The Leap | turtles + plastic ocean conservation in Costa Rica

I had my sights set on travelling to Central America this summer and due to my friends having other commitments I found myself organizing a solo trip to Costa Rica. A friend of mine suggested going on an organized trip and she then recommended The Leap having used them in her gap year to go to Tanzania in which she had a great experience teaching and volunteering.

Before flying, the three-week leapers arranged to meet at the airport and we met the rest of the 6-week leapers out there who had arrived a few days before us. We thought it was strange at the time that we didn’t all start the ‘program’ as one group but we realized that no specific program had been planned for either the 3 week or 6 week leap volunteers.

The trip that we had signed up to was entitled ‘Costa Rica Turtles’ but the turtle conserving was very minimal. This element of our trip was brought forward to our second week of the trip when we asked our camp leader about it which also made room for a trip to Monteverde. When at the turtle project there was a lot of free time. It became apparent that project organizsers had been expecting us in the third week of our trip and not the second and therefore volunteering tasks hadn’t been prepared for us. The highlight of our stay here was of course seeing mothering turtles laying their eggs which was extremely special. However on a 3 week turtle conservation trip to Costa Rica, 9 hours of turtle conservation did not match up to the trips description. Another group in our camp had a much more hands on experience as they attended in the third week as planned, having busy days volunteering and even dance classes included.

Furthermore, the leap had described the Spanish lessons as optional, 45 minute extras to our trip should we be interested. However, it became clear these were part of our daily schedule and lasted for an hour and a half each day. Whilst it was great to learn Spanish, it was not the main reason we were there and the trip began to feel like something quite different to what had been sold to us.

The most memorable parts of the trip were the extra activities that we paid for which included a waterfall tour, a day tour on ATVs, a trip to Monteverde and surfing lessons. These varied in price from $45 for the waterfall tour to $160 for the surfing lessons. This added up which became costly especially when the trip was expensive in the first instance. It was lucky that my group had budgeted for these as the trip would have felt empty without them. Before arrived, I was aware that Costa Rica was expensive but I did not anticipate the extra activities to take up most of my budget considering that we were already on an organized trip.

The last week of the trip worked well when we mentioned to our leaders that we wanted to be busy and more involved. Our itinerary then included daily surfing, Spanish and volunteering - it was a shame that the trip did not start of in this vain. The most enjoyable volunteering activity we took part in was the beach clean-up. This was the most efficiently ran exercise and we could see we were making a direct difference to Banana Beach. It was done by a smaller group of volunteers that used at the project meaning that we could get hands on. Meli, Brandon and Edwin were all great leaders and we felt particularly safe and encouraged when working with them. It was a shame that the three week leapers did not get involved in the bridge project that the six week leapers started after our arrival.

Overall I had an amazing time and made some really great friends. I would recommend this trip to gap year/students looking for a chilled out holiday with some volunteering but not as a turtle conservation/volunteering program in the first instance. I would also recommend checking items on the kit list with the leap (i.e mosquito net and sleeping bag) before coming as it was not necessary to have these things.

I had a really fantastic time overall but I found I was promised things that weren't delivered... Volunteering and spanish lessons were spaced apart by 1 or 2 hrs so we wasted time hanging around at camp. There were no turtles this time of year, and the animal sanctuary they replaced it with was fine but not what I had signed up to the programme for. Meli Sophie and Pablo were awesome but when they left we had no group leader and volunteering felt half-hearted. It would have made a big difference if we had group leaders that were there for the whole time.
I wasn't told much about the volunteering and I was not expecting to be doing litter-picking and recycling for the majority of days. We taught english to children on friday mornings which was fun and helped my spanish a lot.
The excursions at the weekend were expensive- Isla Tortuga was $60 and the waterfalls trip was $35. I was not expecting to have to pay that much when I had payed over £4,000 already. We also had to pay for the zipline and canopy tour in Monteverde which came to $85... I was surprised this was not included! I don't remember being told this when I booked the trip. Bring plenty of spending money because Teresa is expensive and you will want to do trips at the weekend- for example renting quad bikes was about $60 per quad for 24hrs.
The surf lessons were great and I picked it up really quickly. I only had 4 lessons included and it was $50 per lesson after that which I had not prepared for in my budget. I would recommend buying your own surfboard there if you take to it and avoid going during rainy season as the surf conditions aren't ideal.
Santa Teresa has a great vibe and nightlife, and the locals are friendly! I really would recommend Jakera. I think it was the people and location that made the trip. It felt like home and after 2 months I was so sad to leave.
A big thank you to the staff as well they were fantastic. When I brought up issues they were quickly resolved and compensated for. I felt like the staff at Jakera would do anything to make your experience better, and the issue was more the Leap not giving the right information about the programme. My biggest complaint is that I expected more for the amount of money I payed. I think the agency fees are excessive- for example If you book directly with Jakera it is 2 weeks shorter but you save about £500 and you have 8 yoga lessons included.
The leap were however very helpful when I booked the trip and answered all my questions.. booking was super easy and I felt very supported during the trip. So I suppose this is the extra you're paying for and if it's your first time travelling and money is not an issue then you might find this helpful.

(If you want to receive £100 off your trip use the code 39733 in your booking form)
My brother and I went to Costa Rica in July and had a great time. The house we stayed in was really nice and all the staff working there were extremely helpful. I would 100% recommend this trip. Upon arrival we were greeted in a lovely hotel by a boy named Marco who was our « guide » during the trip, we then travelled to the house in Puntarenas which took about 6 hours. We personally stayed for 3 weeks and did lots of activities, the only sad thing was that we were looking forward to turtle conservation, however July was not to right time to visit because it is not hatching season. I will definitely be going back in October at some point to help with turtle hatching.

One of my favorite memories from my trip to Costa Rica was the first time I released a baby turtle into the ocean. I was immediately lucky because most baby turtles crawl out of their nests in the dead of night, so you don't get to enjoy the sight of seeing them walk to the water when it's so dark out. When I saw my first baby turtle it was just before the sun went down, so it was still incredibly bright out! Watching all the babies push their little flippers against the sand as they fight to get to the water is something else. They are so excited to be alive! It's something so wonderfully inspiring that I will always remember.

Later when I got back to camp after all the babies were swimming away, one of my new Costa Rican friends asked me if I was a mom yet. I knew what he meant right away and proudly exclaimed, "Why yes I am!" I'm a big fan of Game Of Thrones, so now I feel at one with the "Mother of Dragons" herself, Daenerys Targaryen - now I am the "Mother of Turtles."

This trip has left me with a group of life long friends from around the world, experiences that have plus will affect me forever, and skills to help me through life. Everyday was a new adventure, from building hatcheries for turtle eggs to teaching English at a local school to playing volleyball with the Costa Rican Cost Guard to hearing stories from past poachers to watching a turtle lay eggs to have a sing-a-long with the group. I would highly recommend this trip.

Every day was a new adventure! seeing waterfalls, surfing, milking cows, living with locals and saving turtles, hot weather, rainforests, exotic animals, friendly team members were the highlights for me!