Overwhelming. Spectacular. Magical.
No description seems to do justice to the scene we witnessed that afternoon at Playa Ostional. Thousands of sea turtles had descended on to the beach, as if they had arrived to take part in the Battle of Wakanda! Except this was no war, and there were no heroes or villains in this scene. This army consisted of adult female olive ridley sea turtles who had come to the beach to lay their eggs.
Ostional beach, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is an important nesting ground for the olive ridley sea turtles where they arrive in thousands. This phenomenon of large turtle nesting congregation is termed as “arribada”, Spanish for “arrival”.
By the way, it is not a hyperbole when I say “thousands of turtles”. On the day of our visit to Ostional beach, in September 2021, the official estimate of daily turtle count was 92,968!
In this post, we are going to share with you all the details about Ostional, Costa Rica and everything you need to know to plan your visit for a turtle nesting tour. For a more immersive visual experience, check out our YouTube video below about turtle nesting in Ostional.
Playa Ostional, Costa Rica
Ostional is a small coastal village by the Pacific Ocean. Lack of tourism infrastructure development in the area has kept the look, feel and vibe of the town raw and rural. The beach lining this town is its namesake, called Playa Ostional.
Although Playa Ostional is located in the much sought after gold coast province of Guanacaste, the claim to fame for this beach is the turtle arribada. This dark sand beach is not your regular beach-getaway kind of place as it lies in a protected area and entry here is restricted.
Ostional Wildlife Refuge
Ostional Wildlife Refuge was officially established in 1984. Today, the refuge covers the area between Punta India in the north and Guiones to the south, also extending three miles into the ocean. They are responsible for protection of sea turtles and other marine wildlife and birds of the region.
This is why you cannot enter the Ostional beach on your own. However, you can still go and see the nesting turtles by going on a guided tour.
Ostional Turtle Tours
Asociacion de Guias Locales de Ostional (AGLO) runs turtle tours multiple times a day for consecutive days whenever arribadas happen. Some days tours are offered early in the morning and in the afternoon, and on others it is offered only in the mornings. You can keep an eye on the AGLO Facebook page for announcements about the arrival of the nesting turtles and tours.
Best Time for Turtle Nesting Tours
Typically, arribadas begin in the later part of the moon cycle, closer to the new moon phase. They last for around 5-7 days. But, like any wildlife, nothing is guaranteed and nature will follow its own course, often deceiving predictions.
So, you can either plan your travel calendar based on the moon cycle, or rely on the Facebook updates by AGLO. We recommend the latter.
The peak season for turtle nesting at Ostional is between July and December, when the arribadas are bigger.
Ostional Turtle Nesting Tour Prices
- Foreigner | Adult: 20 USD
- Foreigner | Child: 10 USD
- Costa Rican Citizen/Resident | Adult: 4,000 CRC
- Costa Rican Citizen/Resident | Child: 2,000 CRC
The office accepts card payment.
Ostional Turtle Tour Booking
Once you identify a date for arribada, you can contact AGLO via WhatsApp (+506 6252 7412) to inquire about tour schedule, space availability, prices and to reserve your tour.
Turtle Nesting: Our Experience
The Formalities
We had booked the 4:00 pm tour on the third day of an arribada in September 2021. As previously described, the prior coordination with AGLO happened via WhatsApp. However, the payment and the guide assignment are done once you show up at the AGLO office at the scheduled time of the tour.
We arrived at the office on time, parked our vehicle (on the roadside – there is no dedicated parking area), approached the booking counter and inquired about our tour. After making the payment, we were asked to wait for a guide to be appointed to us. The tours happen in groups. There were several other groups, each consisting of 5-10 people and 1 tour guide. We later learnt that the number of visitors allowed on the Ostional beach cannot exceed 100 at a time.
Once we were directed to our group and the guide, we spent a few minutes near the office where the guide explained us the rules that we would need to adhere to throughout the duration of the tour.
The Tour
It was a short walk from the office to the beach. And right there, we saw the first turtle, busy covering its eggs with sand. Before even we could stop wondering at that beautiful sight, we noticed another turtle nearby that was in the process of laying eggs. Then another. And another. Soon we realized that the beach was flooded with turtles! Some were just arriving, some were in the process of laying eggs and some were leaving after having completed their business on the beach.
While we watched the first few turtles, our guide explained to us the entire turtle nesting process, the challenges the turtles face and some other relevant statistics.
We had recently learnt about the different stages of turtle nesting during our visit to Tortuguero. The difference between this tour and the one in Tortuguero is that the latter happens in the darkness of night, adding an element of mystery to that tour. You can read about our Tortuguero turtle nesting tour here.
Sunset Show
After the first few turtles, the guide spoke less and only answered questions as and when asked by her group members. For the group, it was more about absorbing the experience. The beach was so packed with turtles that we had to make an effort to ensure that we did not step on any of the turtles!
The tour lasts for about 1.5 hours. Since the later part of our arribada tour coincided with sunset, the sky color and the glistening waves created a wonderful backdrop to the already marvelous sight of the beautiful turtles.
Baby Turtles
There are some dates when the hatchings of the baby turtles from previous arribadas coincides with the new arribada of adult sea turtles. The baby turtles usually hatch early in the morning or towards the end of the day as the temperatures are more favorable then. During our tour, we were to fortunate to witness not at least a dozen baby turtles hatch and make their first walk to the ocean.
Turtle Challenges and the Efforts by the Guides
During the tour, we learnt that the sea turtles face various kinds of challenges. Some are natural, like predator birds destroy nests and eggs, and kill the turtles as their food hunt, or turtles unknowingly walk over recently built nests of other turtles thus destroying the eggs.
But unfortunately, there are many human created causes as well that make the turtles suffer. If the AGLO guides observe anything that is causing trouble to the turtles, they try to solve the problem the best they can. We witnessed a couple of such examples during our tour. The one that hit me the most was that a turtle arrived on the beach with a bleeding nostril. This happened because a plastic debris from the ocean had got stuck in the turtle’s nostril. So some guides of different groups worked together to help the turtle by removing the plastic as much as they could. This incident was an eye-opening reminder of the level of damage we humans create to the marine world.
Turtle Eggs Harvesting?
Due to the sheer number of turtles that arrive at the beach for consecutive days, it often happens that the completed nest of one turtle gets destroyed as another turtle starts digging at the same place to begin its nesting. It is a sad but true occurrence, and a frequent one at Ostional.
This natural possibility of damage and destruction of eggs led the Ostional Refuge to legalize harvesting turtle eggs in Ostional. In fact, Ostional is the only place in the world that legally allows collection and selling of turtle eggs (albeit with certain restrictions), thereby creating an income avenue for the local community and at the same time keeping poachers at bay.
How to Reach Ostional
The roads to Ostional are not in the best of conditions.
There are two route options, one via Nosara and the other one via Marbella.
Option 1: Via Nicoya and Nosara
Ostional lies around 10 km (6.2 miles) north of Nosara. Whether you are coming from San Jose or Liberia, drive till Nicoya town and follow the road to Nosara. You need to continue beyond Nosara and keep driving until you reach Ostional. The road in the last stretches before and after Nosara is not paved.
But the main obstacle on this route is a river about 1 km before Ostional. Of course, a 4X4 vehicle is recommended to cross this river. However, if you are acquainted with driving on such roads of Costa Rica, you can make this crossing in a car with good ground clearance, even if it is not 4X4. But be cautious, follow the locals and don’t try this when it is raining or has just rained.
Option 2: Via Santa Cruz and Marbella
The other option is to drive till Santa Cruz and then take Ruta 160 and drive till Ostional via Marabella. This is the faster route if you are coming from Liberia. But if you are driving from San Jose, this adds 40-60 minutes of driving time. However, it eliminates the need of driving across a river. What is the catch then? The last 25 km (15 miles) of this stretch is filled with horrible potholes make it an annoyingly bumpy ride.
Which route should you take?
Between the two routes, the one via Nosara is definitely the better one, barring the river crossing obstacle. But while going to Ostional, you would not know the rain and river conditions at the time of your arrival. So, it is better not to take a chance. Instead take the Santa Cruz – Marbella – Ostional route.
For your return trip though, you will know the weather conditions better, and you can also seek advice from the locals about tips and tricks. If the conditions seem favorable, cross that river and take the Ostional – Nosara – Nicoya route.
You can find the Ostional AGLO office on Google Maps.
Where to Stay in Ostional
Ostional is a small town with not many accommodation options. It can get really busy (read sold out) during the arribadas. So remember to reserve your accommodation in advance.
- Boutique Hotel Luna Azul: Located about 4 km (2.5 miles) from the AGLO office, it is a boutique hotel with nicely appointed bungalows, rainforest view terraces and open air hot showers. A wonderful complimentary breakfast is included in the room rate. With an outdoor swimming pool, a massage center, a tropical cocktail bar and a gourmet restaurant, Luna Azul offers a truly luxury stay in the oasis of the rural charm of Ostional. You can check prices and availability, and book your stay here.
- Cabinas Arribadas: Although this one does not get the best reviews, it is the closest (less than 1 minute walk) accommodation to AGLO where the turtle arribada tours start. So this is a great option if you do not want to drive down to the tour starting point. The cabins come with air-conditioning, WiFi, hot showers and an onsite restaurant. Click here to check prices and availability.
Bonus Tip: Add Beach Time
Although Ostional is a coastal town, it is not the place for a “sun, sand and sea” kind of getaway. But if you wish to include some beach time as an extension of your Ostional trip, we have got you covered!
About 8 km (5 miles) north of Ostional lies a small town called San Juanillo. It is another tiny rural village that enjoys an incredible beach by the same name, Playa San Juanillo. Two crescent shaped beaches join here to form an unique shape. I would not think twice to say that it is one of the prettiest beaches in Costa Rica!
Check out our post on Playa San Juanillo for more details about this wonderful beach.
Final Thoughts on Ostional
Observing thousands of olive ridley sea turtles throng the Ostional beach was a spellbinding experience for us. If you appreciate wildlife and their behaviors, add Ostional turtle nesting tour to your Costa Rica bucket list as you plan your itinerary.
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