Unique Turtle Sanctuary & Sunset Experience
Recommended by 90% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Huatulco, Mexico
- 7 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Give back while on vacation in Oaxaca. This tour offers you the chance to make a difference by helping to release a baby sea turtle into the wild. After the release, and learning all about sea turtles, you'll have time to relax on the beach and watch the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean.
- Combine sightseeing with citizen science in Oaxaca
- Experience the satisfaction of helping a baby turtle into the sea
- Learn all about turtles and their behavior from your guide
- Cap off a great day watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean
What's Included
- Guided tour of Huatulco and surroundings
- Live commentary in English or Spanish
- Roundtrip transportation to and from your Huatulco hotel
- Food and beverages not listed as inclusions
- Admission fees
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
Pickup is available from most centrally located hotels in Huatulco and surroundings, Vacation rentals and almost all points of interest. If your location is not inside of the pickup area we can arrange a meeting point. Please provide your accommodation details as soon as possible.
Operating hours.3:00 pm
Itinerary
1
Santuario La Escobilla
2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- Children 2 and younger are complimentary.
- You must be able to walk on unpaved or uneven terrain.
- This activity is not wheelchair accessible.
- You must wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes.
- Gratuity is not included and is left to individual discretion.
- You should bring spending cash.
- Roundtrip transportation is available from most centrally located Huatulco Hotels.
- Please be ready and waiting in your hotel lobby 15 minutes prior to your scheduled pick-up time.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 48 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Michael_D
Guillermo my guide was great, very knowledgeable and friendly, once in a lifetime experience. We definitely do this again when in the area.
Reviews
4.6
based on 21 reviews
Michael_D, Dec 2025
Guillermo my guide was great, very knowledgeable and friendly, once in a lifetime experience. We definitely do this again when in the area.
JoseLudwig_S, Jun 2025
the company organising the tour wrote to us saying they will be late.. they came 45 later than expected. The driver took us to the "sanctuary", they brought those turtles in a bucket, one was already dead, they put 5 in a bowl for each person, we waited for the right wave, the little turtles were gone, and then we were back on the road... that was it and nothing else. As the driver told us, it was his day off and he was called to jump in to do the guided tour of Huatulco and thus the delay; it seems this last minute change was to make sure the money stays in. The guided tour of Huatulco and the surroundings was: "this road goes to Santa Cruz, this road goes to Somewhere... " the driver gave us a few intetesting facts about the area, but this was not a guided tour.
At the sanctuary there was no clarity of how much was the entrances fee, which gave us the impression we were somewhere else. There were no explanations of any kind, besides the obvious things..."the wave comes, the wave goes."
This is certainly something that causes more damage to the ecosystem and has nothing to do with any kind of eco tourism. Who knows how long those poor little turtles are kept in that bucket, waiting for tourists to pay 200 or 250 pesos to be freed. This was not an experience with an expert who would have an idea of how to really handle sea turtles.
I won't recommend this tour to anyone.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Dear Jose,
We appreciate the favor you're doing us by leaving your comment on our product.
However, we think it's a bit confusing considering that the comment form you filled out in your own handwriting states the exact opposite.
Susan_W, Feb 2025
This tour promised an education in turtle conservation topped off with a release of baby turtles into the ocean. It was all that was promised and more. We were picked up at our hotel, which was nice, and were with only 3 other clients, making it a wonderful small group experience. The driver/guide spoke fluent, almost unaccented English which was very helpful to our tour companions. He was very knowledgeable about the ecology of the area and of turtle conservation. It was about a 1.5 hour drive each way to the turtle sanctuary. I was happy to contribute a fee to the management of the turtle sanctuary (for us, 200 pesos per person), and we were very lucky to have a member of the cooperative that manages the area accompany us to the beach. Our driver translated for us her very informative comments on the area and their work conserving turtles by gathering their eggs and hatching them in a protected area. We were each given 2 baby turtles to release into the ocean.
Cheryl_A, Jan 2025
An amazing opportunity to learn about sea turtles while supporting community run conservation. We each released 5 Olive Ridley hatchlings and saw a wild nest hatch. Armando our tour guide was attentive, knowledgeable, and very very funny.
Martin_C, Dec 2024
This is an amazing experience, great for the whole family. The tour providers all speak English, the ride to excursion is in a large air conditioned van. The road can get a bit windy but not too bad.
Kevin_D, Mar 2024
Releasing baby turtles was a dream come true. Excellent tour. We had an English speaking driver so he did all the translating for us. Very informative and educational. These folks are truly passionate about their turtle program. 👍🏻
Response from Host, Apr 2024
Dear Kevin Dumont,
We are very happy to know that you had a great experience at: Unique Turtle Sanctuary & Sunset Experience.
Your comment has made our day.
Our entire team works very hard to keep our guests happy.
Thank you again, and we hope you visit us soon to guide you in making another dream come true!
The Huatulco Travel Experience Team
Rodney_I, Nov 2022
Our tour guide was amazing! It was the perfect moment. Sunset on the beach, giving back to Mother Nature and a proposal. Our guide was nice enough to capture the moment with our phone. Highly recommend this excursion.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Dear Rodney Ignacio,
Thank you very much for your positive review. We are delighted to hear from you and that you enjoyed our: Unique Turtle Sanctuary and Ventanilla Experience
It is a pleasure for us to offer the best possible service to our guests, and we are glad that this commitment has been reflected in your visit.
Keep our contact for the next time you visit this paradise
The Travel Experience Team
Cynthia_v, Feb 2022
Just what we were looking for- 3pm pick up, drive to the turtles, sunset on the beach, and back. Mario was our guide- he was great at explaining everything from papaya trees to the history of various groups in Mexico on our drive. Our kids are young- 4, 7, so it was a lot of driving for them, but hopefully they'll remember the turtles forever!
We got exactly what we wanted, no extra stops to sell us things!
Response from Host, Feb 2022
Dear Cynthia von Berg,
Thank you very much for taking the time to leave a review about the Unique Turtle Sanctuary and Sunset Experience.
We are very happy to know that the tour met your expectations, our guides do their best to provide you with an enjoyable and well-informed experience.
Thank you for your preference, we hope to have you back in the near future.
See you soon!
The Huatulco Travel Experience team
Jacinta_A, Jan 2022
Highlight of this tour was releasing baby turtles right after sunset. The turtle sanctuary is located in Playa Escobilla and the drive took almost 2 hours from Huatulco. I booked a 3pm pick up but was picked up at 355pm on day of tour. Luckily this was the only event so I did not feel rushed. Got back to my Airbnb around 830pm. Mario, our driver, was nice although I don't think he knew the exact location of the sanctuary. We stopped to ask for directions and used Google maps at one point.
The sanctuary itself is legit and is a local conservation effort to expa nd the turtle population. The fees you pay for this tour goes on to help the local conservation group with funding.
All in all, I was happy with this trip regardless of the travel time from Huatulco.
Response from Host, Jan 2022
Dear Jacinta,
We are very grateful for describing the experience you had with us
Thanks to people like you, our effort for local conservation to expand the turtle population has been a success.
Edward_E, Dec 2020
What a truly remarkable experience. Our driver Ramiro Alderete was very friendly, courteous, and informative to and from the turtle farm.
At the turtle farm the staff was also very friendly, courteous and our guide Flora was very informative and patient with us handling the release of baby Gulfina turtles back to sea.
My wife and I were very lucky to have released over 40 baby Gulfina turtles.
Response from Host, Dec 2020
Edward Esquenda once again thank you for the time you give us by leaving us the experience you lived with us.
We always take care of assigning our most knowledgeable guides for each of our tours, in this case Ramiro and Flora.
CLAUDIA_T, May 2025
Una experiencia super bonita! Me gustatianque fuera un poco mas noche para que las tortugas esten mas seguras.
AlejandroD_S, Mar 2024
Hola! Fuimos en familia muy emocionados a la liberación de tortuguitas, el servicio de Óscar Lara en todo momento fue más allá de excelente! Sumamente amable, atento y con conocimiento del lugar. El personal de liberación de tortugas también fue muy amable y nos explicó muy bien el funcionamiento de la asociación y los cuidados que debíamos tener en la liberación. Otorgo 3 estrellas porque me pareció muy malo el horario de la liberación, a pleno sol en donde las tortuguitas están completamente expuestas al ser muy visibles a muchos depredadores, principalmente aves, siendo que naturalmente ellas salen por las noches guiadas por la luz de la luna o bien en una tormenta, justo para reducir el riesgo a ser atrapadas por depredadores, es inevitable el riesgo, pero si se reduce al salir de noche. En todo caso, si la liberación será en ese horario 6 pm (cuando aún hay mucha luz), deberían permitir a las personas acompañar a la tortuga hasta que entra al mar, porque de otra manera es difícil lleguen. Repito, sé que la naturaleza elige al más fuerte, pero también la naturaleza es sabia y les da la oportunidad de protegerse de los depredadores haciéndolo de noche, sin luz, excepto la de la luna. Ojalá tomen en cuenta mi comentario para ayudar a las tortugas, más allá que sea solo una experiencia para contar. Muchas gracias y saludos!
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Dear Alejandro D Segovia Ramirez
First of all, thank you very much for taking your valuable time to leave us a review, we really appreciate it.
We are happy to know that the service of our staff at all times was beyond excellent!
We understand perfectly that you found the release schedule bad, we are working on it to optimize our product
Once again, thank you very much for your review.
Maria_M, Aug 2022
Lindo poder ayudar a preservar la vida acuatica. Proteger nuestro mar en este planeta que es nuestra única casa
Response from Host, Aug 2022
Estimada Maria Muñoz,
En primer lugar nos gustaría darle las gracias por el tiempo invertido en hacernos llegar sus comentarios en: Unique Turtle Sanctuary and Sunset Experience
Nos alegra saber que ha disfrutado del viaje y haya estado a la altura de sus expectativas. Por ello, sus palabras suponen una fuente de motivación para nosotros.
Esperamos volver a darle la bienvenida muy pronto no olvides que tambien ofrecemos servicio de traslados aeropuerto - hotel - aeropuerto
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From $62.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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