Marino Ballena National Park

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

🐋 Humpback Whales Off the Whale's Tail

⏱ 1 day 🥾 Easy trails

🌍 #101 Global · 4.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ #18 in Central America #46 in Tropical Forest

South Pacific, Costa Rica 999 spp. recorded

Marino Ballena is Costa Rica's first marine national park, famous for its whale tail-shaped sandbar (tombolo) visible at low tide and two annual humpback whale migration seasons. The park protects 5,375 hectares of marine habitat along 15 km of coastline, including coral reefs, mangroves, and nesting beaches for hawksbill and olive ridley sea turtles.

9.123° N 83.750° W

Wildlife

⭐ Iconic Species

Humpback Whale

Megaptera novaeangliae

40–50% · Likely

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

40–50% · Likely

Scarlet Macaw

Ara macao

60–70% · Likely

Green Iguana

Iguana iguana

40–50% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Great Kiskadee

Pitangus sulphuratus

70–80% · Very likely

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura similis

70–80% · Likely

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

70–80% · Likely

Black Vulture

Coragyps atratus

60–70% · Likely

Scarlet-rumped Tanager

Ramphocelus passerinii

60–70% · Likely

Mantled Howler Monkey

Alouatta palliata

50–60% · Likely

Common Basilisk

Basiliscus basiliscus

50–60% · Likely

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

50–60% · Likely

Orange-chinned Parakeet

Brotogeris jugularis

50–60% · Likely

Blue-gray Tanager

Thraupis episcopus

50–60% · Likely

Red-lored Parrot

Amazona autumnalis

40–50% · Likely

Southern House Wren

Troglodytes musculus

40–50% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

Humpback Whale

Megaptera novaeangliae

40–50% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Mantled Howler Monkey

Alouatta palliata

50–60% · Likely

Central American White-faced Capuchin

Cebus imitator

40–50% · Likely

Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth

Choloepus hoffmanni

30–40% · Possible

Central American Agouti

Dasyprocta punctata

20–30% · Possible

White-nosed Coati

Nasua narica

Insufficient data

Variegated Squirrel

Sciurus variegatoides

20–30% · Possible

Brown-throated Sloth

Bradypus variegatus

10–20% · Possible

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin

Stenella attenuata

Insufficient data

Northern Tamandua

Tamandua mexicana

Insufficient data

Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine

Sphiggurus mexicanus

Insufficient data

Common Raccoon

Procyon lotor

0–10% · With luck

Dicotyles tajacu

Pecari tajacu

Insufficient data

⭐ Iconic Species

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

40–50% · Likely

Scarlet Macaw

Ara macao

60–70% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Great Kiskadee

Pitangus sulphuratus

70–80% · Very likely

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

70–80% · Likely

Black Vulture

Coragyps atratus

60–70% · Likely

Scarlet-rumped Tanager

Ramphocelus passerinii

60–70% · Likely

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

50–60% · Likely

Orange-chinned Parakeet

Brotogeris jugularis

50–60% · Likely

Blue-gray Tanager

Thraupis episcopus

50–60% · Likely

Red-lored Parrot

Amazona autumnalis

40–50% · Likely

Southern House Wren

Troglodytes musculus

40–50% · Likely

Black-mandibled Toucan

Ramphastos ambiguus

40–50% · Likely

Bananaquit

Coereba flaveola

40–50% · Likely

Social Flycatcher

Myiozetetes similis

40–50% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

Green Iguana

Iguana iguana

40–50% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura similis

70–80% · Likely

Common Basilisk

Basiliscus basiliscus

50–60% · Likely

White-throated Gecko

Gonatodes albogularis

40–50% · Likely

Common Caiman

Caiman crocodilus

40–50% · Likely

Border Anole

Anolis limifrons

30–40% · Possible

Mourning Gecko

Lepidodactylus lugubris

30–40% · Possible

Four-lined Ameiva

Holcosus quadrilineatus

30–40% · Possible

Common House Gecko

Hemidactylus frenatus

20–30% · Possible

Many-scaled Anole

Anolis polylepis

20–30% · Possible

Fer-de-lance

Bothrops asper

20–30% · Possible

Turniptail Gecko

Thecadactylus rapicauda

10–20% · Possible

Puffing Snake

Phrynonax poecilonotus

10–20% · Possible

📊 Most Spotted

Rosenberg's Gladiator Frog

Boana rosenbergi

30–40% · Possible

Giant Marine Toad

Rhinella horribilis

30–40% · Possible

Green and Black Dart-poison Frog

Dendrobates auratus

30–40% · Possible

Masked Tree Frog

Smilisca phaeota

20–30% · Possible

Savage's Thin-toed Frog

Leptodactylus savagei

20–30% · Possible

Red-eyed Treefrog

Agalychnis callidryas

Insufficient data

Granular Poison Frog

Oophaga granulifera

Insufficient data

Fitzinger's Robber Frog

Craugastor fitzingeri

10–20% · Possible

Milk Frog

Trachycephalus macrotis

10–20% · Possible

Guayaquil Dwarf Frog

Engystomops pustulosus

Insufficient data

Yellow Treefrog

Dendropsophus microcephalus

Insufficient data

Harlequin Treefrog

Dendropsophus ebraccatus

Insufficient data

Animal Events

🐢

Olive Ridley Turtle Nesting

JulAugSepOct

Olive Ridley (Pacific Ridley) sea turtles haul themselves ashore under cover of darkness to dig nests and lay their eggs, with the biggest arrivals timed to the waning moon. Later, tiny hatchlings scramble across the sand toward the surf.

Pacific Ridley

Lepidochelys olivacea

Insufficient data

🐋

Humpback Whale Season

JulAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarApr

Two humpback whale populations — one arriving from Antarctic waters, the other from the northern Pacific — converge in these warm shallows to breed and raise their newborn calves. Watch for spouts, breaching, and mothers gliding alongside young calves near the surface.

Humpback Whale

Megaptera novaeangliae

40–50% · Likely

🐦

Coastal Seabird Congregation

JanFebNov

Magnificent Frigatebirds hang almost motionless overhead on long angular wings while Brown Pelicans crash headlong into the surf, plunge-diving in squadrons for fish. Their swirling, wheeling flocks make one of the coast's most dependable bird spectacles.

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

40–50% · Likely

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

30–40% · Possible

Sighting Calendar

Chance of spotting each species, month by month

Species Total

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

50–60

60–70

60–70

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

30–40

30–40

0–10

10–20

10–20

20–30

50–60

80–90

40–50

30–40

20–30

Magnificent Frigatebird

40–50

40–50

50–60

50–60

30–40

30–40

30–40

10–20

30–40

30–40

50–60

40–50

40–50

40–50

50–60

40–50

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

60–70

40–50

70–80

70–80

50–60

40–50

50–60

40–50

30–40

20–30

30–40

30–40

40–50

40–50

40–50

30–40

70–80

70–80

70–80

60–70

80–90

80–90

80–90

80–90

80–90

70–80

80–90

80–90

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

50–60

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

50–60

60–70

Tropical Kingbird

60–70

50–60

50–60

40–50

70–80

80–90

70–80

70–80

70–80

80–90

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

Scarlet-rumped Tanager

50–60

60–70

60–70

80–90

70–80

50–60

50–60

60–70

70–80

70–80

60–70

50–60

Mantled Howler Monkey

50–60

40–50

40–50

60–70

50–60

70–80

60–70

70–80

30–40

30–40

40–50

60–70

Common Basilisk

50–60

60–70

50–60

60–70

50–60

60–70

50–60

60–70

50–60

10–20

60–70

40–50

Great-tailed Grackle

40–50

40–50

50–60

50–60

70–80

70–80

60–70

50–60

30–40

40–50

50–60

60–70

Orange-chinned Parakeet

40–50

40–50

50–60

40–50

60–70

70–80

50–60

60–70

60–70

50–60

50–60

50–60

Blue-gray Tanager

40–50

40–50

50–60

50–60

60–70

40–50

40–50

50–60

50–60

60–70

50–60

40–50

Red-lored Parrot

40–50

40–50

30–40

30–40

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

50–60

50–60

30–40

40–50

Southern House Wren

40–50

20–30

40–50

20–30

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

60–70

40–50

10–20

40–50

Animal Events

🐦 Coastal Seabird Congregation

🐢 Olive Ridley Turtle Nesting

🐋 Humpback Whale Season

Sighting Zones

Warm areas are where all species together are recorded most, so they track where people go as much as where animals are. For one species, see the map on its own page.

0.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Excellent

🐋 Humpback Whales Off the Whale's Tail

🦜

Biodiversity

Very good

How rich is the wildlife?

4.3 Global avg

4.3 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

Species by taxon

🦅 Birds

611

🐒 Mammals

203

🦎 Reptiles

121

🐸 Amphibians

64

999 Total Species

841 Global average across 280 parks

38 Threatened 65 Endemic

🔭

Sighting

Very good

How likely to see animals?

3.6 Global avg

3.9 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

🎯

Top-12 Avg Probability

62% Global avg

61%

📊

Coverage (220 species at ≥5% of 999 in the inventory)

24% Global avg

22%

🔀

Taxon variety in top 12 (9 bird, 2 reptile, 1 mammal)

47% Global avg

54%

🔭

Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)

132 Global avg

129

🌟

Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)

14 Global avg

15

⭐

High-prob species (>40%)

26 Global avg

27

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