t often feel like waking before the sun on vacation. This opportunity to rise during the dark, early morning hours and then see the baby turtles hatch while your eyes adjust to the dawn is amazing.
It may sound cheesy, but your heart will cheer for these little creatures as they make their way to the water’s edge.
Be sure to watch our short videos on the egg laying and also the hatching. It is still nothing like experiencing it in person, but it will give you an idea.
Read more about our entire trip to Costa Rica here.
Related Posts:
Our first trip to Costa Rica
Our trip to neighboring Panama
