The beach where olive ridley turtles come ashore by the thousands in arribadas. You watch with a local guide.
Refuge public-use rules (Decree 32627-MINAE, La Gaceta, in Spanish)
Run by: SINAC, Tempisque Conservation Area, with the Ostional community.
Created: 17 November 1983.
Size: 510 ha of land and 8,054 ha of sea, from Punta India to Punta Guiones.
Beaches: Ostional, Nosara, Pelada and Guiones.
Hours: 18:00–24:00. On arribada days, 6:00–24:00.
Fee: Entry plus the guide's fee. Ask the refuge office or your guide.
Refuge office, 8:00–16:00: +506 2682 0400
Checked with official sources, as of 30 Oct 2026.
A mass nesting: thousands of olive ridley turtles come ashore together to lay their eggs. Dry-season arribadas (January–July) last about 4 days, with around 10,000 turtles. Rainy-season ones (August–December) last 7–10 days, with 70,000 to 350,000 turtles.
No one can say for sure. They usually come once a month, sometimes twice, often near the last-quarter moon, but they can come early, late or not at all. The refuge and the local association announce the start and the end.
Yes, during an arribada. You can only enter the beach with an accredited Ostional community guide, in a group of up to 10 including the guide. Book with a guide before you arrive.
You pay the refuge entry and the guide's fee. The guides set the tour price, so ask when you book. Residents of the nearby communities don't pay entry.
It is a legal exception. The local development association (ADIO) may collect a small share of olive ridley eggs, only from the first 2.5 days of an arribada, when later turtles would dig up many of the nests anyway. The permit has been renewed every year since 1987.
From Santa Cruz via 27 de Abril and Lagarto, or from Nicoya via Nosara. Part of the road is gravel and rivers can flood in heavy rain, so a high or 4x4 vehicle is best.
Hill forest inland from Tamarindo, above Santa Cruz. A 4x4 and a river crossing.
The leatherback beach north of Tamarindo, at night, with a guide, October to February.
Caves under the dry hills near Nicoya. You go down on a rope with a guide, in the morning.
Wetlands on the Tempisque, full of birds from September to March. Gravel from Bagaces.
The old prison island off Puntarenas. A boat, a guided walk through the cells, and back.
Dry forest, a battle museum, and a far surf beach north of Liberia. Closed Tuesdays.
