Marino Ballena National Park
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
🐋 Humpback Whales Off the Whale's TailMarino 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
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Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
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Magnificent Frigatebird
Fregata magnificens
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Scarlet Macaw
Ara macao
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Green Iguana
Iguana iguana
📊 Most Spotted
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana
Ctenosaura similis
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Scarlet-rumped Tanager
Ramphocelus passerinii
Mantled Howler Monkey
Alouatta palliata
Common Basilisk
Basiliscus basiliscus
Great-tailed Grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
Orange-chinned Parakeet
Brotogeris jugularis
Blue-gray Tanager
Thraupis episcopus
Red-lored Parrot
Amazona autumnalis
Southern House Wren
Troglodytes musculus
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
Mantled Howler Monkey
Alouatta palliata
Central American White-faced Capuchin
Cebus imitator
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth
Choloepus hoffmanni
Central American Agouti
Dasyprocta punctata
Variegated Squirrel
Sciurus variegatoides
Brown-throated Sloth
Bradypus variegatus
Common Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Bottlenose Dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
White-nosed Coati
Nasua narica
Pantropical Spotted Dolphin
Stenella attenuata
Northern Tamandua
Tamandua mexicana
Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine
Sphiggurus mexicanus
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Scarlet-rumped Tanager
Ramphocelus passerinii
Great-tailed Grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
Orange-chinned Parakeet
Brotogeris jugularis
Blue-gray Tanager
Thraupis episcopus
Red-lored Parrot
Amazona autumnalis
Southern House Wren
Troglodytes musculus
Black-mandibled Toucan
Ramphastos ambiguus
Bananaquit
Coereba flaveola
Social Flycatcher
Myiozetetes similis
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana
Ctenosaura similis
Common Basilisk
Basiliscus basiliscus
White-throated Gecko
Gonatodes albogularis
Common Caiman
Caiman crocodilus
Border Anole
Anolis limifrons
Mourning Gecko
Lepidodactylus lugubris
Four-lined Ameiva
Holcosus quadrilineatus
Common House Gecko
Hemidactylus frenatus
Many-scaled Anole
Anolis polylepis
Fer-de-lance
Bothrops asper
Turniptail Gecko
Thecadactylus rapicauda
Puffing Snake
Phrynonax poecilonotus
📊 Most Spotted
Rosenberg's Gladiator Frog
Boana rosenbergi
Giant Marine Toad
Rhinella horribilis
Green and Black Dart-poison Frog
Dendrobates auratus
Masked Tree Frog
Smilisca phaeota
Savage's Thin-toed Frog
Leptodactylus savagei
Fitzinger's Robber Frog
Craugastor fitzingeri
Milk Frog
Trachycephalus macrotis
Red-eyed Treefrog
Agalychnis callidryas
Granular Poison Frog
Oophaga granulifera
Guayaquil Dwarf Frog
Engystomops pustulosus
Yellow Treefrog
Dendropsophus microcephalus
Harlequin Treefrog
Dendropsophus ebraccatus
Recent sightings in Marino Ballena National Park
LIVEiNaturalistAnimal Events
1Humpback Whale Season
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.
2Coastal Seabird Congregation
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.
Sighting Calendar
Average chance of spotting the park's most-spotted species, month by month
- 1Humpback Whale Season
- 2Coastal Seabird Congregation
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
Essentials
Climate
What visitors saw
So much so that when we were still driving to our Air BnB, in our rented Suzuki SUV, she knew to pull over before crossing Crocodile Bridge so we could see all the crocs in the water below.
We had encountered multiple mother-baby whales during our whale watching tour from Uvita.
We headed out at speed and very quickly came across several more boats, and despite all the cautioning words from the guide about "you might not see anything" we came across two Humpback Whale adults, a male and a female, plus a young calf.
It’s fun to drive through the countryside, scanning the trees for monkeys and sloths—creatures we’ve spotted often and almost everywhere.
Quick answers
What animals can you see in Marino Ballena National Park?
The most likely sightings are Great Kiskadee (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers), Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers), Tropical Kingbird (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers), Black Vulture (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers), Scarlet-rumped Tanager (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers) — among 999 recorded vertebrate species, based on citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to visit Marino Ballena National Park for wildlife?
June has the highest combined sighting rate for the park's top species in our month-by-month GBIF data. The full sighting calendar on this page shows each species' best months.
Can you see Humpback Whale in Marino Ballena National Park?
Yes — about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Humpback Whale sighting in Marino Ballena National Park, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Magnificent Frigatebird in Marino Ballena National Park?
Yes — about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Magnificent Frigatebird sighting in Marino Ballena National Park, based on 803 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Scarlet Macaw in Marino Ballena National Park?
Yes — about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Scarlet Macaw sighting in Marino Ballena National Park, based on 1,115 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Green Iguana in Marino Ballena National Park?
Yes — about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Green Iguana sighting in Marino Ballena National Park, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Where Wildlife Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife?Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
Experience
GoodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
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