Green Sea Turtle nesting season opens July 1 at Tortuguero

The season is about to begin. From July 1, the dark beach in the heartland of the rainforest in front of Mawamba Lodge becomes one of the most important Green Sea Turtle nesting sites on the entire Caribbean coast — and it stays that way until October.

For a few months each year, hundreds of females weighing well over 100 kilos haul themselves out of the surf at night, climb the same sand where they were born decades ago, and lay their eggs in the dark. It is one of the great wildlife events on the planet, and it happens a short walk from our rooms.

If there is one window to visit Tortuguero, this is it.

Why this is the moment

Tortuguero takes its name from the turtles. They are why the National Park exists, why the village grew, and why travellers have been coming to this stretch of coast for generations. From July through October the Green Sea Turtle nests here in numbers found in almost nowhere else in the Caribbean.

August and September are the peak. By late September the cycle turns and the beach offers its other miracle — tiny hatchlings breaking the surface of an old nest and racing for the sea. Come in the heart of the season and, on a good night, you may witness both.

How the tour is run

A turtle tour is not a casual walk on the beach. The Tortuguero National Park regulates every minute of night access during nesting season — for the turtles, not for our convenience — and that structure is exactly what makes the experience both responsible and reliable:

• Certified local guides. Every group is led by a guide trained and accredited to operate inside the park at night. No one walks the nesting beach alone.
• Small groups, fixed slots. The park draws one of two time windows — 8–10 p.m. or 10 p.m.–12 a.m. — and caps the number of visitors each night. You move in a small, quiet group, never a crowd.
• A tracker works ahead of you. An experienced tracker walks the shoreline in the dark and only signals the group once a female has settled into her laying trance. You approach a turtle that is calm and committed, under red light only.
• We handle the logistics. The park ticket, the assigned slot, the meeting time, the transfer to the right observation sector — all of it is arranged for you at reception. You bring dark clothes and quiet feet.

One of the five observation sectors sits directly in front of the lodge. For our guests that often means the shortest, calmest path to the sand of anyone on the beach that night.

Why it’s worth it

The value of this tour is not only what you see — though watching a 150-kilo female excavate her nest and return to the ocean is something you do not forget. It is what the tour protects.

Every regulated tour is part of the reason these turtles still nest here at all. Visitor fees and the strict, guided structure fund the conservation of one of the oldest sea-turtle rookeries in the hemisphere. When you join a tour, you are not a spectator at the edge of nature — you are part of what keeps it going.

That is the brand of travel we believe in: comfort and adventure in the heartland of the rainforest, with the place left better for your having come.

For travel partners

This page is built to be shared. If you sell Costa Rica, the Tortuguero turtle season is one of the easiest, most rewarding experiences to place a client into:

• A defined, high-demand window: July–October, peaking August–September.
• Turnkey operation: certified guides, park permits, and slot coordination handled in-house at the lodge — your client simply arrives.
• Front-row position: a beachfront lodge with an observation sector at the doorstep.
• A story clients want to tell: a genuine conservation experience, not a staged one.

To build a package, coordinate group dates, or confirm availability for the season, reach our team on WhatsApp. We answer fast and we love working with agencies.

Plan the visit

• New to the turtle tour? Read our first-timer’s guide: what actually happens on the beach.
• See the experience and times: the Green Sea Turtle night tour.
• Coming late in the season? Don’t miss the turtle hatchlings.

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The season opens July 1, and the first nests are only days away. Reserve your stay for July through October, and let us put you on the beach at the right hour, with the right guide, for one of the last great wildlife spectacles you can still witness up close.

Message us on WhatsApp to plan your turtle season — for a single traveller, a family, or an agency group.