From Huatulco: Turtle Release & Bioluminescence

We would definitely recommend this activity. Was very interesting plus Lamberto our guide for the day plus Jose the helper where very noligable of the turtles. Thx again Lamberto

Gus from Lamby Tours was our private tour guide (group of 4 total). The drive is long 1.5 hours each way from the cruise terminal, but WELL worth it! The turtle sanctuary assists gathering the eggs after they are laid & safeguarding them until hatched. We were each able to release approximately 12 turtles that had hatched just several hours beforehand! An incredible event I will never forget

To release the day old turtles was humbling. The passion for these turtles is obvious, to dedicate their lives to this commitment is awesome.

Gustavo, our guide, was absolutely amazing. He was fluent in English, entertaining, and shared lots of local info with us. He also clearly defined for us what would happen at each point of the trip and went with us to act as interpreter for the turtle release. The turtles were the highlight IMO! Gustavo timed the trip so we would have time to eat and enjoy the beach in Escondido before the bioluminescence experience. The lagoon was a bit disappointing as we had to swim under a tent to see the effect, but that is a part of the natural phenomenon. There were some very loud, unruly kids on the same boat, which lessened the experience. The only real negative was that we weren't told upon booking about the construction on Highway 200, or that we would be traveling over it in the dark, which was terrifying. The construction schedule required a stop of 45 minutes near the top, which meant we weren't back in Huatulco until well after midnight. It would have been nice to have some warning ahead of time.

If you stay in Huatulco, this full day tour is perfect for an experience in nature. The best was setting free more than 50+ baby turtles from the santuary and watching them going to the sea. The road is long, expect a bit of traffic and a rural sightseeing, be ready to get wet and enjoy the natural landscape. We were fortunate to see a crocodile!

My family and I had a great time doing this tour. Lamberto was very polite and knowledgeable. He knew a great deal about the turtles and the bioluminescence and told us all about it before we got to the place. Made the long trip a lot shorter. Would definitely recommend! And if we ever visit Huatulco again, I’ll make sure to get my tours with them. They are very professional.

Highly recommended, the best tourist guide company of Huatulco, very safe, professional, friendly and polite, I ask for private transport and was amazing, I got 3 different tours and activities and I find the best prices with Lambytours, waterfalls tour, Bahias de Huatulco tour, turtle releasing and bioluminescence, If you will be vacay on Huatulco definitely you have to do it with Lambytours

Our tour was wonderful. Our guide Fabian with Paraiso tours took so much time to help us. He made sure everyone on the tour was looked after. The turtle release was amazing and swimming with the phytoplankton magical. It’s a long trip but worth it.

What an amazing day! Our guide was Tito who was very friendly and spoke good English and took us to some great spots. The journey was quite long from Huatulco but we stopped at a chocolate factory, and at Zicatela on our way. We got to the turtle nest sanctuary just before the sunset which was stunningly beautiful, learned about how the volunteers collect eggs and re-bury them to ensure they hatch safely. The babies were then brought out in a basket which I was fortunate enough to carry down to the waters edge, we were then each given a few turtle hatchlings to release individually and watch as they made their way toward the ocean. It was an incredible experience and I would highly recommend to anyone who has an interest in turtle conservation. Later we drove to the lagoon where we were taken on a boat to locate the bioluminescant plankton. The sky was so clear and the stars so bright they reflected in the water of the lagoon. Once the plankton had been located we were able to splash the water from the boat, it looked like stars rolling down your skin, and then we were allowed to swim, the glow was beautiful and so magical. This was an unforgettable experience and so very worth the long drive.

Edger Escobar, our guide, was so special. The turtle release was a fun, hart warming experience. But, Edgar’s knowledge and experience added to the adventure. I highly recommend this tour.

Turtle experience, and bio illumination were both very cool. We also had an additional stop at a chocolate shop, which was a nice surprise. Although the experiences were very special, they were also somewhat short. It would be nice the have more information or things to do at each stop, as it was fairly expensive compared to if we had done the same activities independently. For example when we got back from the lagoon, it would have been nice to have some food waiting for us, as it wasn’t feasible for us to purchase since we left our money on the bus while we swam.

Releasing baby turtles as the Sun was setting over the Pacific Ocean, and waves are crashing into the beach. memorable moment I'll never forget about. Unfortunately during the Bioluminescence part of the tour we didn't get to see much action of it during the lagoon ride. From my experience with Bioluminescence it's a hit or miss. Did stargaze & see the milky way while at the lagoon since it's a location with little light pollution. Great hospitality from the tour agency, during the bookings I had with them. Would book again

We loved everything about this tour. Edgar Escobar was an excellent tour guide and spoke good English. He was also very knowledgeable about the area. We had some time before the turtle release, so he suggested doing another extra tour that was right by the turtles. We took him up on the offer and we were able to see Yupi the monkey, feed some deer, and see a lot of crocodiles. Just make sure you bring extra pesos to pay for it. The turtle release was a wonderful experience. We each got to release a few turtles. After the turtle release, we went on to the Bioluminescence tour. We boarded a boat for a short ride to the middle of the lake. The moon was only a crescent so we were able to easily see it. We also stopped by a tent that was floating on the water that made it even easier to see the Bioluminescence glow. The water was really warm which made it nice to swim in. We would highly recommend this tour with Lamby and Edgar.

not as great as others claim. Confusion about pick up times. The drivers who called me to tell me when I was being picked were poor communicators. For me, this was two events, not one. I didn't realize the tour operator was in Huatulco and not in Puerto Escondido where i was staying. The turtle release was "cute". I was taken back to my hotel and then waited 1.5 hours for the driver to pick me up to go to the lagoon. He spoke almost no English. The bioluminescence was not impressive. The captain of the boat spoke some English. It had rained for 2 days so I suspect the plankton did not receive enough light to fluoresce, hence not very visible. The Mexican family of 3 people on the tour with me were able to get much more thorough explanations from both the driver and the captain. This tour was for me the worst experience with Trip Advisor, given the cost, poor organization. I have booked more than 10 tours with Trip Advisor in the past.

This was a great trip. Edgar was a great driver and also spoke very good English. There was only us and 1 other couple. We stopped for a chocolate and cocoa demo and sampling and also a fruit stand for mangos a fruit along the way. The turtle release was fun and then we had dinner on Playa Zicatella in Puerto Escondido. The bioluminescence was fun more for being on boat at night and looking and stars and fish were jumping right into our boat. Entrance fees were included. It was a late night getting back but a very worthwhile trip.

Edgar Escobar was an excellent tour guide. He spoke English fluently and was very knowledgeable about everything. Due to cancelations, we were the only guests so he personalized our tour some. The tour itself was nothing like the pictures; although we very much enjoyed releasing our allotted 2 turtles each and the sunset was amazing. The so called glowing water was an adventure on a boat up river on a lake in the dark and then we were to swim to try and notice the glows or sparkles or whatever it was; we didn’t really see anything worth the long drive up. Nowhere in the papers did we read we would be swimming and we looked. We improvised though. We were picked up at Secrets resort about 3:20 and did not arrive until 10 hours later. Very long and all those speed bumps on their highway and speeds made for some dizziness and I don’t experience car sickness. Also, after paying for your fee, entrance fees to the two stops, tips , banjos fees, and dinner we spent at least $120 per person. Beware. I have other questions concerning our tour, but I think I will take that up elsewhere.

We had the best time on this tour! Not only did we get the opportunity to experience a turtle release and the magical bioluminescence, our guide Edgar explained the all of the important culture, history and heritage this area has to offer. The drive was worth it for the experience and Edgar made it interesting the whole way! The street tacos and stories convinced us to book another tour the next day! Awesome experience!

We had the best experience with Edgar. He was extremely friendly and was happy to make a few extra spots. We stopped for a coconut drink on the side of the road, had an ice cream stop, saw a beautiful sunset, had the best tacos and still fit in the turtle release and bioluminescence. We would highly recommend!

It must be mentioned this tour started in Huatulco, as such it has an affect on the rating. This had its good and bad points: Bad Points: Entrance fees to both the turtle release and the bioluminescence are NOT included in the price of the tour. Our tour guide was very friendly, however not very fluent in English, therefor making the journey very long and short on conversation and exchange of information about the area. Good points: The turtle release was interesting, individuals were given 1 baby turtle to release into the ocean. The bonus is the beautiful sunset. Bad Point: Nothing to see here except for the caged area where the eggs are transferred to after being taken from their "nest" in order to avoid them from being poached for either food or for trade. Total time spent on the beach approx. 30 minutes. Travel time from Huatulco was over 2 1/2 hours, with a quick stop at a chocolate farm and 30 minutes at Puerto Escondido Good Point: Bioluminescence the boat ride was comfortable and pleasant. You must remember these organism travel with the currents and are not always at the same location. The local residents have to locate them daily. The bioluminescent effect is best seen in the dark The darker the better...as such if you happen to be there on a full moon and the sky is clear they have to set up "darkness tents" which you have to swim into in order to appreciate these organisms. The experience is unique and very interesting. Bad point: The darkness tents are approximately 20 feet long and 10 feet wide (this is only an approximation and I may be wrong on these dimensions). That is not bad if you have 10 people going in. In our case we had our group of 10 plus a second boat of approx 20 individuals. Needless to say things became very crowded, noisy, and confusing in the tent. Under these circumstances I would not suggest this to anyone who suffers from claustrophobia to enter the tent. Time to travel from Turtle release 30 minutes, time spent at the lagoon approx.45 minutes Travel back time from Bioluminescence to Huatulco approx. 3 hours. Total travel time approx. 6 hours Total time at Turtle release and Bioluminescence approx. 1 hour Wonderful tour if you are closer to these attractions

I can't say enough great things about this tour and Lamby tours! This was the second tour we booked with Lamby and it totally exceeded our expectations. Our guide was Edgar and he was very, very informative, very polite, kind and friendly. He was also bilingual! He went above and beyond to make sure our trip was unforgettable. Our guide drove us past traditional mezcal farms on our way to the turtle release and gave us a magnificent tour of the turtle sanctuary when we were there. Our guide was very accommodating and even recommended a roadside taqueria where we enjoyed the BEST tacos we had our entire trip!! Swimming in the warm bioluminescent waters felt like a dream and I can't believe we were able to fit SO many amazing moments into just one day. Thank you Edgar and Lamby Tours!

I highly recommend this tour it was great. Our guide Edgar was fabulous! He was very knowledgeable about the area and he had a great sense of humour.

Our guide Edgar was entertaining, friendly, knowledgeable, and bilingual. We chose to only do the turtle release (for a lower cost) and skip swimming in Manialtepec to avoid crocodiles. We messaged Lamby Tours on WhatsApp to reserve and customize our day, and they were patient and gracious when our group changed dates, number of people, etc. multiple times. Because we were only doing the turtle release, we had some extra time, so Edgar drove us to a local family who makes and sells chocolate products that we were able to sample and option to purchase. It was great to have Edgar to translate to English for our group during the chocolate tour and the turtle release because both the chocolatier and the sanctuary volunteers speak only Spanish. We didn't get to spend much time at the sanctuary viewing the turtles before releasing them because there was an unusual downpour before sunset. Despite the rain, we loved watching the baby turtles try to make it to sea before dark and supporting the program for their species rehabilitation. There were tons of wild turtlings on the beach too, be careful not to step on them!

My 9 year old son chose this tour as a birthday present, there were six of us (five adults and a 9 year old) so we purchased it on a private basis. Our guide Edgar was knowledgeable and entertaining. The tour did everything we expected and was as advertised, the baby turtles experience was pretty amazing. We had an amazing day.

This was by far my absolute favorite tour. Lamby took my family and I all over the place. This tour was an all day event and went on till about midnight. But it was a very beautiful drive everywhere we went. Lamby had tons of information to give as we drove through different towns. After we released the turtles we drove to Puerto Escondido for horseback riding and that was seriously awesome. The guides/horse owners have trained these horses in such a way that makes them seemingly effortless to ride. After that it was late enough and it was time to see bioluminescence up close. If you have not experienced being in water that glows around you as you move in it then this is definitely something you’ll think is out of this world. Also it’s so dark out that you can see stars that you wouldn’t normally be able to see because of the light pollution most of us are used to. I highly recommend this tour. All in all Lamby Tours, I feel, provides the inexperienced tourist the safest and the funnest experience. As a primarily English speaking person I’ll be honest when I say this: I was glad that I had someone in my family group that spoke and understood Spanish. It made things easier when it came to needed things interpreted or something explained in English from Spanish. But it’s most definitely not a deal breaker. Lamby has been doing tours for Americans and Canadians for many years.

Excellent tour . We had a great time . Lamby and Ulises were great. Very knowledgeable and explain everything to us. We would highly recommend this tour

The drive is long but well worth it. Our Lamby Tours guide was knowledgeable and professional. Highly recommend.

My experience was very impressionable. I recommend Lamby Tours to anyone looking to explore the area. Both my family and friends and I will definitely be returning to Lamby next time we return to Huatulco.

We had an amazing time with señor Polvora today. We were lucky enough to see dolphins and turtles in the morning and he did an amazing job showing us all of the local bays in Huatulco. Great person with a calm deminer and over 20 years of experience. Use him with confidence!

Lamby is Awesome!! Very affordable and knowledgeable, Super nice and accommodating! We will definitely call him every time we’re in Huatulco❤️He took us to the waterfalls, turtle release,crocodiles and bioluminescence 💕

If you're planning on visiting Huatulco, I highly recommend you use Lamby Tours he was very experienced, professional, caring and safe. We had a great time. When we visit Huatulco again we will defently use Lamby Tours.

It was an unparalleled experience, to be able to see and release the turtles in the sand and watch them without expecting anything enter the sea, following their natural instinct of them. Without a doubt an experience that we must all go through and know that we are contributing to the continuity of that species and in the hope that one day not too distant, that turtle returns to that beach to lay down its eggs and continue with the cycle. Thanks to the great team that Lamby Tours has, we had a wonderful time. Keep it up Lamberto, thank you for your excellent service!!!!

Bo is like the pictures. The operators just to sell you paint it beautiful but it is not always so. I went to two places, in the lagoon they put us in a tent in the water to appreciate it which was not worth it, I also went to the beach the delivery at night to appreciate it but it was worse. Don't be fooled by tour operators. It is not always possible to appreciate the phenomenon.

From the first day it exceeded our expectations (turtle release and Bioluminicence), we felt super safe on the way to the turtle release in Playa Escobilla, the excellent service, the unforgettable experience, and at night in the lagoon we were able to SWIM in the Bioluminicence, an experience Once in a lifetime it seems like something out of a movie. At the end, back to Huatulco, a not very long road But Not very difficult and slow, we never felt insecure, on the contrary, Mr. Lamby was totally comfortable, attentive and anticipating the needs of the road!!!

Turtle release is a totally worthwhile experience. It is a long activity in duration, so I recommend to bring water and some snacks. For children highly recommended.

Excellent option for that tour, it is a very pleasant experience, we highly recommend it. The guide David very friendly and attentive!

The release of turtles is one of the most beautiful experiences I have had, to improve could be to be more vigilant that people do not touch the little animals that are inside the baskets to release and give more indications about how to manipulate them and be vigilant that are not after the release line both those of the tour and the locals that are watching since it risks hurting the animal that is being released.

As an experience is very good but the Service very bad.. we expect a customer 45min , very long journey since it is not necessary to go to Zipolita beach and eat in tacos is to waste time.. take two people who were not from the tour I did not think it was collective.. honestly the Service I did not like

Una buena experiencia y el guía el Sr Alejandro Aponte muy bueno y con mucho conocimiento, te la pasas muy bien

Releasing turtles and swimming in the lagoon experiencing bioluminescence are two unforgettable experiences. Lamberto an excellent guide. Drive safely and know the attractions with a lot of experience. Tour recommended for families with children who are comfortable swimming.

Super experience! My son, husband and I really enjoyed the visit to Zicatela. Also incredible was the release of the turtles and the visit to the lagoon to swim and enjoy the bioluminescence. 100% recommended! Thank you, Lamby!

I consider it a very emotional tour as you understand the importance of preserving our Mood by being in contact with the beautiful and fragile baby turtles. Also in the bioluminescence activity the importance of the fauna and flora that inhabit the lagoons is highlighted. The guide Ulysses was very professional and knows a lot about the subject.

The experience was sensational, Mr. Lamberto an excellent guide and excellent host, I highly recommend him, find him and hire his services, they will not regret it, he took us to eat delicious local food and the places to which he took us spectacular.

A wonderful tour, with lots of learning and also excellent attention from the Enterprise Guide. We happy was more than we expected.

Lamby, my respects and admiration. We did the turtle release tour and it was a wonderful experience. We also recommended a place to eat on the beach and the food, price and excellent service. And finally we had the opportunity to enjoy bioluminescence. Always attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. I recommend 100%, you will not regret it. Keep the successes going!!!

AMAZING! Safe recommendation, Lamby is attentive, qualified, patient and fun. You learn a lot and feel safe. It’s an experience you won’t forget: Turtles and bioluminescence are magical. Lamby tours guarantees an excellent experience on any of your tours.

We loved the tour, super recommended, the release of turtles and bioluminescence are very amazing activities. Everything was done is the time set in the itinerary and the operator explained absolutely everything to us, clearing our doubts and was always attentive to what we needed.

It was a very rewarding experience. Mr. Lamby is a great person, honest and treats the tourist very well has very good vibe. I recommend it 100%

It's a beautiful tour Mr. Lamby is a very friendly person and explains everything very clearly about Oaxaca the turtles violated my license is very attentive, and he was always watching us

Excellent tour, highly recommended, Lamby is an excellent guide, took us to excellent places to eat, very good explanation of each activity.