Playa Grande
A protected leatherback turtle nesting beach, across the estuary.
Duration
3 hrs – 5 hrs
Best time
Nesting season, October to February
Open
Every day, closed at night in nesting season
Entry price
To confirm
Playa Grande is part of Las Baulas marine national park, created to protect leatherback turtles — baula in Spanish. It is the largest sea turtle in the world, up to two metres and seven hundred kilos, and the only one without a bony shell: its back is soft leather.
The eastern Pacific population has collapsed by over ninety per cent in thirty years. Nestings now number in the tens per season, where they were once hundreds. The beach closes at night during the nesting season, October to February, and viewing is done in small escorted groups.
Getting there
Across the estuary from Tamarindo. A few minutes by ferry boat, or thirty minutes by road.
What the price covers
the beach is free by day; night turtle watching goes with a paid park guide
What to bring
- Headlamp
Rules on site
In nesting season the beach closes at night and access is only with a licensed guide, in limited groups. No white light and no flash: light disorients the females and the hatchlings, and it is a major cause of death.