Category Archives: Company News & Updates

Best Time to See an Arribada in Costa Rica – 2025/2026 Nesting Season Guide

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So you want to see an Arribada in Costa Rica. As we are coming to the end of 2025 and peek Arribada season here in Costa Rica, we want to touch on the best nights to witness an arribada in these final months of 2025 and look forward to the 2026 Olive Ridley Sea Turtle nesting season.

What is an arribada?

If you are just learning about arribadas, or have no idea what one is, Arribada is the Spanish word for “arrival”, in this case, it refers to a mast nesting event of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle. Here in Costa Rica we have many nesting beaches and several species of turtles that nest here. Arribadas are a little different, imagine hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of turtles all coming to shore to nest at the same time! This happens over a few days, and it is truly a wonder of nature. This can be a life-changing event for many people who witness the phenomenon, it is humbling.

 

 

 

Arribada Costa Rica 2025 - Ostional

Where to see an Arribada?

To see an arribada you need to be in the right place at the right time. This only happens in a handful of places around the world, and here in Costa Rica, we have 2 beaches where they nest in large numbers. Ostional in the Ostional Wildlife refuge, and Playa Nancita, in Sant Rosa National park further north.

Ostional, Costa Rica - This is the more accessible area for seeing an arribada. Getting to see an arribada you need to be in the area for a few days. This is always going to be hit or miss, nature is going to cooperate, or not. You can stay in the area, or nearby in Nosara or Sámara. All 3 put you in position to see an arribada.

When to see an Arribada - Moon Cycles and Best Nights for an Arribada – Having an understanding of moon cycles is crucial. Turtles nest on the darkest nights of the month, this means you want to be in the area usually a few days before a new moon. The days leading up to the new moon and a few days after are the darkest of the month and most likely the time for nesting activity. In a nutshell, 3-4 days before the new moon on through to 3-4 days after the new moon, that will increase your odds. This chart is a great visual representation of moon cycles.

Monthly Date Sets for a likely arribada in Costa Rica - 2025

September 2025
New Moon: 21st
Be in the Ostional area: Sept, 18th – 25th

October 2025
New Moon: 21st
Be in the Ostional area: Oct, 18th – 25th

November 2025
New Moon: 20th
Be in the Ostional area: Nov, 17th – 24th

December 2025
New Moon: 19th
Be in the Ostional area: Dec, 16th – 23rd

Ostional arribada

Seeing an Arribada in Costa Rica - 2026 Season

Looking ahead into the 2026 Arribada season, we can determine what likely will be the best nights to be in the right area of Costa Rica and the right time of month. With that, let’s explore 2026.

January 2026
New Moon: 18th
Be in the Ostional area: Jan, 15th – 22nd

February 2026
New Moon: 17th
Be in the Ostional area: Feb 14th – 21st

March 2026
New Moon: 18th
Be in the Ostional area: March 15th – 22nd

April 2026
New Moon: 17th
Be in the Ostional area: April 14th – 21st

May 2026
New Moon: 16th
Be in the Ostional area: May 13th – 20th

June 2026
New Moon: 14th
Be in the Ostional area: June 11th – 18th

July 2026
New Moon: 14th
Be in the Ostional area: July 11th – 18th

August 2026
New Moon: 12th
Be in the Ostional area: Aug 9th – 16th

September 2026
New Moon: 10th
Be in the Ostional area: Sept, 7th – 14th

October 2026
New Moon: 10th
Be in the Ostional area: Oct 7th – 14th

November 2026
New Moon: 9th
Be in the Ostional area: Nov, 6th – 13th

December 2026
New Moon: 8th
Be in the Ostional area: Dec 5th – 12th

* Remember, there are no guarantees to see an arribada on these dates, sometimes they come early, sometimes they come late, and sometimes they do not come at all. They prefer to nest in the green/rainy season, and they prefer dark nights. 

We hope you found today's post on arribadas helpful! We do this post every year in hopes that more people become aware of the magic of nature, and the wonders she has to show us. If you are interested in seeing an arribada and are planning your vacation with us, please let your travel planner know. Contact us at info@crreferrals.com or you can start building your Costa Rica trip here.

Costa Rica Covid Testing – September 2021 Update

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Just a quick update on Covid 19 testing when departing Costa Rica. Many countries require a negative test to travel home, the USA being one of these countries. On our side we have been helping our clients in 2021 meet these requirements. We will help you identify the closest lab on your trip route, costs, and logistics.

We have been lucky so far, this year we have had busy months and slow months as the virus waves move through. None of our clients this year have tested positive on departure we are happy to say. Nobody has had any difficulty getting tested on the way out, it has been a smooth process.

If anyone does test positive, we will help with the needed hotels for quarantine and will assist in any way we can.

Arribada Costa Rica Tour

Safe Travels! – C.R. Referrals Travel Team     

 

Costa Rica Travel News & Covid Updates

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As of November 1st our countries borders are open to all countries and travelers from around the world. There is no more Covid-19 testing requirement to enter Costa Rica but the travelers insurance requirement is still in place. This is good news for many who have been feeling cabin fever over the last 8 months, but travel has changed.

The only big change is that now we all travel with care, common sense is all you need to navigate travel during this time, and to do it safely. Here in Costa Rica all of our hotels, tours, and transfers are taking all necessary precautions, new sanitary protocols are in place. We are planning a lot more fully private tours by request from our clients which limits exposure to other travelers while they enjoy everything Costa Rica has to offer.

Throughout Costa Rica the tourism industry is more than ready to see some more movement, and there are travel deals to be found! Right now at C.R. Referrals Travel we are giving away 2×1 tours on rain forest night tours, cloud forest night tours, coffee tours, trapiche tours, to name a few! These tour specials are offered exclusively through C.R. Referrals Travel.

Coffee Tour Deals Costa Rica 2x1 Night Hike Costa Rica Trapiche Tour

So far bookings for 2021 are very strong but the remainder of this year will largely be more local tourism. We love our beaches and Costa Ricans are also taking advantage of some of the incredible travel deals some hotels are offering. This is a good time to start planning a trip early, get in on the lower rates for a trip next year. It is hard to predict the coming high season, travel over the holidays is certainly down before picking back up in January.

We are still adding some tour ideas for inspiration on the new website, with all the time off we used it to launch the new travel site and hope that everyone can navigate it okay. Stay tuned for some new tours and added content in the website!

We have suspended many of the Cultural Costa Rica tours we had due to Covid-19. These trips visit remote indigenous villages and with Covid we do not want to spread this in any way to remote communities. When things improve we will be adding in some more Costa Rica cultural tours.

Catalina has been VERY busy with her side project Elope in Costa Rica. In addition to all the weddings that had to be rescheduled in 2020 her 2021 season is filling.

With the new C.R. Referrals Travel website up we will be blogging more about upcoming tours and travel updates. Stay tuned and Be safe!