Save The Turtles Playa Venao — Local services in Los Santos

I had contacted Save the Turtles to watch a turtle hatching at sunset while visiting Playa Venao. I received instructions from the founder, Scott, as well as the phone number of a volunteer, Marie Pierre, who told me to join the group at sunset that evening. I tried to find the group on the beach but was nowhere near the area of Playa Venao where the turtle nursery and release area is located. Consequently, I made a trip to Eco Venao lodge the next morning.

When I was at the lodge, I was fortunate to meet Marie Pierre who was heading to the nursery. I asked if I could join her so I could see exactly where the turtles are released on the beach.

However, when we reached the nursery, the nest of newly hatched turtles was extremely active, so I assisted Marie Pierre and another volunteer in putting the turtles in a plastic tub; watched Marie count the total number of turtles in this nest (64 of them); and helped release the baby turtles on the beach.

I was told that is fairly unusual for baby turtles to be active in the middle of the day, so I felt that I was fortunate to have met Marie Pierre at that time.

Watching the baby turtles make their entry into their eventual home was a wonderful experience. In addition, I was made very aware of the many hazards that they will face as baby turtles when our activity was noticed by seabirds who were searching for food nearby. The birds saw the turtle release and circled the area where the turtles were heading to the sea. We did our best to shoo the birds away. However, we did see one bird who had caught a baby turtle after it had entered the water and was beginning the next phase in its cut-too-short life.

A highly recommended nature program which should be attended by anyone who is environmentally supportive and is near...

I highly recommend participating in this experience. My boyfriend and I were here in November and we went with Scott and it was just the two of us. We were able to take 242 turtles from the nursery and bring them to the beach and ensure their safe passage into the ocean! It was very cool to see the nests hatch and count the turtles before bringing them to the beach. Both of us have spent a lot of time at Venao, but we learned so much more about the turtles than we knew before. Scott has a wealth of knowledge and has gone to great lengths to set up Save the Turtles to protect the turtles from the often irresponsible development of the once remote and pristine Venao beach. Participating with Save the Turtles is also a great way to get connected to the community. The next day we did a free yoga class and beach clean up Save the Turtles had helped organize and it was a really cool community even that was extremely well organized with education and prizes from local businesses for participants. Highly recommend being involved in this organization whether it's for an evening or during your entire...

I recently had the incredible opportunity to join Save the Turtles in Playa Venao for two turtle release experiences, and I can confidently say it was one of the most magical and unforgettable activities I’ve ever done.

Our guide, Eimy, a knowledgeable marine biologist, provided us with a wealth of information about sea turtles, their life cycle, and the conservation efforts being made to protect them. Her passion for the cause was truly inspiring and added so much depth to the experience.

I attended two separate releases: one at sunset, where we released 44 baby turtles, and another at night, where we released an astonishing 381 baby turtles, which was a record! Watching these tiny creatures make their way to the ocean under the moonlight was beyond breathtaking.

Both experiences were unique, magical, and once-in-a-lifetime moments that I will cherish forever. If you’re in Playa Venao, this is an absolute must-do. Not only will you witness nature at its finest, but you’ll also be supporting an essential conservation project. Highly recommended! Muchas...