Turtle Conservation in Costa Rica

There is a special offer where you can stay 3 weeks, and pay for 2 weeks. This is valid for all Arrival Dates, and can be booked during the months of January and February 2025.

Our weekly schedules must be flexible due to the nature of our environmental and community work and therefore if there are any changes to the schedule our staff will let you know as soon as possible. In terms of your work load, this will change depending on how many people are on camp, we may need you too help us out a little more than usual, but we will make sure you have time to rest. We will make sure that everyone has a minimum of one complete day off from required activities, however this will be designated by your camp leader and will fit around the weeks activities. If you would like to request a specific day off, please do so before the start of the week so it can be accounted for in the schedule.

As a volunteer, you will participate in daily turtle patrols, morning patrols (3-5 hrs) or night patrols (4-7 hrs). On the patrols you will protect new nests, record data on the nesting females, see flipper tagging, excavate hatched nests, assist in the tourism element and release hatchlings! During the day, we will also have beach clean-ups, plastic classification, English lessons for local people, presentations at our local schools, and tree planting and other maintenance projects around our camp! We normally work very hard on the project and we do expect all visitors to get involved to the best of their ability to help us achieve our goals, but there’s still always plenty of time to relax and explore.

- Minimum age of 18
- Travel/Medical insurance
- Recommended vaccines: Rabies, Tetanus, Yellow Fever (this is not present in Costa Rica, but depending from which country you enter Costa Rica this is a requirement to enter Costa Rica).
- It is essential for the volunteers that they bring a headlight with Red Led light, a pair of work gloves as well as thick long socks.
- Travel/Health insurance is highly recommended

- Pre-departure online meeting
- 1 nights accommodation in hostel in Puerto Jimenez
- Transfer with colectivo/bus from Puerto Jimenez to Camp Mariposa Azul
- Meet & Greet with English volunteer coordinator at the camp
- Accommodation at volunteer camp Mariposa Azul
- 3 meals daily (mostly vegetarian)
- Follow up online meetings
- Free activities; night walks, jungle walks, game & movie night, pizza night etc.
- Wifi (but it is not very strong)
- Bus ticket back to Puerto Jimenez

The Osa Peninsula is a wild, untouched natural wonderland home to 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity, with one of the last remaining tropical-humid rainforests teeming with rare animals and tropical birds, as well as some stunning palm-backed Pacific beaches. You reach Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula via a narrow neck of land in the far south of Costa Rica. This remoteness means the area has a wilder more far-flung feel than many of the country´s other jungle reserves. The Corcovado National Park was recognized by the National Geographic Society as "one of the most biologically intense places on Earth! It cannot be overstated how precious this region of Costa Rica is, where sustainability and the protection of this incredible natural habitat are first and foremost in everyone´s minds.

The humidity levels in the Caribbean are very high, which means that both infrastructure and your belongings can suffer from this humidity, for example, it can be difficult to dry your clothes. It's best to keep things packed in plastic covers or boxes, and for your personal hygiene we recommend using baby powder ‘talcos’. And do not bring your nicest clothing, which in fact also wouldn’t be very useful at the project.

Upon departing any airport in Costa Rica one has to pay a departure tax. This must be done in person and cannot be pre-arranged with a tour company or airline. The tax for some international flights leaving Costa Rica is around USD $29 and for domestic flights, depending on the airport, it varies between USD $3 and USD $5. All prices are subject to change. Please check with your airline to see if the departure tax is included in the price of your flight.

Volunteers need to be flexible and keep an open mind concerning their placements as situations can arise beyond our control which could require you to be placed at a different project than the one you have initially chosen. We will of course always do our utmost to fulfill your initial wishes but do remember that where you are going is quite different from where you are coming and as such one should be prepared for things not always going according to plan.

Volunteering and intercultural travel share a common trait: the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. This program is designed for proactive individuals and groups that are prepared to adapt to the local environment and its current needs. Naturally, the scheduling and activities of our program are subject to change. Alterations in activities are mainly due to changes in local conditions, which we believe is part of what makes overseas programs the interesting adventure and incredible learning experience that they are.

Our projects range from 1 week up to approx. 30 weeks. Projects have a specified minimum stay, then it’s up to you how long you can commit. In our experience the longer you stay the more you will gain, as your understanding of the project broadens and you take on more responsibilities. You will receive a certificate at the end of your stay