Leatherback turtle night tour at Playa Grande

Leatherbacks are the largest turtles alive, and Playa Grande, just across the estuary from Tamarindo, holds their biggest nesting colony on the Pacific coast of the Americas. The beach is the core of Las Baulas National Marine Park, created to protect them. A female hauls out, digs, lays and covers her nest in one to two hours.

The nesting season runs from October to March. Numbers have collapsed, from about 200 females a season in the 1980s to a few dozen, so a night out can end without a turtle and you should go knowing that. After dark the beach is closed to anyone not with a local park guide, groups are capped each night, and lights are kept to a minimum because they disorient the turtles. Many guides grew up as egg collectors before the park existed. The neighbouring beaches, Ventanas and Langosta, are kept closed for research.

Playa Grande is reached by road through Matapalo, or by the small boats that cross the estuary from the north end of Tamarindo beach.