Playa Punta Xen turtle camp

Playa Punta Xen is a protected nesting beach south of Champoton where hawksbill and green turtles come ashore between May and October to lay their eggs, one of several such camps along the Campeche coast run in coordination with state conservation authorities. A state-run camp on the beach monitors nests through the season, relocating vulnerable clutches to protected hatcheries and, during the later part of the season, releasing hatchlings at dusk in events open to the public without charge. Visitors who time a visit for a release evening can watch camp staff carry trays of newly hatched turtles down to the waterline and, with guidance to keep lights and noise low, see the hatchlings make their way into the surf. Outside of release evenings, the beach itself is long, quiet and largely undeveloped, worth a stop for its own sake even without turtle activity. Because releases depend on hatching schedules that camp staff track directly, visitors hoping to see one should check locally for the current evening's timing rather than assuming a fixed daily schedule; the broader release window runs roughly August through November.