Costa Rica Guide
Guanacaste
Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas
On the Río Matapalo estuary between Conchal and Tamarindo, PARQUE NACIONAL MARINO LAS BAULAS (9am–4pm, open for guided night tours in season; $6, including tour; 
653-0470) is less a national park than a reserve, created in 1995 to protect the nesting grounds of the critically endangered leatherback turtles, which come ashore here to nest from November to February. Leatherbacks have laid their eggs at Playa Grande for quite possibly millions of years, and it's now one of the few remaining such nesting sites in the world. The beach itself offers a beautiful sweep of light-coloured sand, and outside laying season you can surf and splash around in the waves, though swimming is rough, plagued by crashing waves and rip tides. Despite its proximity to an officially protected area, someone seems to have given developers carte blanche to build at Playa Grande. What effect this will have on the ancient nesting ground of the turtles remains to be seen.
Turtle nesting takes place only in season and at night, with moonlit nights at high tide being the preferred moment. .
Around 200m from the park entrance, the impressive and educational El Mundo de la Tortuga exhibition (2–6pm, or until much later when turtles are nesting; $5; 653-0471) includes an audio-guided tour in English and some stunning photographs of the turtles. You'll gain some insight into the leatherback's habitats and reproductive cycles, along with the threats they face and current conservation efforts. There's also a souvenir shop and a small café where groups on turtle tours are often asked to wait while a nesting turtle is located. It's open late at night – often past midnight – depending on demand and nesting times.
There are two official entrances to Playa Grande, though tickets to enter the reserve can only be bought at the southern entrance, where the road enters the park near the Villa Baulas. Playa Grande has in the past been a magnet for tour groups from upmarket Guanacaste hotels as well as day-trippers from Tamarindo and Coco. Nowadays, however, visitor numbers are regulated and you are no longer allowed to walk on the beach during nesting season (get the rangers to tell you stories of what people used to do to harass the turtles and you'll see why).
There are no bus services to the park. To drive to Las Baulas, take the road from Huacas to Matapalo, and turn left at the soccer field (a 4WD is recommended for this stretch during the wet season). Most people, however, visit the park by boat from Tamarindo, entering at the southern end rather than from the Matapalo road. Although most visitors to Las Baulas stay in Tamarindo, a few kilometres to the south, you'll find several excellent hotels at Playa Grande. Bula Bula ( 653-0975, 
www.hotelbulabula.com ; Price: $51-75), in a splendid setting between Playa Grande and the river that runs behind the beach, offers ten rooms, plus some bungalows (sleeping 4–6). Excursions include kayaking, sports-fishing, horse-riding and mountain-biking. The restaurant serves fantastic food, particularly the large continental and Costa Rican breakfasts (included in the room rate). Right on the beach sits Las Tortugas ( 653-0423, www.lastortugashotel.com/ ; Price: $51-75), the area's longest established hotel, with pool, restaurant and luxurious air-conditioned rooms and suites. The conscientious owners have kept the light the hotel reflects onto the beach to a minimum (turtle hatchlings are confused by light coming from land), and even showed the foresight to build so that the structure will block light from any future developments to the north. They also rent surfboards and can advise on turtle tours and horse-riding. Nestled among the trees on the beach is Villa Baula ( 653-0493, www.hotelvillabaula.com ; Price: $51–100) offering comfortable seaside rooms with ceiling fans, plus some attractive private bungalows, all with private bath and hot water (some also have a fridge). There are two lovely pools on the grounds and a good restaurant serving Indonesian dishes.