There is a beach two hours south of Coco where, on the right nights, the sand is so covered in turtles that you cannot walk without stepping around them. It is called Ostional, the event is called an arribada, and it is one of the reasons to live on this coast at all.
Where you’ll see it
Ostional, on the Nicoya Peninsula, for the mass nestings. The rest of the coast for solo nesters, which come ashore quietly at night on many beaches, including ones near Coco. Offshore, snorkellers and divers around the Papagayo headlands regularly see turtles of several species. Playa Grande, next to Tamarindo, is a protected nesting beach for the far larger and critically endangered leatherback.
What to know
Arribadas happen mostly in the rainy months and tend to fall around the last quarter of the moon, over several nights. Nobody can promise a date, which is part of the point. The beach is managed by the community, visits are with licensed guides, and the rules are strict for good reason: no white light, no flash, no touching, no getting in front of a turtle heading back to the sea.
If you find a turtle nesting on a beach near you, the same rules apply. Keep your distance, kill your torch, and let her finish.
