The Best Thing to do in Puerto Vallarta with Kids – Fun, FREE, and Unforgettable

When we travel we’re always on the hunt for fun things to do that offer incredible value.
This for us is getting the best bang for our travel bucks- first and foremost, the quality of the experience must exceed the price.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico offers a whole range of fun activities for families to enjoy. So many that I can’t imagine only having a week or two to find and try the very best! We plan to be in P.V. for at least 6 weeks and we’re making it a priority to try as many family friendly activities as we can to find the ones that offer the best value.

One of the things we did when we first arrived in P.V. was look for things to do that involved seeing local wildlife in their natural environment.

We were very excited to find out about a small group of people spearheading a guardianship for vulnerable green sea turtles in Puerto Vallarta.

This is what we think is the best thing to do in Puerto Vallarta with kids

We learned about their important work via Facebook. Campamento Tortuguero Boca de Tomates is dedicated to the conservation of baby sea turtles in Puerto Vallarta.

The most common kind of sea  turtle found in the waters boarding Puerto Vallarta are Olive Ridley Turtles. The population for this marine species is considered to be vulnerable; their numbers are declining.

There are a number of contributing factors and in Puerto Vallarta development along coast line has added to their shrinking population.

This is where Campamento Tortugareo focuses their conservation efforts.

Female Olive Ridley's instinctively return to the beaches where they hatched to lay their eggs as adults. Every year from June to December they travel hundreds and in some cases thousand of miles to return home to nest. Over time the beaches where the turtles nest have changed due to development and other environmental factors.

Now when female turtles come ashore in Puerto Vallarta to dig their nests it can be along a busy thoroughfare. Then their eggs are at risk for being broken.

Campamento Tortugureo patrols for these nests and relocates them to their nursery to help the babies hatch.

The turtle nursery. Nests are relocated to this protected area to await hatching.

They watch and wait for mom turtles to complete their nesting ritual. When females complete burying their eggs and return to the sea, Campamento Tortugureo workers carefully dig up the eggs and transport them back to the nursery to a protected nest.

They are a not for profit organization so they invite the public to take part in releasing the baby turtles when they hatch via their Facebook page to encourage donations.

People who go to participate in a turtle release get to learn about the turtles that return to Puerto Vallarta and name and free two babies!

Campamento Tortuguero invites people to join whenever there are freshly hatched babies. The releases happen at sunset to minimize threats from natural predators like birds.

The night we went we were notified via Facebook in the early afternoon. All the information we needed to get to the release site was there.

When we arrived at the location we got a quick talk about the nesting behaviors of sea turtles and challenges their species faces.

Then we were given two babies!

Makai couldn't believe he could get so close and even touch them.

There was a group of about 20 people that evening. We all named our turtles and waited for the sun to set and the birds to lose interest in what we were doing.

When the moment was right a Camamento volunteer encouraged us to gently dump our tiny turtles on the beach to make their way to the sea.

We all bid our turtles a fond farewell watching as the tide slowly took them out into the bay.

The sun was setting, but you could still see their tiny heads come up for air as they made their way into the deep water.

It was an incredible way to spend a couple of hours in Puerto Vallarta.

Campamento Tortuguero Boca de Tomates protects and releases thousands of baby turtles every year.

Turtles nest from June to December and hatch after about 45 days incubation. If you plan to visit P.V. anytime between August and February make sure you follow Campamento's Facebook page to find out when the turtles are hatching!

We think helping baby turtles get a safe start is the best thing to do in Puerto Vallarta with kids. An amazing family travel experience we will never forget!