Come and join our activities
In order to provide economic sustainability for the project and continue to protect these species, “Tortugas Preciosas de Osa” offers paid activities such as hatchling releases and morning and night beach patrols at Playa Preciosa for people to join. This offers the opportunity for visitors to support this local project and learn about protection of these magnificent species. We appreciate your participation and guarantee that the funds raised in these activities will be used directly for the maintenance of this program and ultimately for the protection of sea turtles on the Osa Peninsula.
MORNING PATROL
The “Tortugas Preciosas de Osa” team conducts patrols every morning at Preciosa Beach in order to record the species and number of turtles that arrived to nest on the beach throughout the night before.
The walk begins at 4:30 am and covers the 5-kilometer length of Playa Preciosa, admiring the Golfo Dulce on one side and the rain forest on the other.
During the patrol, you will accompany the project’s conservation staff and participate by helping collecting ecological information for monitoring the four species of sea turtles that nest in the Osa Peninsula.
During the patrol you will learn to identify turtle tracks by species, what in-situ nests are, how they are marked and the process of relocating nests to the hatchery if it happens to be nests located in risk areas.
Finally, at the end of the patrol (around 8:30 am), the patrol group will enjoy a snack on the beach.
- Schedule: 4:30 am
- Departure: Waleska’place at Playa Preciosa
- Duration: from 2 to 4 hours (depending on the activity of turtles that went out the night before).
- Rate: $ 20 per person (everything collected will be directly used for the protection of the sea turtles).
- Included: bilingual guide with biological and conservation knowledge, specialized equipment for collecting biometric data in the field and snacks.
- Provide: comfortable sport clothes, closed shoes, insect repellent, water bottle, camera or cell phone.
Recommendations
- Always stay by the leader’s side.
- Walk in silence to observe animals and a possible turtle that may be nesting at this time.
For the morning patrols it is not guaranteed that participants will see turtles and in some days we will
not have much activity.
NIGHT PATROL
Our conservation team also conducts patrols every night at Playa Preciosa in order to record the species, conduct health assessments, and record the number of turtles that are nesting so far.
Beginning at 8 p.m. you will accompany project staff on a 5-km beach walk where you will participate in recording activity and information on the four species of sea turtles that nest in the Osa Peninsula.
Because most nesting activity for turtles occurs at night, the group is likely to encounter a nesting turtle.
In this way you will be able to learn how the biometric measurements of the turtle are taken, evaluation of its health and ID tagging if the individual has not been ID tagged yet with a specific ID tag.
- Schedule: 8:00 pm
- Departure: Waleska’place at Playa Preciosa
- Duration: from 2 to 3 hours (depending on the activity of turtles that went out the night before).
- Rate: $ 20 per person (everything collected will be directly used for the protection of the sea turtles).
- Included: bilingual guide with biological and conservation knowledge and specialized equipment for collecting biometric data in the field.
- Provide: comfortable dark-colored clothes, long-sleeved shirt, sport shoes, bug spray, flashlight and water bottle.
Recommendations
- Always stay by the leader’s side.
- Walk in silence to observe animals and a possible turtle that may be nesting at this time.
For the night patrols it is not guaranteed that participants will see turtles and in some days we will
not have much activity.
HATCHLINGS RELEASE
Additionally, the project manages a sea turtle hatchery where we relocate nests in high risk areas where they are vulnerable to high tides, flooding by rivers or areas that provide danger of being preyed on by feral dogs and other animals. All this in order to give these little baby turtles a second chance to develop healthy and survive.
In our hatchery we keep a calendar of the relocation of each nest, so it is possible to estimate with relative precision the dates of hatching of those nests.
The releases take place at Playa Preciosa very early (5:30 a.m.). In order to avoid high temperatures have a negative impact on the turtles.
In this activity you will learn about the life cycle of sea turtles by species, their main threats, conservation efforts, natural history, as well as other interesting biological and ecological facts on these incredible species.
- Schedule: 5:30 am
- Departure: Waleska’place at Playa Preciosa
- Duration: from 1 hour
- Rate: $ 35 per person (everything collected will be directly used for the protection of the sea turtles).
- Included: bilingual guide with biological and conservation knowledge and specialized equipment for release.
- Provide: comfortable clothing, insect repellent water bottle and camera or cell phone.
The release of turtles is not a private activity. We will share this activity eventually with others such as
volunteers and community members.
Recommendations for a safe interaction with hatchlings and nests
- Participants take off their shoes before going inside the hatchery as keeping the hatchery clean
is very important for the nests that are inside. In this way, potential fungi or bacteria that can
affect the hatching success of the other nests inside the hatchery remain away. - The use of latex gloves is required for the handling of the hatchlings.
- The use of chemicals as insect repellent or sunscreen lotions may affect the baby turtles, thus,
this must be limited. - Strong light sources disorient the neonates and find it difficult for them to find the sea when
released. So, the use of camera flash or telephones are allowed in the release area at the beach,
however, their use is restricted inside the hatchery.
For the releases, we guarantee that the participants will see neonates (Babies).
SERVICE POLICIES
- Reservations are required a minimum of 2 days in advance.
- Tortugas Preciosas de Osa has the right to substitute, modify, change time or cancel a service due to conditions beyond our reach.
- Tortugas Preciosas de Osa has the right not to carry out an activity for people under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any substance that alters their normal state and that could potentially cause them harm.
- Cancellations of services must be made at least 24 hours in advance without penalty, otherwise the entire confirmed amount may be charged.
- Full rates apply to children over the minimum age of 6 years old.
- All activities have a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 10, likewise, they are open to any person or any group that make the respective reservation.
- For private activities please contact us in advance through our email or phone number.
- According to the directive: SINAC-DE-099 from the Environmental Service of Costa Rica and the Costa Rican Wildlife Conservation Law, the manipulation of sea turtle nests and hatchlings within our sea turtle hatchery will be carried out only by the personnel in charge of the project.