Turtle conservation in Buena Vista
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About the project
Turtle conservation in Buena Vista
📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
The Asociación Costarricense de Interculturalidad (ACI) is a non-profit organization with more than sixty years working for a more united world. We facilitate exchanges, youth projects and non-formal education for global citizenship. We receive international youth in Costa Rica and send nationals abroad to participate in social or environmental projects. We coordinate intercultural programs, volunteering, social service, internships, trainings and other learning activities that promote both personal growth and the development of global skills and values.
Through our programs and projects we build bridges between different cultures, while promoting cooperation, solidarity and a culture of peace. We uphold the value of diversity, celebrate differences and advocate for a society free of all forms of discrimination and racism.
💼 What the programme involves
The sea turtle conservation program is a scientific-based conservation activity in which the organizations involved try to increase the amount of sea turtle hatchings in order to give higher survival rates.
The camps are located within walking distances from the beach. Apart from the sea turtles, you will also have high chances of seeing tropical birds, iguanas, monkeys... The biodiversity is a very important point of these places. The main goal of these projects is to help the recovering of sea turtle populations. The species of sea turtles that you can find on these beaches are Olive riddle, Leatherback, Black or green sea turtle, Loggerhead, Hawksbill turtle depending on which project and season you visit.
Main tasks:
Maintenance of the infrastructure and surroundings. - Cleaning of the beach. -Transport of
alimentation from the river to the project (1-2 days per week). - Collecting of the information
about the nesting activity (collection and measures of the eggs in the hatchery, marking of
females).
Monitoring and watching over the hatchery.
Liberation of the babies.
Collection of information about the nests
Exhumation of the nests of the hatchery.
Night and morning patrols (every day a week, the duration depends on how many turtles are
around, and the time to patrol is determined by the ocean tide).
Working with the community.
Cooking (with coordinators).
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The Fee indicated covers a period of TWO WEEKS, and includes:
- Transfer from airpor to a hostel in San José.
- Two nights in a hostel in San José, breakfast included.
- Orientation day. A day in which we give a cultural introduction to Costa Rica, safety and transportation recommendations, directions to the project and a tour of the capital city with lunch included.
- Accommodation and meals at the project,
The program has flexible dates depending on the availability of the project, with flexibility from 2 weeks to 4 months, but this includes an additional fee to the indicated fee.
🏠 Accommodation on site
Hosting situation provided by the project.
The accommodation is very simple and not a luxurious hotel. You will be sharing your room with several volunteers (shared dorm with 21 beds), of course you will still be having your own bed.
🍲 Food
The food is organized and prepared by the volunteers and coordinators in the project. It is usually vegan food.
📍 About the location
The Buena Vista project is located about 2.5 km from the center of Sámara, in the middle of Buena Vista Beach. In order to get to the project, the Buena Vista River has to be crossed (with a kayak or by walking through the river when there is low tide). Behind the project are private properties with local people which can be helpful in an emergency case.
Guanacaste is one of the most beautiful provinces in Costa Rica, with the most beautiful natural tourist attractions in the country. From volcanoes for climbing, beaches for surfing and swimming, to a great atmosphere, this is one of the favorite areas for our volunteers.
🎒 Leisure activities
⚠️ Requirements
- Has to be an organized, respectful person (Very important).
- Volunteers are needed with a strong desire for collaboration (teamwork), good attitude, and adaptability to coexist with certain conditions, those volunteers who have prior knowledge in biology or conservation of turtles (not a must) are preferred, it is considered an advantage if the volunteer has expertise in construction or carpentry.
- Basic Level of Spanish and/or English (not necessary, but it helps personally)
- To be respectful towards the internal rules of the project
- To love nature, as the main goal of these projects is the protection of turtles.
- To be in good physical condition as the patrols imply long walks along the beach at night.
- To be open to share accommodation and bedroom with other volunteers
- To be very flexible and to do different tasks during the day which may involve cooking and cleaning as volunteers may be also responsible of taking care of the camp
- Interest in environmental issues.
- The volunteer should enjoy working with people and foster good human relations.
- Proactivity is a must. (Initiative)
- Volunteer must be ready to work independently even when the coordinator is not present.
- Honest, responsible, punctual, positive person.
- Leadership Skills.
- Good attitude.
- Open to flexibility of schedules.
🤝 Meeting point
The volunteer will be picked up at the airport.
For the orientation date, we'll meet the volunteer at the hostel.
ℹ️ Additional information
The beach (which is in a bit of an incline) is limited by Río Taranta (to the west) and by Río Buena Vista (to the east). Another prominent aspect of the project is a lot of flora and fauna (cows, horses, crabs, birds, snakes, insects, "purrujas", etc.).
The hospital is about 2 hours away (in Nicoya), so be especially careful when swimming in the ocean and working with certain tools, etc.
The hatching space (turtle nursery) is located between the beach and the accommodation. The kitchen, the bodega (storage space), the toilets and the shower are located downstairs, the dorms (with 21 beds) upstairs. Additionally, a volleyball field can be found in the project.
The sea at the Buena Vista Beach is not very calm, that is also the reason why you must wait for the right moment to swim in the ocean, and if you swim you have to be careful, because otherwise it can be dangerous (i.e., a lot of tree trunks).
The project is not very close to a village, so it is very quiet and secure, and the environmental pollution is also less in comparison to other places.
Electricity is limited as it is supplied by solar panels and therefore depends on the sunlight. The electricity powers a couple of light bulbs and is also used for charging phones.
In order to calculate the final cost of the program, it is necessary to have the most accurate dates possible.
Total per 4 weeks: $1220 USD
Each Additional week:$235 USD
Interested in this project? Create your account and apply online.
Sign in to apply📷 Project photos
📅 Available sessions
ACICRC01-20
01/11/2024 at 00:00 → 31/12/2028 at 00:00
ℹ️ Key information
Age required
18–99 years old
Solidarity donation
1230.00 USD ≈ 1,102 EUR
French tax residents may be eligible for a tax reduction of up to 66% of their costs (membership, plane tickets, solidarity donation).
📍 Location
Playa Buena Vista, Guanacaste Province, Nicoya, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
🌍 Location info
Local currency
Costa Rica Colon (CRC / ₡)
Exchange rate
1 CRC = 0.001986 EUR
Rate as of 31/05/2026
Timezone
Central Standard Time
Local time: 21:13 (12/11/2026)
🛡️ Before you leave
✅ Features
🏠 Accommodation
🗣️ Languages spoken