The Ultimate La Ventanilla Experience
La Ventanilla is one of the funnest and most educational adventures I have had since moving to Huatulco. While La Ventanilla is not in Huatulco, it is easily accessible from Huatulco by driving or taking a tour!
The biodiversity of La Ventanilla combined with the extensive conservation efforts makes this excursion one of the best day trips from Huatulco you can do as a family, with friends, or as a solo adventure!
What is La Ventanilla?
La Ventanilla is a small indigenous community located near Mazunte, Oaxaca in the district of San Pedro Pochutla. This little community is the absolute epitome of eco-tourism in Oaxaca and Mexico.
Since 1996, the people of La Ventanilla have taken it upon themselves to restore the mangrove forest that once lined its shores and protected the nearby lagoon. Through this process, they have become leaders in crocodile, turtle, bird, and deer conservation.
The La Ventanilla conservation community has been recognized by government conservation branches SEMARNAT and CONANP since 2002.
Now in 2022, more than 400 people visit La Ventanilla every day, learning about the importance of protecting Oaxaca’s marine and freshwater ecosystems!
What do you do at La Ventanilla?
The La Ventanilla ecotour experience has three main parts, the Crocodile Boat Tour, a Bird Watching expedition, and a Turtle Release. You can choose to do one, two, or all of these experiences during your time in La Ventanilla. I chose to do the crocodiles and the turtles, but here is more info on all three!
The meeting point is in a hut very near the beach and serves as the main office for La Ventanilla Community Ecotourism.
Part 1 – The Crocodiles
- When you arrive in La Ventanilla, you will meet your tour guide and the rest of your group (about 8-10 people) for a quick overview of the tour and information about the region. The guide will do a little demonstration of what makes the sand in La Ventanilla special too!
- The guide will then lead you on a relaxing 10-15minute walk to the lagoon. The trail is down a dirt path with no elevation change. You might even see a few crocs on your way!
- At the end of the walk comes the boat! Your guide will help you don your life jackets and scramble into the small rowboat. You don’t even have to paddle!
- Your guide will paddle you around the lagoon while giving the history of the mangroves and the conservation process. The guides are very knowledgeable about everything in the area! You will see lots of birds and iguanas as well as the main event – the crocodiles! The boat ride takes about 45min – an hour.
- The guide will return you to the launch point and from there you can head back down the trail to the office, or to the beach for the turtle release!
Part 2 – The Turtle Release
The turtle release has to be done after the sun sets, so you might have some time after the croc tour to eat at the restaurant or walk along the beach enjoying the sunset. The turtle incubator is also in this area, so you can peek inside and see all the piles of baby turtles waiting for their time!
Once the sun has set, the La Ventanilla staff will gather you at the incubator. The biologist will give a short lesson on the types of sea turtles we have in Oaxaca, when they lay their eggs, and various details about the life cycle of the different types of turtles.
The crowd might be quite big at this point, but not everyone will be doing the release. The staff will then call by name the people who have paid for the release, and hand you a coconut shell.
With your shell in hand, head down toward the ocean! There will be a line in the sand that the guides will instruct you to stand behind.
When they’re ready, the guide will walk down the line and put a baby turtle in everyone’s coconut shell. It’s important you don’t touch the turtles with your hands, which is why they give the shell.
Depending on the time of year, you might get to do a turtle release as I did, or you will have the opportunity to watch the turtles spawning! After the sun sets, the turtles will make their way onto La Ventanilla’s long beach to lay their eggs in the warm sand dunes.
Why is La Ventanilla worth visiting?
I had the opportunity to visit La Ventanilla with my mom in 2022 and we had the absolute best time! We learned so much and had a really wonderful experience.
- Support local communities.
To me, this is always the most important thing. The community of La Ventanilla took it upon themselves to save the ecosystem after the 1998 hurricanes destroyed the lagoon and the trees. Supporting them is the best way to ensure the project continues! - Learn something!
A visit to La Ventanilla is not just fun, but also an educational experience. We learned so much about the importance of mangroves, how crocodiles live and move about, and even released baby turtles! While I (20-something) and my mum (50 something) thoroughly enjoyed La Ventanilla from Huatulco, it would be an excellent adventure for families and kids. - Enjoy a bucket-list experience
I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine paddling a boat next to some crocodiles too many times in my life! This was such a unique and fun experience to be so close to such massive creatures!
How much time do you need in La Ventanilla?
There are two main options for experiencing La Ventanilla, either as an afternoon and evening experience or as an all-day adventure!
Option #1 – Full Day tour of La Ventanilla and area
You can experience the crocodiles and turtles in La Ventanilla in about 4 hours, plus transport time if you get on a later tour. So if you are short on time, you might choose that option! However, if you can spare a day in Huatulco, I highly recommend the full-day La Ventanilla experience for several reasons.
#1 – You get the full La Ventanilla experience! The all-day tours accomplish so much and you will see way more of the region than if you were to go by yourself.
#2 – Booking a tour for La Ventanilla is the only way to guarantee service in your preferred language. So if you don’t speak Spanish, you will definitely want to arrange a tour ahead of time to ensure an English guide.
# 3 – It’s less stressful! Going to La Ventanilla on your own is fine if you live in the area or have a reliable means of transport, but arranging alternate transportation to this little beach village can be stressful if you’re not familiar and comfortable with mexican transport!
The Best La Ventanilla Tours from Huatulco
For a full-day experience, I highly recommend this all-day tour of Mazunte and La Ventanilla. You will have the opportunity to visit Mazunte Cosmetics and a chocolate factory in addition to the crocodiles and turtles at La Ventanilla!
Click here to save your seat on the 4 -in -1 La Ventanilla Tour
Tour of Mazunte, La Ventanilla, and Zipolite
If you are looking to squeeze in several of the hotspots along the coastline of San Pedro Pochutla, this is a great tour! You will get to see the turtle centre in Mazunte (which is worth visiting on its own!), La Ventanilla, and Zipolite, Mexico’s only sanctioned clothing-optional beach.
Click here to book the Mazunte, Zipolite, and La Ventanilla tour!
Option # 2 – La Ventanilla experience on a budget / Afternoon Experience
If you are just wanting to squeeze in this experience on a limited schedule, you can go on your own and pay a lesser fee than you would with a tour! If you do head out yourself, I recommend arriving in the late afternoon, around 3 or 4 pm.
Schedule
3:00-4:00 pm – Arrive at La Ventanilla beach and speak with a staff member at the ticket booth. They will let you know which tours have availability.
4:00-6:00 pm – Enjoy your tour! The crocodile boat ride takes about an hour.
6:00 – 7:30 pm – Eat dinner on the beach and enjoy the gorgeous sunset.
7:30 – 8:30 pm – Take part in the turtle release or observe the turtle spawning!
~ 10:00 pm – arrive back in Huatulco.
The last tour for the crocodiles is at 5 pm, and the sun sets around 6:30-7:30 depending on the time of year.
By arriving in the late afternoon, you will have time to paddle with the crocodiles or do a bird-watching tour, then enjoy the sunset and the turtle experience!
How to get to La Ventanilla?
If you are not taking a tour from Huatulco, you can still access La Ventanilla from the Bays of Huatulco by a few different methods!
#1 Driving
I don’t generally recommend tourists drive themselves, but if you have rented a car you easily get to La Ventanilla in about 2 hours from La Crucecita.
If you would like to rent a car in Huatulco, the best place to compare prices and cars is through Discover Cars.
#2 Take a Taxi
The best and most comfortable way to get to La Ventanilla from Huatulco is by taxi. Taxi drivers are knowledgeable guides of the region and you don’t have to worry about learning the nuances of driving in Huatulco! Taxi drivers will gladly take you from Huatulco to La Ventanilla for the day, or just to drop you off. This would cost about 800 pesos.
#3 Take Local Transit
If you are looking for a budget-friendly way to get to La Ventanilla or Mazunte from Huatulco, look no further than a Colectivo or the bus! You can easily get a colectivo or bus to Pochutla for about 80-100 pesos, and then another colectivo from Pochutla to La Ventanilla or Mazunte.
Where to Stay in La Ventanilla
If you’re anything like me, a day trip to La Ventanilla may not be enough, especially if you want to stay until the evening to do the turtle release!
If you decide to stay for a night or two, you will most likely head to nearby Mazunte for accommodations.
If you want to continue the eco-tourism theme of your excursion, you might like Casa Mazunte Tierra Viva. These beachside bungalows are right on Rinconcito beach, near the path to Punta Cometa.
More Mazunte Hotels on Booking.com
Booking.comI hope this convinced you that La Ventanilla is worth the trip from Huatulco! We are so lucky to have so many incredible things to do along the Oaxacan coast.
