An amazing trip, filled with wildlife, cultural interactions, wonderful food, and a sense of purpose. Our trip leaders were great and our local guide, Marco, was beyond fabulous. We were so fortunate to get to see and participate in the full lifecycle of turtle egg laying and hatching, while helping maintain the hatchery and work with the local community. The variety of wildlife we were able to see was thrilling - two-toed sloth and babies, several types of monkeys, many birds, including the beautiful quetzal, and a multitude of other flora and fauna. The fresh local cuisine was fabulous and accommodations were all quite satisfactory. Be prepared for some high humidity and wet conditions! Our fabulous team got to experience authentic Costa Rican culture this week, an unforgettable experience.

Everything was amazing! Costa Rica is beautiful and the people are warm and friendly. The group this time consisted of seven women and I think everyone was amazed at how much we got done and how hard we worked. Jim and Mark were great as leaders and Marco, our guide is funny and so knowledgeable.

I’m so happy I joined this ConservationVIP trip! At Punta Banco our all Women team released hundreds of baby turtles and watched them scurry to the ocean, dug out old sand and replaced with new sand, rebuilt the hatchery structure, built a wall in front of another hatchery, and did as much as we could for the turtles. At night patrol we saw a female Olive Ridley Turtle lay eggs and return to the ocean. Local people go on night patrol and gather clutches of eggs and transfer them to the hatchery for incubation. We spent time observing a breathtaking diversity of Costa Rican wildlife, including scarlet macaws, toucans, a sloth, and the resplendent quetzal. We worked in tropical heat and humidity at Punta Banco, and in cool mountain air at Cerro de la Muerte. Many thanks to Jim and Mark, our ConservationVIP leaders, and Marco, our awesome Costa Rican guide, Sergio, our driver, who kept us safe and comfortable along our journey, and to my fellow travelers for an amazing nine days. To anyone considering this trip, I highly recommend it!

What an incredible and unforgettable experience. It exceeded all of my expectations. The experience with the sea turtles could not be beat. We worked next to local experts in the hatching and releasing process. The work was so fulfilling. Staying in a small lodge in the community and eating at local establishments made you feel so welcome.

I’m so happy to have been able to join this ConservationVIP trip! From start to finish, our days were filled with meaningful work, new experiences, and wonderful company. As a team, we worked hard to construct turtle hatcheries in Punta Banco and to improve quetzal habitat in Cerro de la Muerte. We also enjoyed incredible experiences. We witnessed a mama olive ridley sea turtle lay her eggs, and we helped collect these eggs so that they could safely incubate in the hatchery. We released newly hatched turtles and watched them begin life by scurrying from the beach to the ocean. We spent time observing a breathtaking diversity of Costa Rican wildlife, including scarlet macaws, toucans, three species of monkeys, a sloth, and the resplendent quetzal. We worked in tropical heat and humidity at Punta Banco, and in cool mountain air at Cerro de la Muerte. We were treated to good food and were introduced to some fruits and dishes that are uniquely Costa Rican. Many thanks to Jim and Chris, our ConservationVIP leaders, Alex, our awesome Costa Rican guide, Sergio, our driver, who kept us safe and comfortable along our journey, and to my fellow travelers for an amazing nine days. To anyone considering this trip, I highly recommend it!

It only took a split second before I was reminding myself why I was in Punta Banco after stepping off that bus. I had to get my head in the game! I stepped into a world so foreign to my “normal” life! The heat and humidity, the birds, the monkey’s, the iguanas and the turtles - ohhhh those incredibly amazing turtles - a bucket list adventure of a lifetime for me with some truly amazing people - all there with the same mission in mind - save the turtles. My life will never be the same! After 5 days of hard work in Punta Banco, the adventure continued to the highlands altitude of 8500 ft. We worked hard every day of this trip to make a difference and to give back for the greater good.
On the second half of the trip we built trails, nesting habitat and planted avocado trees.
Humans are responsible for taking away some of this vital habitat for these creatures - It was so awesome to try to improve their odds for survival and relieve their burden.

Wow. What an incredible 9 days in Costa Rica with Conservation VIP. Watched a momma Olive Ridley turtle lay 124 eggs in her self built nest on the beach, and watched another 100 or so newborn OIive Ridley's be released to scurry into the ocean to a new beginning. Such a rewarding experience. All of us worked pretty dang hard for the cause. It was worth every sweat soaked shirt we created. We made a difference in Punta Banca, and it made a difference on us. And the Quetzal's! Built a nest, cleared a trail, built some steps, planted a bunch of avocado trees and saw several of these beautiful birds in the wild. A big highlight for us was the close relationship and connection Conservation VIP and our incredible local host Alex have with the small local communities and the people within them. We met and worked alongside some wonderful local people, even danced with a few. 🙂 We wouldn't hesitate to participate in another Conservation VIP excursion. Thank you Alex, Sergio, Chris and Jim! Loved every minute of it.

What a great trip. A wonderful way to experience the real Costa Rica while doing important conservation work. This was my first trip with Conservation VIP, but certainly won't be my last. As I write this review, I am still in Costa Rica, enjoying an extended vacation. The volunteer portion of my trip has surpassed my experiences as a tourist. After our work days, we had time for exploring the local flora and fauna. Our gude Alex was incredibly knowledgeable. I saw more animals and plants on our hikes with him then on the subsequent tours that I paid for! The work part of the trip was difficult, but incredibly rewarding. I have shown my videos of turtles hatching and being released to several guides here who have never seen this! So, if you want to have experiences that not even locals have, join this trip! BTW, you will have amazing homemade meals, way better than the overpriced restaurants in Costa Rica.