Turtle watching holidays qualify as ecotourism as they are observing wildlife in their natural habitat without too much impact on their natural environment. The limited destinations and locations for turtle watching holidays must be preserved. Please ensure that you book your turtle watching holidays experience with a reputable agent who knows the environmental sensitivities and the rules - enjoy watching turtles. Most all-inclusive deals will be with such reputable providers, but be sure to watch out for inappropriate intrusion on the turtles’ habitats.

Introduction to your turtle watching experience

Marine turtles are often called the ancient mariners of the sea. They have been swimming in the ocean for more than 150 million years, first appearing during the age of the dinosaur. Turtles have changed little since then, maintaining an aquatic existence and only coming ashore to lay eggs, producing another generation to swim the seas.

Six of the world’s seven species of marine turtle live in the waters around Australia and all occur within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Some species, such as the loggerhead and green turtle are seen frequently; while others, such as the olive ridley and leatherback, are known to occur in the Great Barrier Reef but are seldom seen.

They come ashore at night to build their nests and lay eggs and it is essential to take care while watching the female turtles lay eggs or the hatchlings emerge from the sand and make their way to the ocean. Disturbing the turtles during nesting and hatching can interrupt these processes.

Turtle watch in Central Queensland, Australia

During the warmer months of November through March, turtles nest on local beaches after sunset. Six to eight weeks later the flatback, green, loggerhead, and leatherback sea turtles hatch and scramble for the ocean, beginning the turtle life cycle.

There are a number of special sites to keep in mind when planning your holiday to include the turtles. Just outside Bundaberg, the mainland beach of Mon Repos is the largest loggerhead sea turtle rookery in the South Pacific. Holiday makers at neighbouring beaches also enjoy turtles nesting. The soon to open Bundaberg Turtle Centre will provide family friendly information to assist your first hand turtle experiences.

The Southern Great Barrier Reef's Lady Elliot and Lady Musgrave Islands are located off the coast of Bundaberg. On summer nights sea turtles nest on beaches backdropped by Lady Musgrave's National Park and Lady Elliot's relaxed reef resort atmosphere.

Best practice when on Turtle Watching Holidays

Keep the use of lighting (e.g. torches) to a minimum. Hint: put a red cloth or cellophane over the torch.
Lights should be no more than a three-volt, two-cell, hand-held torch.
Do not approach too close to turtles leaving the water and moving up the beach.
Do not shine lights directly on turtles leaving the water, moving up the beach, building nests, or laying eggs.
Avoid loud noise and sudden movements near turtles while they are laying their eggs.
Do not touch the turtles, hatchlings or eggs.
Keep dogs away.
Do not light campfires on turtle nesting beaches.
Report sick, injured, stranded or dead turtles
Learn about the habits and needs of turtles to increase your appreciation of them.

Australian Government Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is a good source of information about how to appreciate marine turtles on turtle watching holidays.

Watching marine turtles in Puerto Rico - The leatherback sea turtle is the largest living sea turtle in the world. The average adult weighs 500 to 1600 pounds. When nesting, leatherbacks will not enter an area where lights or noise of any kind exist. Therefore, nesting grounds are very rare. In the Caribbean, there are only three prime places where the endangered leatherback turtles nest, and Culebra, Puerto Rico is fortunate to be one of them. Culebra has two beaches that provide a dark, quiet, and safe place for leatherback turtles - Resaca and Brava beaches. Both beaches are within the wildlife refuge area.

Freshwater turtle watching holidays in Ontario - watch for turtles in lakes, ponds and rivers any time from May to October. Turtles love to bask. When water temperatures are cool in spring, they climb out on logs, rocks and lakeshores to warm themselves. Dozens can congregate on a single log, sometimes with individuals crawling on top of one another. Turtles become more dispersed in the summer, but “hot spots” will still attract some turtles on a regular basis. Basking turtles are wary and quickly dive into the water when they sense a threat; binoculars are very helpful for watching turtles from a distance. Many sightings of turtles away from the water occur in June when females may travel overland seeking suitable nesting locations.

If you like to keep notes of your observations on turtle watching holidays, some of the following information is worth recording:

species and numbers of turtles
date and time
specific location (road or highway, nearest community, etc.)
weather (e.g. temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, etc.)
habitat (e.g. pond, lake, road embankment, etc.)
activity (e.g. basking, laying eggs, crossing a road, etc.)
condition of animal (e.g. lethargic behaviour, injuries, etc.)

There is still much to be learned about turtle biology. The more we know about their environmental needs and changes in their abundance and distribution, the more we can implement proper local controls for all future turtle watching holidays.

Enjoy your turtle watching holidays in St Lucia, Trinidad, Melbourne, Florida and the Great Barrier Reef. Sea turtle holidays and turtle watching.

Turtle watching holidays

Turtle watching holidays - watch the turtles hatch