As one of the most important locations in the world to see turtles in Costa Rica, Ostional Wildlife Refuge is a must visit for animal lovers. This refuge protects 238 hectares of protected land, including 15 km of beach where thousands of turtles lay their eggs. This is one of the best things to do in Guanacaste and best places in Costa Rica for a nature and wildlife experience.
If you want to see turtles in Costa Rica, then you have to visit Ostional Wildlife Refuge. In this guide, you will read more information about Ostional, how to get there and the best time to go.
This post has been updated May 2019.
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- History
- Location and Directions
- Sea Turtles and Arribadas
- Best Time to Go
- Turtle Tours
- Lodging, Town and Beach
- What to know
- Video
History
The Ostional Wildlife Refuge was established in 1983 for the sole purpose of protecting the crucial nesting site of the Olive Ridley Sea turtle.
Since there were many poachers, it became necessary to protect this land as the turtle population was declining rapidly. Since 1983, thousands of turtles are safe from harm and can lay their eggs in peace. Visitors can come to this beach to learn more and witness the spectacular nestings of turtles and hatchings of babies.
Location and Directions
Ostional Costa Rica map
How to Get to Ostional
From San Jose: Take Route 27 towards Puntarenas. Take a left to the Puente de la Amistad de Taiwan and go towards Nicoya. After about (29 km) 18 miles on this road, head towards Nosara turning right. This will be a bumpy dirty path with many potholes. When you see the sign for Nosara, don’t turn. Keep going on the main road and Ostional is not too far ahead.
From Tamarindo: Get on the main road and turn right towards Playa Negra and Avellana at 27 de Abril. You’ll see signs for Ostional and instead of going straight towards Negra, you’ll turn left onto a bumpy road (Route 160) towards Playa Marbella, Playa San Juanillo and Nosara. This is the same way if you’re coming from Liberia or Gulf of Papagayo like Coco.
Bus: From Santa Cruz, take the bus leaving at noon to Ostional which returns at 5 PM. Another way is to leave from San Jose to Nosara by bus which leaves at 530 AM and from Nosara take a taxi to Ostional.
Update May 2019
They have finished building the bridge that goes over a river to Ostional! We still do recommend a high car for this area in rainy season but now with the new bridge, it is doable in a standard car in dry season. In dry season, they also fill the potholes.
Safety tip
If you are renting a car in Costa Rica and you don’t feel comfortable driving on unpaved roads, it is best to rent a 4wd or higher car for the most comfort and safety. We also recommend to use Waze for GPS since signage is not good in that area and turtle tours run at night so you will be driving in the dark.
Ostional, Costa Rica Turtles
The majority of the turtles that come to nest are the Olive Ridley sea turtle but leatherback and pacific green turtles can also be seen during certain months. The first documented occurrence was in 1959 and in 1970 began the official research of this phenomenon in Ostional, started by Dr. Douglas Clark.
Ostional, Costa Rica Arribadas
Turtles come to nest all year long at the beach but there are certain times of the year where you can see hundreds of thousands of turtles all come to hatch their eggs at once.
This period of time is called an arribada, which means arrival in Spanish and it only occurs in a few spots in the world. The biggest arribadas occur from July – December and November generally sees the biggest arribadas.
This arribada occurs in 8 beaches in the world and 2 of them are in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica (Nancite beach in Santa Rosa and Playa Ostional). Ostional Wildlife Refuge is considered as the site of the most reproduction of Olive Ridley turtles in the whole world.
They come to shore to lay their eggs usually right before a new moon when it is the darkest. Sometimes there are SO many turtles, they have to crawl on top of each other and there’s no room to walk!
Arribadas occur once a month, sometimes even twice for 3 to 4 days. The largest number of mother turtles during an arribada recorded has been 500,00!
Although turtles normally nest at night when it is the darkest, they will come during the day to nest during arribadas. We have been to the refuge during an arribada and have seen hundreds of turtles at 2 PM!
Best Time to Go to Ostional Wildlife Refuge
The best time to visit Ostional Wildlife Refuge is during the rainy season so May – December. During rainy season, you can see turtles almost every day even if it’s not an arribada. Arribadas are the most intense September – December but they can have small-medium ones in June, July, January and February. In February 2018, they had a tiny arribada of about 2000 turtles.
You can also see turtles during the rest of the year but during dry season, there are very few turtles. Even though turtles nest all year long, there may only be one or two a night. So if you go to Ostional from February – April, there is a very good chance you won’t see any turtles.
Turtles prefer to nest in the dark so it’s best to go during the waxing crescent moon or right after the new moon when it is the darkest. The best time to see turtles in Ostional is during sunset around 5 PM and early morning around 5 AM. It’s common for babies to hatch early in the morning.
We visited in November twice (not during an arribada) and saw lots of mother turtles around 4-5 PM. We saw babies hatching around 6 AM.
If you are flexible in your schedule and want to see an arribada, follow the Association of Guides in Ostional Facebook page. They post updates on when arribadas start, how long they think it will last and current conditions.
Ostional Turtle Tours
To go into the refuge, every visitor has to go with a guide, you can’t walk in by yourself. If you are traveling to Ostional on your own, you can hire a guide at the Guide Association office in town right next to the soccer field. You can also message the official Ostional Guide Association Facebook page to reserve one in advance.
If you want to do a day trip from Tamarindo or Coco and need transportation, you must book with a tour company as they will provide round trip transportation and the guide. A tour costs $50-80 depending on where you are coming from.
Lodging, Town and Beach
The town is very small with only one soda, a few pulperias and a few cabinas for lodging.
The beach is also popular with surfers since Playa Ostional is a great surfing beach.
Ostional Hotels
There aren’t a lot of hotels around but there are a few right in town near the beach. Many of them are cabinas or small local hotels, nothing fancy since Ostional is a rural town.
If you’re looking for a higher end hotel, Ostional Turtle Lodge is a good option. Cabinas Ostional and Cabinas Arribadas are two near the beach that are not too expensive. You can also stay in nearby Nosara.
We have camped in Ostional a couple times. There are some locals who will let you camp in their yard, we stayed twice at one house near the entrance of town coming from the river. He charges 5,000 colones per person and the property has picnic tables, showers and bathrooms. He also offers turtle tours.
Important Things to Know Before You Visit
You must go with a guide to the refuge.
I know I mentioned this before but this is very important. If you try to go in the refuge by yourself, the rangers will stop you.
If you go on a tour, wear black.
Turtles are very sensitive to light and colors. When they’re swimming in the waves near shore, they will pop up to check out the beach and see if it’s a good time to go nest. If they see bright colors or white light, they won’t nest. So make sure to wear black.
No flash photography and no white light.
Guides will give you or have a red light which is not harmful to the turtle. When taking pictures, don’t use flash.
Don’t touch turtles and give the nesting ones plenty of space.
It’s sad to have to say this but please don’t touch the turtles and don’t get too close when they are nesting.
If you see babies, you can help them get to the ocean by shooing away vultures and dogs.
Many volunteers do this. If you see babies crawling on shore, you can help them by shooing away the many vultures and dogs who will try to eat them. But don’t touch the babies or pick them up, they need to feel the sand in order to remember where it is. If they are female, they will come back to the same beach to nest when they’re adults and they need to feel it to remember.
Ostional is the only beach in the world where locals can legally harvest eggs.
Since there are so many turtles during arribadas, many of the eggs get destroyed by other turtles. The government set up a program where locals can legally harvest a certain number of eggs to sell so they can make a living. You may see locals collecting eggs on the beach and in town, they wash, clean and pack the eggs in a station on the beach.
Ostional National Wildlife Refuge Video
Watch our video of our trip to Ostional Wildlife Refuge.
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Want to see more turtles? Head to Tortuguero National Park, an excellent place to see Green and Leatherback turtles.
Read about other wildlife reserves in Costa Rica!
La Marta Wildlife Refuge in Turrialba
Hacienda Baru in Dominical
Curi Cancha Reserve in Monteverde
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Teresa says
May 14, 2019 at 9:53 AMThank you so much for this post! We are going to be staying in Tamarindo for a few days, do you think seeing the turtles could be a day trip, or do we need to stay overnight in Ostinal?
Sammi says
May 14, 2019 at 10:52 AMIt depends on when you’re going, you have better chances to see both babies hatching and nestings if you stay overnight but you could go on a day trip in the evening to see nestings for sure from Tamarindo.
Sammi says
May 14, 2019 at 10:52 AMYou’re welcome! You can do it as a day trip in the evening to see nestings during the season. You have better chances to see more nestings and babies hatching if you stay overnight but an evening trip is totally doable.
Amber Nunn says
May 8, 2019 at 6:11 PMI will be traveling to Costa rica in June. I’m wanting to see the hatchlings. Which beach is best to visit? We were going to go to camaronal but not sure if my odds would be better at ostional.
Sammi says
May 9, 2019 at 6:02 PMHi Amber, I haven’t been to Camaronal in June but Ostional starts having the mass nestings and more nestings in June. The peak time is not until Sept-Nov so there may not be as many hatchlings but maybe you can check with the tour company in Camaronal to see how conditions are and check the Ostional Associaion Facebook page for updates.
Ola says
March 15, 2019 at 6:45 AMThank you so much for great information so clearly written!
We are driving from Tamarindo to Nosara today and not sure if the timing will work to arrive in Ostional to see the turtles. Is there any chance we would see some just on the beach during the day?
Also, is it crazy to drive South to Nosara at night if we do get an evening guide? We are staying in Nosara for the next two nights.
Thanks for any advice you may have! Much appreciate it.
Sammi says
March 15, 2019 at 8:25 AMHi Ola, right now the turtle nesting season is not necessarily “over” but activity is super super super super low and they do not nest during the day this time of year (only during arribadas which are June – December roughly). In March, you will need to be super incredibly lucky to see a turtle nesting and it would only be at night. Companies and guides don’t even run tours this time of year because there may be like one turtle every few days nesting.
Scott says
January 31, 2019 at 2:01 PMRegarding the new bridge to Ostional… is that approaching from the north via Playa Marbella or from the south via Nosara? I stayed in Nosara in 2014 and remember the river crossing when visiting Ostional.
Sammi says
January 31, 2019 at 4:21 PMThe new bridge is north from Marbella, south from Nosara does require another small river crossing I believe and I don’t think they have a bridge there yet, which is why they always recommend to go via Santa Cruz and down south.
Abi says
March 31, 2018 at 1:33 PMThank you for all this great information! We are thinking of going to ostional at the beginning of September and we particularly want to see babies hatching – we will be there for a couple of weeks –
Have you got any tips? 🙂
Sammi says
March 31, 2018 at 6:08 PMHi Abi, September is a great time to go and you will most likely see babies when you are there. They normally come out super early in the morning but you will need to take a tour or go with a guide to go in the reserve and they should be able to know when and where to go. You’ll be there for a couple weeks so you’ll definitely see them.
Tanvi Karvat says
September 2, 2017 at 8:43 PMHey Sammi ,
We are a group of 9 staying Nosara. We will be visiting 11,12,13 September.
How do we get from Nosara to Ostional ? We cannot self drive. Are there tours ? Any idea how much they will charge.
Also what time will be the best time to go see them ? Morning or evening ?
THANKS A LOT 🙂
Sammi says
September 4, 2017 at 9:37 AMHi Tanvi, you can check if there are any tour companies in Nosara running tours and the tour guide can give you information on the turtles and how much it will cost. Nosara is pretty close to Ostional so you can even get a taxi and then hire a guide in Ostional to go on the refuge.
Scott says
July 23, 2017 at 3:40 PMSammi, where can we hire a local guide? We will be driving into town from Ocotal. Plan to arrive around 4 PM.
Sammi says
July 23, 2017 at 3:42 PMHi Scott, you can go to the office of the Ostional guide association (right in town, near the soccer field) and hire a guide there.
Scott says
July 29, 2017 at 4:12 PMThanks, Sammi.
Janieke says
December 15, 2016 at 7:42 AMHi,
We are in Coco at the moment and we heard the next Arribada is between 20-23th December. We are planning of driving from Coco to Ostional instead of taking the tour. How is the road? Can you get there with a normal car?
Sammi says
December 15, 2016 at 9:23 AMOnce you turn onto the road to Ostional, the road is super bumpy and pot holey. There is one huge river to cross right before you get into the wildlife refuge, so I highly recommend driving at least a 4×2. We made it with a sedan a few years ago but ruined the license plate and got water into the car, so I don’t recommend going with a sedan, especially if you’re renting a car because river crossing damage isn’t covered at all (negligence).
Big Mike says
March 18, 2016 at 8:56 PMDo you recommend any tour guides or is there a section to read about it on your website? Couldn’t find it. Guess on price? Thanks!! Do you still live in Coco or did you guys move?
Sammi says
March 19, 2016 at 8:27 AMIf you’re in Coco, there are a couple tour companies you can inquire: Avispa’s Adventures or Shaman Tours. They will know when it’s the best time to see turtles. For a one day tour, I think it’s around $70. If you’re already in Ostional, you can ask your hotel and there are lots of desks where you can ask about a tour.
We don’t live in Coco anymore, moved last year!
Big Mike says
March 13, 2016 at 11:03 PMHey Sammi!! We will be in Costa Rica April 2-9, 2016 and the new Moon is on April 7th. I know it is not rainy season but will we be able to see any turtles then? I also was wondering about tour guides? We would probably drive back at night to Coco, what do you think? Any help would be appreciated!!
Sammi says
March 14, 2016 at 9:51 AMI highly recommend going with a tour company as they usually know. Turtles are seen all year round though it may not be a guarantee you will see them in April. Arribadas normally occur in the peak of rainy season.
Michael Orobona says
June 28, 2014 at 9:06 PMI love that you often have maps. Such an obvious thing, but so often missing from travel blogs!
Sammi says
June 29, 2014 at 10:01 AMThanks! Yeah, we like putting it in there just giev a more visual idea of where it is. Always helpful !
Nathan Anderson says
March 20, 2014 at 8:42 AMGreat post and wonderful pictures! I’ve been meaning to do something similar in Greece for years, but have never gotten around to doing it. Thanks for the kick in the pants to get in gear. Hope you get the chance to go during an arribada soon 🙂
Sammi says
March 21, 2014 at 2:07 PMThanks! Oh you should if you get the chance! It’s an amazing experience especially if you love turtles in particular.
Ashley Hubbard says
November 25, 2013 at 3:20 PMAdorable! This is definitely something I want to experience one day! 🙂
yeison says
November 26, 2013 at 8:43 AMHi Ashley, yeah if you are around you have to go, just make sure to check the “arrival” dates.
Thanks for stoping by !
Constance says
November 23, 2013 at 10:25 PMI love sea turtles (and dolphins too) and I loved reading this post! It must have been an unforgettable experience to see the sea turtles nesting. Also, a great video and sunset pic!! 🙂
Sammi says
November 24, 2013 at 1:13 PMThanks Constance! It was pretty cool I have to say. The baby turtles are so much smaller than I expected too, I’m hoping next time to go during an arribada to see more!
Mags says
November 22, 2013 at 3:48 PMThose baby turtles are too cute!
Sammi says
November 22, 2013 at 5:20 PMThey are!! Soo adorable
toemailer says
November 22, 2013 at 11:37 AMGreat post! 🙂
Sammi says
November 22, 2013 at 2:05 PMThank you!!