Releasing Turtles Barra de Santiago

Barra de Santiago: Releasing Sea Turtles on the Beach!

In Beaches, El Salvador, Wildlife by Sheena4 Comments

Releasing sea turtles is a top bucket list item in Central America – you can do it at Barra de Santiago, El Salvador but find out why you might want to wait for a better experience…

El Salvador is an important nesting location for 4 of the world’s 7 sea turtle species, all of which are endangered.

One of the most active sites in the country is at Barra de Santiago which we visited here at DIY Travel HQ.

Sea turtles collected in El Salvador

A tub full of Olive Ridley sea turtles waiting to be released to sea

From August to November, giant sea turtles come to shore to lay their eggs.

They scout the beach for the perfect spot, before digging a deep hole in the sand with their back flippers.

Then they drop their eggs – on average, around 110 eggs per nest! Isn’t that amazing?!

What’s more, sea turtles can lay eggs more than 8 times in a season!

We were lucky enough to witness this whole process while we were camping on the beach at Glovers Atoll Resort in Belize.

That turtle spent over 1.5 hours making her nest & laying her eggs.

It was pretty incredible & left us wanting to experience more – 3 months later, we finally got another chance when travelling around El Salvador.

Turtle on Glovers beach

We watched a turtle lay its eggs on Glovers Atoll Resort, Belize

Contents

Turtle Hatchery at Barra de Santiago

We found out about the Turtle Hatchery in Barra de Santiago from our Rough Guides guidebook to Central America.

However, it didn’t list a lot of information about it & we couldn’t find much online either.

After checking-in to our room at Capricho Beach House, one of their staff members walked with us to the Turtle Hatchery – after about 30 minutes, we came across a fenced area on the beach, with a thatched leaf roof.

Turtle Hatchery Barra de Santiago

Turtle Hatchery on the beach at Barra de Santiago

Stepping inside, we found rows of square plots with numbered wooden markers.

A man & a little girl were crouched down, digging further into the holes in the sand.

Around them, were tubs of tiny turtles – it was time for them to enter the world & from their rapid-fire scurrying & squirming, it looked like they were ready!

The man explained that every morning, volunteers comb the beach looking for turtle nests.

They collect the newly-dropped eggs & rebury them in the hatchery, to give the little ones a better chance of survival.

Digging up eggs at Turtle Hatchery

After 45 days, turtle eggs are dug up from the sand

The eggs remain in the hatchery for 45 days.

Every evening around 5:30-6:00pm (in season), baby sea turtles are dug up from the sand & released into the sea.

Visitors have the chance to assist in this process – we arrived too late to help with the digging, but I’m sure you’d be able to do that too.

Releasing sea turtles in El Salvador

Helping to release sea turtles at Barra de Santiago!

We helped to take 2 tubs of sea turtles the short distance to the shore.

Setting the containers on the sand, we gently collected the turtles into our hands & set them free.

It was a thrilling feeling!

The turtles all rushed instinctively to the sea, to our human eyes they seemed excited & eager.

Of course, it’s also bittersweet as out of the couple of hundred sea turtles we just released, only a few of them will live to see the next day.

If they’re lucky, perhaps 1 or 2 of them will make it to adulthood.

If it’s a female turtle, it will return to this very beach to lay its own eggs some 10-30 years down the track – the amazing cycle of life.

Olive Ridley baby turtles head to sea

The baby sea turtles rush instinctively to the open sea

Visiting the Turtle Hatchery: Things to Know

  • No explanations at the Turtle Hatchery: the man we met there didn’t speak English, neither did our chaperone from the hotel. You need to be able to ask questions in Spanish to gain a better understanding.
  • Short experience: Digging up the eggs & releasing the turtles only took 30 minutes
  • Will need to spend the night in Barra de Santiago if you’re traveling by local bus
  • Limited accommodation & food options in Barra de Santiago
  • There are other places you can release sea turtles such as La Tortuga Verde inEl Salvador & the Surfing Turtle Lodge in Nicaragua
Setting turtles free on beach

It was a fun experience at Barra but there may be better places in Central America to release sea turtles

Accommodation at Barra de Santiago

We stayed at Capricho Beach House, which we can’t recommend.

Our room door didn’t lock & there was no light.

A worker put in a new light bulb for us but that only worked for 10 minutes.

There’s no door to the shower, which opens onto the restaurant. There’s also nowhere to hang anything, we dragged a plastic chair into the room. It’s a cold water shower, with slightly salty water.

Did I mention there was no door?

Capricho Beach House shower & toilet

The shower with no door at Capricho Beach House

The toilet was fine & the staff were nice but for $10.00 a person, it’s not an acceptable place to stay.

You may not have any problems if you book the private room with ensuite for $45.00.

There’s very slow wifi on the grounds, expect bugs & mosquitos.

Passing through on the pick-up truck, we noticed a hostel across the road from the Turtle Hatchery & Café Mezcal – this could be worth checking out & certainly couldn’t be any worse than Capricho Beach House.

It’ll also save you a 1 hour return walk to the Turtle Hatchery.

There are also many numerous other places to stay at Barra de Santiago.

We recommend Booking.com as a trustworthy source of accommodation in Cuba. Make a booking with our link for 10% off your stay.

Capricho Beach House accommodation

This hut looks nice but we don’t recommend staying at Capricho Beach House

Barra de Santiago Fishing Village

Barra de Santiago is a remote strip of land with the Pacific Ocean on one side & a protected estuary on the other.

Barra is home to a small fishing village, but the beachfront properties are huge, filled with coconut trees.

However, there’s little infrastructure: dirt roads, few accommodation options & places to eat.

Fishing at Barra de Santiago

Fishermen at sea at Barra de Santiago

Nevertheless, there is a kind of scruffy charm to this place.

The village offers an insight into local life & there are a number of ways to pass the time: go out on boat tour of the mangroves, take surfing lessons, relax in a hammock or walk endlessly on the beach.

Unlike the surf scene at El Sunzal & El Tunco, the beaches here are deserted.

So if you want complete privacy off-the-beaten track in El Salvador, Barra de Santiago is the place to be.

Deserted beach at Barra de Santiago

The deserted beaches are all yours on Barra de Santiago

How to Get to & from Barra de Santiago

From Sonsonate, take bus #259 to the Barra de Santiago intersection – the ride costs 65 cents.

Then take a pick-up truck to the village – the ride to the last stop at Capricho Beach House costs $1.00.

Pick-up truck to Barra de Santiago

First in the pick-up truck to Barra de Santiago!

Know Before You Go

Place: Turtle Hatchery at Barra de Santiago, El Salvador

Duration: 30 minutes

Price: $5.00 a person

Baby turtle in hand

Holding a baby turtle in your hand is unforgettable!

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Releasing sea turtles is a top bucket list experience in Central America & you can do it at Barra de Santiago in El Salvador. Visit the turtle hatchery where baby sea turtles are dug up from the sand & released into the sea every evening. From transport via Sonsonate to accommodation at Capricho Beach House, find out everything you need to know & why you may want to do it elsewhere in Central America…

*** The Final Word – For a better experience, find a turtle release program that offers explanations in English or a translator *** 

Have you ever released baby turtles to sea?

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3 Shovels

Accessible DIY travel to more distant locations via multiple connections or longer forms of transport

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Visited in October 2016

Comments

  1. I read comments from some people before, saying that we shouldn’t interfere with mother nature. That we should let the turtles hatch and let the baby turtles make their way to the shore. In my opinion though, I see nothing wrong with it and it’s not like it’s harming the turtles anyway, it’s even helping the baby turtles go on their way safely to the sea. Having said that, I would definitely love to have a similar experience.

    But wow, 10 dollars for a less than satisfying accommodation? That’s too much. And by the looks of it, I couldn’t even call it a decent accommodation. And wow a doorless bathroom, that’s a no-no.

    1. Author

      Most conservation issues have some controversy but I don’t see anything wrong with this turtle program either, especially after seeing a giant sea turtle lay its eggs on a beach in Belize in exactly the same spot as where she or another turtle had a nest, digging up previously laid eggs in the process!

      The accommodation was bad, if it was $5 per person it may have been borderline acceptable but no door or the bathroom or lights in the room is not on!

  2. It’s too bad that there was a language barrier, I would love to learn more about the whole releasing process, where they get the eggs from and so on. This is one of the top things to do on my bucket list, but it’s really hard to find a regulated hatchery in Asia that is truly not-for-profit and not stealing eggs from the beach. Will definitely look into doing this if we make it to Barra de Santiago, but won’t stay at the place with no shower door!

    1. Author

      Both of us have seen turtles nesting before, but this was our first time watching babies crawl to the ocean. The other places you might look into are Malaysian Borneo and Costa Rica.

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