Paseo Bocanegra
P.º Bocanegra, Marina Vallarta, 48335 Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico
Tell the driver that the best access is through Marina Vallarta-Calle Albatros next to Hotel One, continue until you cross Calle Bocanegra and continue until the end on the beach (you will see a security gate, a golf course and the beach) IF YOU ARRIVE EARLY, WAIT THERE, DON'T WALK TO THE CAMP ALONE.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Perla_G

Our tour guide was very informative and spoke both English and Spanish. Great research and conservation program they have. insane amount of hurdles they go through to help turtles successfully hatch and make it to the ocean. Definitely recommend to all looking for something with a wholesome feeling.

Reviews

5.0

104 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 104 reviews

Turtles at Puerta Vallarta

Margaret_D, Mar 2024

Lovely couple hours spent learning about turtles and the struggle to keep them alive. Love the work the conservationists are doin...keep up the good work ❤️

Horrible

Donna_L, Feb 2024

We arrived as directed in a remote location after spending $15 for a taxi. No one showed up or notified us of a cancellation. We walked for 40 minutes in the rain to find another taxi (another $15). It’s impossible to contact Viator about getting our money back.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Hi donna, we are sorry to hear about your bad experience. We tried to communicate with you through the chat at 1:30pm to notify you that no turtles were born, unfortunately we never received a response, regarding your refund, we usually communicate to know if customers prefer to reschedule or refund but again I repeat we never received a response from you. Your refund is in process, we hope next time you can visit us and enjoy this wonderful experience.

Magical experience

Emily_F, Jan 2024

This activity was everything I'd hoped it would be and more! The activity started on time and we walked as a group to the conservation area which was a 10 minute walk along the beach. We were then given water and lots of interesting information about sea turtles and their life cycles. They showed us the turtle reserve and what they did there. We then got to release our own turtle!! It was truly amazing to watch them scuttle to the ocean. They also include photos in the price which was a nice surprise. Everyone was so kind and professional. Make sure to bring some extra money if you can - they often rely on donations as government funding is limited. Thank you so much :)

Loved the turtle experience!

Jessica_B, Jan 2024

We were supposed to go a couple days later than we actually did but were contacted and asked if we could come early because they were unsure if they would have turtles the day we signed up for. The location was easy to find for our taxi driver and we asked him to pick up us up again in two hours and he did. The turtles were adorable and my kids and I loved this experience! Very informative and we would definitely do it again. The only thing we didn't get was the photos that were taken during the experience. I didn't have an iPhone so he couldn't share them with me at the end but said they would send them to me. It's been two weeks and I haven't received anything so that part is a little disappointing. That being said, very good experience!

The BEST part of our trip

Jonathan_B, Jan 2024

My wife and I took my parents (68 & 66) and our kids (8, 6, 4) and it was the best experience of our trip. My wife says it may be one of the best experiences she's had on a trip. The staff was friendly, the information was excellent and the release of the baby turtles and helping them start their life journey was a memory that each one of us is likely to carry for the rest of our lives. I can't recommend this excursion highly enough. We were lucky that baby turtles were born the day we had scheduled for. Others guests that day had been rescheduled and moved to our day and others had been called and asked to come earlier because no more turtles were expected for another 30 days (we visited end of January)...but the communication was excellent throughout the whole process. These volunteers are doing amazing work.

Don’t miss this experience

Andrea_H, Jan 2024

Fantastic program! Learn about sea turtles and conservation, and then release your own little one into the sea. Once in a lifetime experience!

Amazing experience!

glen_v, Jan 2024

Seeing the baby turtles make their instinctual run to the water was something we’ll never forget! Knowing that the females will make their way back to this same exact spot to lay their own eggs is just amazing!

BABY TURTLE RELEASE

Neil_S, Jan 2024

A bit longwinded tutorial on the turtles, all of which you can find yourself on-line, followed by 20 minutes of the most amazing turtle release experience that made this tour event worthwhile....

Great experience!

Katie_C, Jan 2024

It was an amazing experience! The turtles are so tiny and cute. Very informational as well. The tour guide made the experience even better! He was so much fun! There’s a professional photographer as well. However we haven’t gotten our photos back yet. We were told we’d get a link the next day. It’s been two days and haven’t heard back about the photos. Otherwise, absolutely no complaints

Truly AMAZING!!!!!!

Joseph_J, Jan 2024

Amazing!!!!! These guys are truly passionate about protecting sea turtles. They are very knowledgeable and love educating others about the threats to the sea turtle population. Getting to release a hatchling was an awesome experience.

Rewarding

Perla_G, Jan 2024

Amazing

Bradley_H, Jan 2024

Had an amazing time at the Tortuga camp and everyone that works there were fun to hang out with and very informative. 100% recommend to anyone/everyone and by doing this tour it helps with the Tortuga conservation.

A necessary educational exoerience

Caroline_W, Dec 2023

The whole experience makes you realize that despite all that is wrong with the world, there are still people trying to make it right

Loved it

Yann_B, Dec 2023

Loved it Best tour and certainly most interesting Forget the ATV or Zip Line… Do something worth while… This tour is unforgettable

Memorable

Kay_R, Dec 2023

The experience guide was very informative. We really appreciated learning as much as we could about the endangered turtles. The turtles were absolutely adorable! It was such a moving, emotional and memorable experience. I highly recommend doing this if you're in the area!

Thumbs down

ABryana_W, Dec 2023

Flight got pushed back out of my control couldn't get a refund or reschedule which is weird since this is such popular attraction. It's sad how money hungry these people are here.

Great experience, but…

Amy_M, Dec 2023

We loved this organization and experience. Armando was terrific and very patient, especially with a child that was unsupervised most of the time, even though her parents were in attendance. Upon witnessing her behavior we would recommend an age minimum to release for the safety of the turtles. Other than that the only downfall was our family sunset photo was not included in the ones sent, which was extremely disappointing considering we gave a generous donation at the end of the excursion. There were duplicates of a few families while many others were missing. This was our first trip to Mexico so it would have been a nice memory to have for our album.

Loved the experience

Teresa_D, Dec 2023

Very informative and great experience for all. Learned a lot about sea turtles and loved letting one go to its new future.

Really poor communication

Joe_M, Dec 2023

All I can say is that communication from the camp is really poor. I contacted the camp multiple times asking a straight forward question about the experience and I never got a response from them once. I tried multiple times. I got little to no information in advance other than meet at 5 pm and then shortly before the experience they said meet at 4:40 pm which I thought was rather short notice to give to tourists who may need more notice to arrive on time.

The turtles were...

Melissa_L, Dec 2023

The turtles were adorable, but overall this was a bit of a let down. On the day of the excursion, the tour time was rescheduled from 5:30 to 4:40. The educational talk felt rushed. After our talk, we were told there were additional tour groups booked after us and we would have to wait for them to finish their talk before we would release the turtles. This resulted in us having to wait around with nothing to do and nowhere to comfortably sit for 30-40 minutes before the turtle release. We were also told we would be emailed a link with photos taken during the excursion, but I did not receive anything. Overall fine but not run that well.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Hello mellisa, we are sorry that your experience was not the best, unfortunately yours truly Eduardo got sick that day so Armando had to help me at the last minute because we did not want you to miss the opportunity to see the turtles, apparently he was nervous but tried to do his best😅Armando did not know how to explain it but we did not wait for the other groups to finish their talks, we waited for the sun to go down so we could show you the turtles and to avoid the birds 🦅. The experience says that it starts at 5:00pm not 5:30pm, we ask you to arrive at 4:40pm to start on time. And about the photos have already been sent to your email or private chats through the Viator app. I hope to receive you and attend you personally to provide a better experience in the future, greetings and Merry Christmas!!!