Ostional Nacional Wildlife Refuge

Went here on a Sunday and there was no one on the entire beach. I have never experienced that before. It was a little eerie at first and then really cool. Walked around until I saw the sign for crocodiles, then walked back to where I came from. Sat around with some vultures for a while and took it all in. Very tranquil area.

Absolutely magical. It’s hard to even share in words the experience I got when visiting Ostional, but it was a top life experience. We happened to be in town during an Arribada - or common time that hundreds of thousands of turtles all return to lay eggs. We didn’t believe the numbers but it was true and fascinating. Try and coordinate a visit around quarter moon in late summer.

We have had the amazing privilege of seeing the birth of lora turtles on Jan 1st in Ostional. An amazing experience. We recommend you take the guide, it will cost $20 to help the preservation of the species. It’s a truly magical moment.

Beautiful beach. We were a little late getting there so didn't see any turtles. Lots of beautiful birds hunting for turtle eggs though. Nice walk too.

An unbelievable experience. I did both the day and the night trip. Highly recommend if you like 🐢

Three weeks as a volunteer at Ostional Refuge was amazing. Sae so many turtles, no arribadas one happened the weekend before I arrived. Did get to see the hatching from an arribada 2 months prior. There's not much to Ostional due to it's protected waters for the turtles, however 20 min to an hour you can be in Nosara or Samara, or anyother touristy beach town.

Adore this area of wilderness- so remote and dramatic. The sea is magical and awe inspiring. Such a dream to see the turtles have been laying and hatching their eggs here for millennia! The beach is covered in soft egg shells as the turtles had hatched. There is also huge amounts of driftwood scattered across the beach, bought from the heavy deluge of rain that has been falling. The best time to catch sight of turtles is the crack of dawn. So worth getting up early and being there to witness the marvel of nature at its best.

We loved seeing the arribada! It was the fourth day and we were told that the number of turtles had decreased a lot but we still got to see many.
We were coming from Nosara and we were hesitant about crossing the river, we waited for a local car to cross so that we could see where is the best place to do so and we had no issue.
No 4x4, just a Geely gx3 (a bit taller than a normal car)

Super friendly guides!
What a great experience! We stayed at the beach close by for sunset and started a tour for 4 people at 7:30 ish. We saw many turtles coming out of the water and laying eggs. It was truly magical!
The prices are different for locals and tourists but it's worth it!
The area has a few restaurants and a supermarket but thats pretty much it.
Don't use flashlights. Turn it off before you take pictures.
Its good that the turtles are protected by the rangers!

Muchas gracias Carlos y su amigo!

One of my favourite beaches here. Black sand, absolutely wild. Jurassic Beach!

Great experience all together.
Try the 5 or 6am tour if you can and if you have a good camera, bring it with you.

Best turtle experience we had. Our local guide Albert gave us introductions before we head out to the beach. Only red light allowed on the beach. We saw turtle laid eggs at night and back to ocean in the morning. Great experience!

Able to watch Olive-Ridley sea turtles migrate from the ocean, dig their nest, place the eggs in the nest, camoflage it, and then return to the ocean. There were so many turtles and it was not peak season yet. There are night (after 9pm) and day (maybe starting around 5 am) beach excursions. Unless you get a VRBO that's close, we stayed near playa octeanol. Also, the stars were amazing!!

Didn’t see any turtles but it was a beautiful and quiet place to take a walk at sunset!

One of the most amazing thing I've ever seen! A must for everyone.

Seeing the turtles lay their eggs was a very cool experience! We showed up without a planned appointment or guide and one approached us in the street. Don't worry about negotiating much, it seemed like all places charged the standard $10 a person. The best time to see the turtles is after 7pm!

I worked as a wildlife conservation volunteer at Ostional and I loved it. The turtles are so interesting and the beach is really amazing. Lots to explore.

It can be dangerous at night - watch out for crocodiles in the fresh water rivers!! If you are not paying attention they might try to eat you.

We saw the turtles doing everything we expected them to do here. What an absolutely amazing experience. To see what these turtles go through is pretty awe inspiring

Fantastic beach, great surfing, baby turtles in the morning, Big ones at night. Had a local guide 'Gilberth' lives right on the beach, excellent host, and knowledgeable about the turtles. Worth the drive.

After 5 years finally got to see the turtles