Why El Salvador Matters for Sea Turtles
El Salvador has only about 300 km of coastline, but it punches far above its size for sea turtles. Its biggest claim is the hawksbill. At the start of the 2000s, conservationists feared the species was almost gone from the eastern Pacific. Field work since then showed that El Salvador and Nicaragua hold about 90% of the region's hawksbill nesting, and that more than half of it happens in El Salvador.
The olive ridley is the everyday turtle here, nesting on beaches all along the coast. That makes a hatchling release one of the easiest wildlife experiences to add to a beach trip, and one of the most memorable. Our ecotourism guide covers the rest of the country's nature.
The odds are tough for the turtles. Velásquez puts it bluntly: of every thousand hatchlings released, only about one reaches adulthood. That is why hatchery programs, which protect eggs from poachers and predators, matter so much.
The 4 Sea Turtle Species That Nest in El Salvador
All four are listed as threatened or endangered by the IUCN. Their seasons overlap, so almost any month has some nesting activity.
Olive ridley (tortuga golfina)
Most common · peak sightings Aug–Nov · nests along almost the whole coast
The smallest of the four and the one you are most likely to see. It has a dark olive shell and eats mostly fish, mollusks, shrimp and jellyfish. Biologist Mauricio Velásquez of Fundación Doménech says it is recorded most often between August and November, with historic nesting at La Puntilla, Toluca, El Amatal, San Diego and El Espino. A 1999 review in the Marine Turtle Newsletter found olive ridleys nest year-round in El Salvador, with clutches averaging about 96 eggs. It is common here, but endangered globally.
Green or black turtle (tortuga prieta)
Nov–March · La Pirraya, El Icacal, La Zunganera, Barra de Santiago
The second-largest sea turtle in the world after the leatherback. Hatchlings are black on top and white underneath; adults turn a dark greenish color from their diet of algae and seagrass. They can swim more than 2,000 km between feeding and nesting areas. In El Salvador they are seen mainly from November to March.
Hawksbill (tortuga carey)
April–Sept · Los Cóbanos, Bahía de Jiquilisco, Punta Amapala
The most threatened of the four, with a layered, multicolored shell and a hooked beak for feeding in mangroves and rocky reefs. In the early 2000s it was feared gone from the eastern Pacific. Since then researchers found that El Salvador and Nicaragua account for about 90% of the region’s nesting, with more than half in El Salvador. Hawksbills prefer to nest in the shade of coastal vegetation and only use a few specific sites here.
Leatherback (tortuga baule)
Rare · sporadic Nov–Feb
The giant of the group. It can exceed two meters, has a leathery skin-covered shell instead of hard scutes, and dives past 1,000 meters chasing jellyfish, which is why floating plastic bags are so dangerous to it. Its first documented record in El Salvador was at Barra de Santiago in 1992. Seeing one is very unlikely.
Sea Turtle Season in El Salvador, Month by Month
Putting the species together gives a simple calendar. Fundación Doménech says the current cycle of nesting females runs from August 2026 to March 2027. MARN says eggs incubate for about 50 days, so releases trail nesting by roughly seven weeks.
| Months | What's happening |
|---|---|
| April – September | Hawksbill nesting at Jiquilisco, Los Cóbanos and Punta Amapala. Olive ridley nesting builds through the rainy season. |
| August – November | Peak olive ridley activity along the whole coast, with releases following about 50 days later. |
| Late October – December | The best window for visitors: the rains are ending, the dry season begins, and hatcheries are still releasing. |
| November – March | Green turtles nest; rare leatherback visits from November to February. |
Visiting soon? Our November travel guide covers weather and events, and the green season guide explains what the rainy months are like.
Where to See Sea Turtles in El Salvador
These are the areas named by MARN, researchers and the foundations working on the coast. Most hatcheries are small community operations, so message ahead before you drive out.
Bahía de Jiquilisco, Usulután
Hawksbills · biosphere reserve · mangroves
A huge mangrove bay that researchers call the most important hawksbill nesting site in the eastern Pacific. The NGO ProCosta pays local egg collectors to bring nests to protected hatcheries. It reports going from 0% of hawksbill nests protected in 2007 to more than 95% in 2018, when a record 295 nests were protected and 27,855 hatchlings released. Hawksbill season is April to September, so this is a spring and summer trip.
Barra de Santiago, Ahuachapán
Ramsar wetland since 2014 · community hatcheries
A sandbar between an estuary and the ocean on the far-west coast, declared a Wetland of International Importance on July 23, 2014. Two community groups, AMBAS (a women's association) and ACOTOMBAS, collect eggs and run the incubation pens. AMBAS held an overnight "Lunada Tortugas Marinas" on September 26–27, 2026 ($20 including dinner, breakfast and a camping spot; bring your own tent), with nighttime egg collection and a release the next morning. Ask about future dates by WhatsApp at 6839-4587.
Los Cóbanos, Sonsonate
Protected area · hawksbills · rocky reef
A protected natural area with a rocky reef, and one of the three hawksbill nesting sites. The environment ministry (MARN) reported protecting more than 38,000 sea turtle eggs at Los Cóbanos alone in 2025–2026, with ranger night patrols supported by the national police, the navy and community volunteers.
Costa del Sol, La Paz
Olive ridleys · Fundación Doménech
Fundación Doménech has worked on this coast for more than 18 years. It reports 1,307,199 eggs incubated and 1,154,437 hatchlings released with community hatchery keepers. The Costa del Sol is close to the airport, which makes it the easiest place to combine with a beach stay. See our Costa del Sol guide.
La Libertad coast: Toluca, San Diego and El Amatal
Olive ridleys · near Surf City
These beaches near the Surf City area have a history of olive ridley nesting. If you are staying in El Tunco or El Zonte, ask your hotel whether a local hatchery is releasing hatchlings that week. Releases depend on when nests hatch, so they are rarely fixed far in advance.
Punta Amapala, La Unión
Hawksbills · eastern coast
The eastern end of the coast, near the Gulf of Fonseca. It is one of the few hawksbill nesting sites in the country and much less visited than the west.
How to Join a Baby Turtle Release in 2026
Hatchlings come out when they are ready, so most releases are announced only days ahead. The most reliable way in is a group that publishes dates:
- • FUNZEL (Fundación Zoológica de El Salvador): Sunday, November 8 · Sunday, November 22 · Sunday, December 6 · Sunday, December 20, all at 3:30 p.m.
- • How to sign up: WhatsApp +503 7164-8246 for details and registration. FUNZEL says participation and donations fund its wildlife protection and environmental education work.
- • AMBAS, Barra de Santiago: community releases and overnight "lunadas"; ask about dates at WhatsApp 6839-4587.
Dates as announced by FUNZEL to elsalvador.com in 2026. Releases depend on nests hatching, so confirm the day before.
Outside those dates, ask at your hotel or surf camp. Many beach towns have a vivero (hatchery pen) run by local keepers, and releases usually happen in the late afternoon or early morning, when the sand is cooler.
Turtle Release Etiquette: Do's and Don'ts
A good release is about the turtles, not the photo. Follow the hatchery keepers' instructions, and keep these in mind:
- Let them walk. Hatchlings should crawl down the beach to the water on their own. Don't carry them into the waves.
- Hands off unless told otherwise. If the keepers do let you hold one, skip sunscreen and insect repellent on your hands beforehand.
- No flash, no lights at night. Hatchlings head toward the brightest horizon. Phone flashlights and camera flashes can send them the wrong way.
- Stay behind the line. Keep the path to the sea clear and watch your feet.
- Pay or donate. These programs run on visitor fees and donations, and in places like Jiquilisco they pay local egg collectors to bring nests to the hatchery.
- Leave no plastic. Bags look like jellyfish to a leatherback. Take everything back with you.
The Rules: Turtle Eggs and Carey Are Off Limits
Turtle eggs were long a common snack in El Salvador. In 2009 the government banned the collection, sale and consumption of sea turtle eggs, and conservation groups describe it today as a permanent ban (veda permanente). If someone offers you turtle eggs, decline.
The same goes for anything made of carey (tortoiseshell): jewelry, combs or souvenirs. "If you hear that a product is 'de carey', it means a turtle was killed," Velásquez warns. When only about one hatchling in a thousand survives, losing a breeding female is a huge setback.
MARN rangers patrol beaches at night during the season under the government's Misión Océano and its national sea turtle conservation program, collecting nests and moving them to authorized hatcheries to stop eggs being taken for illegal sale.
What Threatens El Salvador's Turtles
Egg poaching remains a problem despite the ban. Turtles also drown in fishing nets, swallow plastic and lose nesting beaches to construction and erosion. Climate change adds a quieter threat: a hatchling's sex depends on sand temperature, and warmer nests produce more females. "If beaches keep warming, we could see nests with almost only females," Velásquez says. Without enough males, populations collapse.
Planning a Turtle Trip
The coast is compact enough to cover in a few days. Barra de Santiago is on the far western end and Bahía de Jiquilisco in the east, while the Costa del Sol and the La Libertad beaches are both a short drive from the airport. A rental car makes the remote hatcheries much easier; see our rental car guide or the transportation guide for buses and drivers. For the bigger beach picture, read the best beaches in El Salvador.
A simple plan: base yourself on the Costa del Sol or in Surf City, book a release with FUNZEL or a local hatchery for one afternoon, and add a boat trip through the Jiquilisco mangroves or a day at Los Cóbanos. The ia.sv AI assistant can turn that into a day-by-day plan around your dates.
En español: tortugas marinas en El Salvador
En las playas salvadoreñas anidan cuatro especies de tortugas marinas: golfina, prieta, carey y baule. La golfina es la más común (se registra sobre todo de agosto a noviembre), la prieta llega de noviembre a marzo y la carey anida de abril a septiembre en Los Cóbanos, la Bahía de Jiquilisco y Punta Amapala. Para participar en una liberación de tortugas, FUNZEL tiene jornadas abiertas el 8 y 22 de noviembre y el 6 y 20 de diciembre de 2026 a las 3:30 p. m. (inscripciones por WhatsApp al 7164-8246). Recordá que existe una veda permanente: consumir huevos de tortuga o comprar productos de carey está prohibido.
Tell ia.sv your dates and where you're staying, and it will help you find nearby nesting beaches, release windows and a realistic driving plan, in English or Spanish.
Ask the ia.sv AI assistantSources: elsalvador.com — ¿Tortugas marinas en El Salvador? Dónde encontrarlas (2026); elsalvador.com — Viví la emoción de liberar tortugas marinas (2026); elsalvador.com — Barra de Santiago impulsa turismo y conservación marina (2026); Diario El Salvador — Intensifican los patrullajes nocturnos (Aug 2026); SEE Turtles — ProCosta: Protecting El Salvador's Hawksbills; Marine Turtle Newsletter 85 — Sea Turtles of El Salvador (1999); Acuerdo Ejecutivo MAG No. 343 / MARN No. 74 (2009)
Release dates and contact numbers were published by the organizations in 2026 and can change. Confirm before you go. ia.sv is an independent travel guide and is not affiliated with any foundation, government agency or business mentioned.
Published: October 26, 2026
Author: ia.sv Team