Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga, Mazunte

Mexico's national sea turtle centre, in a village that was once a turtle-hunting town until hunting was banned in 1990. The aquarium has all seven species of sea turtle found in Mexico, plus freshwater turtles and other marine life, and explains the conservation work on the Oaxaca coast, where turtles nest in huge numbers.

Check the opening days before you go. Between about June and December, local groups release baby turtles on the beaches at sunset; ask in the village about joining a release.