Sea Turtle Camp Costa Rica

Our Costa Rica Sea Turtle Camp Adventure is an an ALL-GIRLS trip.

With 6 of the world’s 7 species found in Costa Rica, the beaches and waters are full of turtle observing opportunities, and we will take full advantage of this. As a small, intimate-sized group, we travel to the Caribbean Coast during one of the most active green sea turtle nesting aggregations in the world, we will assist a long-term research project with nightly beach patrols. Leatherbacks frequently ply these waters, and their nests will be hatching out around this time as well. This exclusive adventure will immerse like-minded teens in the local language, culture, and ecology with our team of trained professionals. This program is for the adventurous teen who is not afraid to get down and dirty!

We will start the trip off with a visit to La Calandria where we will learn about Costa Rica’s rich culture and natural environment through activities such as hiking the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, learning about the history, tradition, and present-day production of Costa Rican coffee and chocolate, touring the countryside on horseback, and visiting a bat jungle!  While here we will also participate in a zip-line tour through the cloud canopy of Monteverde.  After departing Monteverde, we will be ferried to our small island community at the wildlife refuge, Laguna Urpiano, where they will be living the simple life and staying “off-the-grid” in this solar-powered community!  It is here campers will receive turtle patrol training and then will spend the next week looking for tracks, nests, laying mothers, and hatchlings. We will work alongside other volunteers to patrol the beach for sea turtle nests, man a sea turtle hatchery, and participate in the care and study of recuperating adult turtles in the turtle rescue and rehabilitation program. Here, everything is done in shift work and we will be assigned shifts times each day. Shifts run 24 hours a day and campers can be assigned a shift at any time.  After departing Laguna Urpiano, we will go rafting along the Pacuare River. Along the way, we will explore a rain forest ecosystem up close with naturalist-led hikes through the rain forest to visit some beautiful waterfalls.

Costa Rica is one of the safest and easiest international travel destinations in the world. It is a sustainable country, with no standing military, that focuses on creating greater equality of wealth among citizens and protecting their natural resources. Over a quarter of the country is set aside for conservation! With a modern international airport in San Jose and well-maintained highways, Costa Rica is very welcoming to tourists. Due to its friendly culture and “rich coastal” natural resources, Costa Rica is rated one of the hottest eco-travel destinations in the world! This program is designed for rising 10th-12th grade girls who are passionate about sea turtle conservation and looking for a tropical adventure abroad. Join us on our next trip as we:

• Receive sea turtle patrol training
• Perform sunrise and nocturnal nest walks
• Collect data on nesting females
• Raft down the Pacuare River
• Hike with a naturalist through the rainforest
• Zip-line through the cloud canopy
• Earn thirty hours of community service credit

**Please note that all activities are subject to change without notice**

Camp tuition includes all lodging, all meals from dinner on the first day to breakfast on the last day, 24-hour access to camp staff, admission to all activities, all equipment, and transportation including pick up and drop off from the San Jose’s Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO),  t-shirt, rashguard, Sea Turtle Hospital donation, community service certificate and your team photo. Arrival should be scheduled between 12-3 PM on the first day and departures between 12-5 PM on the last day. Due to the nature of the program, departing flights MUST be after 12 PM on the final day of camp.

2025 Dates

Costa Rica supports both rich marine ecosystems and diverse rainforest habitats, and we will have the opportunity to explore each environment while gaining a better understanding of its inhabitants. We provide teenagers with the opportunity to learn more about marine biology through hands-on, feet-wet experiential education. Campers get the extraordinary opportunity to work with live sea turtles as well as participate in some amazing daily activities designed to teach them through experience instead of out of a textbook. During this adventure, we will:

• Volunteer with a sea turtle conservation organization
• Participate in a sunrise or nocturnal sea turtle nest spotting walks
• Conduct nighttime sea turtle nest/hatchling watch
• Help collect data on nesting female turtles
• Learn proper beach patrol procedures
• Work in shifts at a hatchery and turtle rehabilitation center
• Participate in a whitewater rafting adventure tour along the Pacuare River
• Canopy zip lining through the cloud canopy rainforest
• Take guided nature hikes through the rainforest

* *  Schedule is subject to change. Please keep in mind that we try our best to adhere to this schedule but we cannot control Mother Nature,  in the event of adverse weather, we have rainy-day activities in place. We cannot control canceled vendors. We will try our best to incorporate what was missed in later days, but it does not always fit into our schedule **

We will be staying at a mixture of eco-lodges and research stations as we travel through Costa Rica. Students of the same gender will be housed together, with each participant having his or her own bed with linens provided. A Sea Turtle Camp staff member will stay on site, providing 24-hour same-gender supervision.  In Monteverde, we will stay in bunkhouses at the La Calandria or Pension Santa Elena hotel. While doing turtle research on the Caribbean coast, we will be housed at Laguna Urpiano. This facility is situated on an isolated beach in the jungle that can be reached by boat. The facility operates using solar power and has very simple, living, restroom, and shower facilities. While rafting along the Pacuare River we will stay at an eco-lodge right next to the river, giving us the opportunity to see other rafters face the rapids we have recently descended.