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Baby Sea Turtle Releasing Tour: Detailed Insight into Mexican Turtle Lifecycle
5.0
15 Ratings
Petatlan
Experience the incredible journey of baby sea turtles in Mexico. Learn about their life cycle, characteristics, and the challenges they face. Includes transport, informative guide, and a coconut macaroon tasting.
Duration:
3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Petatlan - We will travel through town to get to the rural community of Juluchuca which famous for the production of coconut macarons and has the longest and most secluded beach which makes it the best place for the mama turtles to come and lay the eggs away from the noise of the tourist towns.
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Juluchuca - In Juluchuca beach we will explain you the life cycle of the sea turtles and tell you the characteristics of the 3 different kinds of see turtles that come and lay the eggs in this part of Mexico, we will also mention the different predators that kill them before they make it to the ocean and also once they are in the ocean.
After a 20 minutes explanation we will select a nest that was found the day before, we carefully will remove a little bit of the sand and show you one of the eggs, then we will cover the nest.
After that we will select the nest that is hatching and you will witness how the turtles come up to the surface. All of the turtles will be put in a small container.
The turtles will remain for about 10 to 20 minutes in the container, untiel they are active and ready to go. After we will take them to the wet sand about 25 feet away from the ocean and as soon as they are put in the wet sand they will run to the ocean. We will wait until they all make it to the ocean.
What's Included
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- All fees and/or taxes
- Tour guide service
What's Not Included
- Dinner
Additional Information
Embark on an exciting 3.5-hour journey where you will be educated on the life cycle of sea turtles, traits of the various turtles that frequent this part of Mexico, the incubation duration, survival prospects, and all the hardships these tiny creatures endure from the time they hatch and scramble towards the sea till the time they return to the beach several years later to lay eggs.
To simplify understanding, we will be utilizing a diagram to depict the distinctions between the four unique types of turtles that come to Mexico.
This service includes round-trip transportation from the foyer of your hotel in Ixtapa or Zihuatanejo to the turtle farm, an informative tour guide, and a chance to witness the baby sea turtles’ exciting journey towards the ocean amid the giant waves.
After the visit to the turtle farm, you will have the chance to savor a locally produced fresh coconut macaroon.
- Travel Time is included in the total duration of the tour.
Location
Petatlan
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(15 Ratings)
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Taral144
Aug 9, 2024
Incredible!! Highly recommend!! - This tour exceeded my expectations! Luis is so knowledgeable and Freddy and Balta are absolute Angels for the work they do! Every night they are out on the beach saving baby turtles. The turtles are so tiny and cute, this was a dream come true for me! There were four of us in total and we all loved it! Luis has many other tours that sound amazing and we will do next time we’re here!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jason_b
Jun 29, 2024
Turtle Conservation Bucket List Family Experience - Luis and his local Zihua tour company have been exceptional guides for this region. This was our 3rd tour in the week (two with Luis and one with Francisco who led an amazing food tour). The baby sea turtle release was a bucket-list type opportunity for our family. Luis arranged the experience with a local coalition (now just two amazing guys) called “La Tortuga Feliz” or Happy Turtle who work to protect the adult turtles, nests, and baby turtles as they hatch on a 30 km stretch of deserted beach that is prime turtle nesting grounds. You take a van approx. one hour south of Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa to reach the secluded area where the turtle reserve is. Once you arrive, you get a lesson on the sea turtles that nest in this region and the plight to help save them from poachers and predators. Each day, turtles hatch that were collected earlier in the year and each person gets to release some by hand on their journey from the beach into the ocean. My daughters said it was one of the most amazing experiences in their lives and mom and dad agree! Thanks to Luis and the hard-working staff at La Tortuga Feliz in creating an opportunity for families to take part in conservation efforts for sea turtles; a once in a lifetime tour!
Review provided by Viator
Marybeth_c
Jun 27, 2024
Simple but a lot of fun... - Simple but a lot of fun and so interesting to hear what these 2 men are doing to save the turtle population. Knowledgeable guide and a great bucket list experience. If you’re looking for a fancy trip this is not it but it was what we were looking for
Review provided by Viator
Jodig
May 6, 2024
I loved it but maybe not for everyone - I loved the experience. Some might not be impressed because it was simple. You drive an hour south, but I like seeing all the small towns and farming community, while talking the entire time to our guide Francisco. I appreciated seeing the two men that take care of all the turtles completely by volunteer, working every night and then farming and fishing their normal jobs during the days. You spend about a half hour learning about the turtles, then you get to gather up some babies in a basket and release them. I loved it. If you like to learn and it’s very educational and once in a lifetime experience. Then you drive the hour back, but again I enjoyed asking all my questions and seeing the people in the various villages. Francisco accommodated our strong request to stop for a cup of fresh sliced mango! Delicious.
Review provided by Viator
Paige
Mar 28, 2024
Not to be missed. Worth every minute! - This was a great experience for us. Frank aka Paco was a great entertaining tour guide and amazing driver! 5 of us went out to a long stretch of protected beach and met with brothers Freddy and Baltazar of Juluchuca, Guererro. After some education on the government sponsored turtle protection program we were each given a basket to collect and release a couple dozen baby turtles. So amazing to watch them make their way!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pattim1016
Feb 28, 2024
Added to our Zihua experience. - Luis was an excellant tour guide. Well versed in all the area has to offer. This was only on of our tours with Luis. Fluent in English, live in area, able to offer insight to the towns and the people.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adam_g
Feb 27, 2024
One of those bucket list tours that you must do! - Kind of one of those bucket list tours that you really need to do! You almost felt thankful that you were there to see how two men seemingly in the middle of nowhere on their own are trying to save the turtle population of the world. Absolutely unbelievable!
Our guide Paco was fabulous. Not only explaining the whole turtle ecosystem, but also just an understanding of Mexico and the environment, he was really worth the trip in of itself. My favorite tour in a very long time.
Review provided by Viator
Jellodryer
Feb 11, 2024
Turtle-riffic - Very cute turtles. Worth the drive—friendly and informative guide. The turtles run into the sea and swim away like little babies
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Blb70
Feb 6, 2024
Great experience - Our guide was Francisco, who was amazing. He not only educated us about sea turtles, but also about the countryside that we traveled through to get to Playa Blanca. He clearly loves his country! We only had seven turtles to release, but the experience was priceless. We highly recommend and will do this tour again on a future trip to Zihua.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A4786vsdonaldb
Feb 5, 2024
Baby turtle adventure - The tour bus ride to the turtle hatchery was a bit over an hour but the ride eas very scenic and our driver kept us entertained with his knowledge of the area and Mexico in general. We arrived at the hatchery on the beach and were given a presentation of the local turtle history and activity prior to entering the hatchery where we saw egg nests and then several turtles which hatched that morning. We walked them down the beach and released them and watched them scamper down into the surf. It was a very exciting and rewarding adventure! Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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