Protection of the Sea Turtle, Puerto Vallarta

Next to Puerto Vallarta, you can visit an important turtle camp which serves mainly as a protected environment, allowing sea turtles to nest safe from predators. You can also experience the baby turtle release program, an educational tool for children and adults.

Platanitos Beach turtle camp is located in the State of Nayarit, in the Municipality of Compostela , 78 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. The camp itself is situated at the end of a beautiful 11 miles beach known as Costa Tortuga (Turtle coast).
From Puerto Vallarta, we recommend you to rent a car for the day, and enjoy this wonderful trip along the Pacific Ocean coastline.

The main species found are the Olive Ridley turtle which is the most common on the Mexican Pacific coast , the Hawksbill Sea Turtle and the Leatherback Sea Turtle. After years of hunting for commercial purposes, these species are endangered in Mexico.
Olive Ridley females are unique among other marine turtles because they nest two to three times every year. They always do it on the beach where they were born. Each nest contains an average of 105 eggs. At the Camp, volunteers help recovering eggs once a turtle is spotted nesting and placing them in an incubation room. The incubation period varies from 45 to 55 days at exactly 30°c Celsius. Temperature plays a vital role as it produces different ratio of male / female. For Olive Ridley sea turtles, sex is determined between days 18 and 25, an incubation temperature of 32°c or above produces more females, 28°c or below more males.

After hatching, volunteers and visitors can release the baby turtle into the ocean. Releasing them always takes place within the first 24 hours and always at night to protect the babies from predators and the sun.
We guarantee you that visiting the camp and helping releasing the turtle is a wonderful experience to share with your children. You will be able to learn more about the sea turtle and discover these great animals.

We remind you that buying turtle eggs or any product from turtles is illegal and is considered a federal crime in Mexico, with hefty fines and jail sentence. As a matter of fact, the Mexican Army protects the nesting shoulder to shoulder with the volunteers.