Overview

The Giant Sea Turtle Tour is a transformative experience. Experience a rare event where turtles lay thousands of eggs in the sand. Only available October – March.

Tour Description

The Giant Sea Turtle Tour is a transformative experience. You will learn much about this mysterious creature that looks like it stepped off the set of Jurassic Park. For example, did you know that Sea Turtles are some of the most threatened animals on the planet? They have to face numerous dangers (most of them “man-made”) along their journey thousands of miles through the ocean and back to the beach where they were born to finally be able to lay their own eggs in the sand. You won’t believe how HUGE these creatures are — seriously, they look like dinosaurs!

A serrated beak helps these herbivores tear through vegetation. Their shells, which are lighter and more hydrodynamic than those of terrestrial turtles, allow them to glide easily through the water, while flippers enable them to swim long distances. Male sea turtles spend their entire lives at sea, but females return to the same beaches they were born on, once every two years or so, to lay eggs.

In Costa Rica there are a couple of protected beaches where still an ancient wonder takes place: At a specific moon phase every month in the rainy season, tens of thousands of sea turtles come ashore on a single beach during 3-4 days only to lay millions of eggs in the sand.

Seeing the giant sea turtle tour is sure to be one of the most memorable experiences of your lifetime!

Once the sun goes down, we will walk out on the beach with the local park ranger to see the giant nesting females. The giant sea turtle tour takes place at night. It will be pitch dark, but we will be given red light flashlights which are invisible to the turtles but will enable us to see. Why red flashlights you ask? The answer might surprise you, read on.

Thousands of years ago, there was no civilization at all on these shores. When the giant leatherback sea turtles found their way to this shore at dark, there was no light to be seen. So they would lumber up without being seen and secretly deposit their eggs above the high tide line. So nowadays, if a turtle makes the trek to these shores but sees light, it gets confused and thinks it is on the wrong shore, so it turns and heads back out to sea. The eggs then become non-viable and are absorbed by the body. This is why the Costa Rican governments prohibit any development along the shores of their nesting grounds.

We can only book the tour at a short notice since the turtle’s timing is fairly unpredictable, but we receive constant updates from the park rangers who let us know once there is an increase in activity a few days in advance of the “Arribada”.

Reviews (05)

Mike Snow

25 Mar 2019

Our January 12 to the 22 stay was our second trip to Villa la Sata. We didn’t think it could get any better but this was a very special time in this extremely special place. For all our experiences here in Guanacaste this Estate cannot be matched. The village of Flamingo provides varied opportunities for dining and entertainment. Whether at Angelina’s, Coco Loco or La Forketta the food was amazing. The in home chef Jean Luc was the BEST! The beauty of the white sand beach of Flamingo is unparalleled. The staff at Villa la Sata was extremely accommodating. There was no better way to escape the cold of Montana. We will return yet again, Michael Snow

Josh Wright

02 Apr 2018

It would be tougher to spend a week in Costa Rica in a nicer home than Villa La Sata. Not only is it centrally located to the “hopping” area of the Pacific Coast side of Costa Rica, it is positioned on the property and Bay perfectly. A view of over 180 degrees of the ocean is breathtaking. The home is beautiful, updated and unquestionably a once-in-a-lifetime vacation home. This will go down as the nicest home we have ever spent time in, on vacation.

T. Meehan

21 Mar 2018

We stayed at Villa La Sata, in Costa Rica for a few days in February. It is a very special place which is beautifully appointed with detail after detail. I can’t imagine a better location in the world to soak up the sun on its terraces, perched on a cliff overlooking a mile or so of wonderful beach. We had magnificent sunsets every night that were among the best I have ever seen. My wife was in heaven as she cannot miss a sunset.

Holden Ogg

23 Mar 2018

Staying at Villa La Sata was an amazing experience! The views were immaculate and the villa was very impressive… I loved waking up to the sound and site of the beach each morning. The fact that you can see the water as the front gate opens and from every room is why I would consider this the Gem of Flamingo. I’ve never experienced anything like the sunsets here as well. As a videographer and photographer it was more than just a paradise it was Heaven.