Quick Details
Witness Sea Turtles Laying Their Eggs on Isla Cañas
Escape the noisy city for this three-days, two-night tour to travel to the remote beaches of Isla Cañas, where we set out to look for sea turtles returning to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs.
Located 350 km from Panama City, Isla Cañas is one of the most famous beaches in the world where sea turtles come to lay their eggs. This 13km-long beach is untouched by humans and as a result as many as 80 sea turtles come to lay their eggs each night from July to November.
Five out of the seven worldwide species of sea turtles come to Panama to lay their eggs each year, four of which are critically endangered. During this remote eco-tour, you witness turtles laying their eggs in a very remote setting while learning about local conservational efforts to save these delicate species.
Note: This is a tour to a very remote region not yet touched or developed for tourism. In order to be close to the turtle nesting areas, we will be staying is very rustic accommodations with no electricity and basic comforts. There are solar panels for basic things like charging phones and light bulbs, but there is no air conditioning, televisions, or Wi-Fi. If you do not wish to go without these things, please check out our other tours!
Inclusions
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Transportation from Panama City – Isla Cañas – Panama City
- Boat ride from Tonosí to Isla Cañas and back
- 2 nights in Pachamama Eco Lodge (double occupancy)
- All meals (3 lunches, 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts); please specify if you have a special diet
- Bottled water
- Two nights of turtle watching in a horse-drawn cart
- Paddle board and kayak usage
- Bilingual guide
- Tour equipment (headlamps, rain ponchos, etc.)
- Government taxes (ITBMS)
Exclusions
- Drinks (beers, juices, etc.)
- Water sports (wakeboard and surfing)
- Sunblock and insect repellent
Itinerary
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- We will depart from Panama City at 8 a.m., and drive four and a half hours away to the Los Santos province. We will stop on the way to have a traditional lunch in the cultural center of Panama, the town of Las Tablas. After lunch, we will continue to the port of Isla Cañas where a boat will be waiting for us to take us to our island home for the next three days, the Pachamama Eco Lodge.
- Once we are settled in and accommodated in our huts, you can enjoy the beach or relax in a hammock while watching the sunset. Dinner will be freshly prepared by our French host, Amelia. After dinner, we will meet in the community hut to have a briefing from a local conservationist about the different species of turtles that we might encounter as well as the dos and don’ts when dealing with the turtles.
- When the tide is low we will be picked up in horse-drawn carts and driven four km down the beach to find turtles. When we find the turtles on the beach we can appreciate this miracle of nature up close, as we watch her lay her eggs on the exact same beach where she was born 30 years ago. After the turtle watching, we will be taken back to our Eco Lodge in the horse-drawn carts.
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- You will start your day with a freshly prepared breakfast by Amelia. After breakfast, you have the option of relaxing on the beach or kayaking through the nearby pristine mangroves. Around midday, we will be picked up in the horse-drawn carts and taken to visit a turtle hatchery on the beach.
- Here you will see the relocated nests that were saved by conservationists from egg poachers. When the turtle eggs hatch, the baby turtles are hand delivered to the ocean to increase their odds of survival. With luck, we might be able to personally deliver newborn turtles to their new underwater habitat.
- After visiting the hatchery, we will be taken via the horse-drawn carts to the house of a local family where we will be served a traditional Panamanian style lunch. After lunch, we will be taken back to the Eco Lodge where you will be free to spend the afternoon however you like. In the evening when the tide is low we will be picked up again in the horse-drawn carts to look for more turtles laying their eggs.
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Our final day on the island will start with a freshly prepared breakfast, followed by some beach time. We will leave the island around midday and head back to Panama City with a stop for lunch in the small farming village of Tonosi. We will return to Panama City around 6 p.m.