Oceans & Turtles · Tortuguero and Cahuita, Limón

Leatherback Season Opens on Costa Rica's Caribbean Coast for 2026

Leatherback sea turtles, the world's largest turtles, began their 2026 nesting season on Costa Rica's Caribbean beaches, with The Tico Times reporting on April 3 that rangers saw the first big arrivals about 10 days early. That early timing hasn't been confirmed by any other source, but the season itself runs roughly March to June and matters for a Caribbean population listed as endangered.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026 · Updated October 31, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Costa Rica Leatherback Turtles Arrive Early on Caribbean Beaches (2026-04-03)

Every spring, the biggest turtles on Earth haul themselves out of the Caribbean Sea and onto the dark sand beaches of Costa Rica's Limón coast to lay their eggs. In 2026, that season was underway by early April, and The Tico Times reported on April 3 that rangers at Tortuguero and Cahuita had seen the first major arrivals about 10 days ahead of schedule.

One caution up front: the report didn't name the rangers or share nesting counts, and we couldn't find SINAC, a conservation group or another outlet confirming an early start. What's well documented is the season itself, and why each one counts for this species.

When leatherbacks nest on the Caribbean coast

According to SINAC figures cited by The Tico Times, the leatherback season at Tortuguero runs from March to June, and March and April are the main arrival months on part of the Cahuita coast. Leatherbacks come before Tortuguero's much larger green turtle season, which builds later in the year.

Long-term data from nearby Pacuare Nature Reserve, on the same coast, match that pattern. A study in the journal Oryx by Marga Rivas, Carlos Fernández and Adolfo Marco, covering 18 seasons from 1994 to 2012, found nesting peaked in April and May, with March and June next. Pacuare averaged about 809 leatherback nests a year in that period, ranging from 507 to 1,206.

Because nesting depends on ocean conditions and on each female's multi-year breeding cycle, the start and size of a season shift from year to year. A turtle that nests one season usually won't return for two or more years.

Meet the leatherback

The leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) is unlike any other sea turtle. Instead of a hard, bony shell, it has a ridged back covered in thick, rubbery skin. Adults can reach about 2 meters (over 6 feet) long and weigh several hundred kilos, and they dive deeper and travel farther than any other reptile. Costa Rican veterinarians quoted by La Nación in 2025 noted that leatherbacks from the Caribbean range across the Atlantic as far as Canada and Spain, and that they feed largely on jellyfish.

On the Caribbean coast, leatherbacks nest one by one, usually at night. That's very different from the mass "arribadas" of olive ridleys on the Pacific side, such as those at Ostional.

Why every season matters

Leatherbacks that nest in the Caribbean belong to the Northwest Atlantic subpopulation, which the IUCN reclassified in 2019 from Least Concern to Endangered after a review of nesting data through 2017, according to the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group. Costa Rica's Caribbean beaches are one small piece of that wider population, so what happens here adds up.

That's why long-running beach projects matter, and it's the thread of our guide to sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica. The Sea Turtle Conservancy, which has worked at Tortuguero since 1959, describes the area as home to important leatherback nesting populations as well as the largest green turtle rookery in the Western Hemisphere. At Pacuare, the Oryx authors credited decades of beach patrols with cutting egg poaching and keeping hatchling production high, and they found the number of nesting females rose over the study period. The trend isn't the same on every beach, though. A 2022 Mongabay Latam report, citing the IUCN Red List assessment, said leatherback arrivals had fallen 87% at Tortuguero and 40% at Gandoca since 1995, while Pacuare logged 686 nests in 2021, its highest count in 7 years.

Threats on land include egg poaching, beach erosion and artificial light, which can confuse both nesting females and hatchlings. We look at that last problem in our story on beachfront lights and sea turtles. Masses of sargassum seaweed have also piled up on this coast, as we reported in our Tortuguero sargassum story.

How to see leatherbacks responsibly

Night turtle watching on the Caribbean coast should always be done with a licensed local guide on an authorized tour, never on your own. In Tortuguero, tours are coordinated with park rangers, use small groups and assigned time slots, and go out only when a spotter confirms a nesting turtle. That keeps people from crowding a female while she digs and lays.

A few rules make a real difference:

• No white light and no flash. Guides use dim red light only.
• Keep your distance and stay quiet. A disturbed turtle may return to the sea without nesting.
• Never touch a turtle, eggs or hatchlings, and don't buy turtle eggs.
• Keep beaches dark and clean. If you're staying near a nesting beach, close curtains and turn off outdoor lights at night.

Sightings are never guaranteed, early season or not. You can find turtle projects and protected beaches on our sea turtle map.

Frequently asked questions

When is leatherback season in Costa Rica?

On the Caribbean coast, leatherbacks nest mainly from March to June, with the peak usually in April and May. SINAC lists March to June for Tortuguero.

Did leatherbacks arrive early in 2026?

The Tico Times reported on April 3, 2026, that rangers at Tortuguero and Cahuita saw the first major arrivals about 10 days early. We couldn't find another source or official data confirming that.

Where can you see leatherback turtles in Costa Rica?

On the Caribbean side, leatherbacks nest at Tortuguero, Pacuare and beaches on the southern Caribbean coast. Visits should only be made on guided, authorized night tours.

Are leatherback turtles endangered?

Globally the species is listed as Vulnerable, and the Northwest Atlantic subpopulation that nests in Costa Rica's Caribbean was reclassified as Endangered by the IUCN in 2019.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Costa Rica Leatherback Turtles Arrive Early on Caribbean Beaches (2026-04-03)
2. Sea Turtle Conservancy: STC Programs: Research: Tortuguero, Costa Rica
3. IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group: 2019 Red List Assessment Updates
4. Oryx (Rivas, Fernández and Marco): Nesting ecology and population trend of leatherback turtles at Pacuare Nature Reserve, Costa Rica (2015)
5. Mongabay Latam: Reserva Pacuare, un laboratorio natural de Costa Rica para conservar a la tortuga baula (2022-02)
6. La Nación: Marzo da inicio al desove de tortugas baula (2025-03-01)

We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.