Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas

This was a fun drive down dirt roads to Playa Grande. The surf is rough here it can be tough swimming but the water was beautiful we were on a mile long beach with about four other people. No shade so bring your own or be prepared. Well worth the visit

Hmmmm….. if this is a national park, it isn’t. It is a beach. Apparently if you want to see turtles, they come ashore at sunset. Otherwise it is a regular beach. There is no signage and no apparent efforts to protect turtles and their nesting site. The dudes at the beach entrance claim that for 40 bucks a person they will take you somewhere at night to see them. Hmmmmm. There is a food truck area near there that doesn’t really want any business. Parking is free unless you want to pay for protection I guess. The government needs to put more effort into this national parque. There is an area at Playa Negra that seems to be doing more to protect turtles. I’d skip it and let the turtles do their thing in peace.

Summary: Go see the estuary with Jonathan from Los Tortugas hotel. He’s no frills and not fancy but he’s authentic and a great guide. You will see lots of wildlife. For the estuary tour wear strap on sandals that can get muddy and waterproof gear or clothes and things that can get wet if it rains. Wear bug spray. The beaches are also very beautiful and still somewhat untouched. It's a great spot to watch the surfers and sunsets in the evenings. Details: The park is a beautiful place but you can tell that there is a battle between those wanting to preserve the beauty and those wanting to develop. There are rules about building too close to the beach and protecting the beach from light (to encourage turtle nesting) but it seems to not be enough. Our guide mentioned that fewer and fewer turtles are coming to Playa Grande and it sounds like it may not be long before no turtles come to Playa Grande to nest. We found our guide Jonathan through the reviews here. We stayed at Rip Jack and he stays and works out of Los Tortugas next door. Jonathan has been doing this for 20+ years in the Playa Grande area. He knows it well. He’s not the type of guide that is going to hold your hand and give you a detailed prep list but I will do some of that here. He is the type that says “meet me at Los Tortugas at 5:45” and that’s the extent of your prep. But if you want to see nature and experience the estuary, I can’t imagine there is anyone better suited. We enjoyed his morning hike and canoe tour of the estuary so much that we booked a turtle trip with him for the very same night. Note that we did not witness turtles nesting here as they have apparently quit coming or at least are much rarer to see at Playa Grande. So here’s a little bit about both of our trips with Jonathan. The estuary tour can start at 6am or 9am. It’s a little harder to get up and moving at 6am but I highly recommend it if you want to increase your chances of seeing more wildlife. Both are $40/person which is well worth what you get. We started the estuary tour with a short hike where we saw lots of birds, crocodiles(!), bats, crabs, plants, and an amazing/shocking amount of termites/termite nests. After the hike we moved further down the road where got in canoes and toured the estuary. Jonathan and his assistant did all of the paddling which was nice. In the estuary we saw more birds, bats, howler monkeys, and got up very close (really close) to a crocodile. Things I wish I had known before the estuary tour: - The trails are quite muddy and uneven. Occasionally you will need to go under a low tree branch. You should avoid this trip if you need assistance walking. I'm not advocating for paved walkways here. I very much appreciate that it is untouched. This is more of a warning for those that need a more developed area for mobility. - The areas where we got into and out of the canoes are muddy and slippery. I recommend water shoes or sandals with a heel strap and not flip flops or tennis shoes. You will want to avoid this trip if you do not have good balance or need assistance walking although Jonathan will do his best to accommodate you. - Bug spray is highly recommended. I’ve been to places where the bugs were worse but it certainly would have been more comfortable/enjoyable to have had some protection against the mosquitos and gnats. - There is really no cover to speak of other than the trees. Your personal items should be either waterproof or placed in a waterproof bag in case that it rains. Consider the same comment with regard to your attire. I highly recommend Jonathan's estuary tour. Jonathan is polite, passionate, and genuinely cares about the park. Go and see this area. You will not regret it.

Beautiful white sand beach, so much better than Tamarindo. Beware of the hustlers working the parking lot offering turtle and bird tours, we’ve got taken and it was a complete waste of time and money. I’d park my car in the restaurant/hotel/bar just to stay away from these grifters. Sunset is amazing (5:30 ish) one of the best I have witnessed in my life.

Amazing beach known for being very wide and shallow. Great for all beach activities including surfing. Endangered turtles are known to nest here so do not disturb them while on land; they may turn around and not lay their eggs. Avoid shining white lights as this may confuse the hatchlings.

I crossed the river from Playa Langosta! The landscape and variety of plants is amazing, also the beach changes a lot from rocks to black beach or wide white sand! Only thing which i found superredicilulous is that at the spot with the nicest trees and best shade it has huge shields with "private" and security who looks for that, its some fancy people that stay there with huge SUVs and stuff! This should be defenitly banned from a national park as they make a lot of noise and pollution and probably destroy the habitat of the birds and other animals around, but this just shows the corrupt goverment: pay and you can do whatever you want!

I highly recommend Jonathan. He is thoroughly knowledgeable about the plant and wildlife in the area. On top of that, he is kind and speaks very good English. You can tell that he enjoys giving nature tours and sharing his passion and expertise with others. Jonathan promptly picked us up in the morning for the 2-2.5 hr canoe tour of the Tamarindo Estuary. It was peaceful and he went slowly enough that we did not feel rushed to see all that we wanted. He knows where to look for the animals! We got lucky and even saw a croc!!! Jonathan and his tour get a 10+/10 from me… very enjoyable, peaceful, enlightening, fun, etc. Money well spent. Absolutely worth it!!!

Really great boat trip up the river from Tamarindo. Got the see a lot of birds, a baby crocodile, and even some howler monkeys. Water and pineapple provided near the end were a fantastic treat.