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Where to go on a turtle conservation holiday

Browse our map below to find out where to go on a turtle conservation holiday. Choose between Costa Rica’s Pacific and Caribbean coasts, volunteer alongside conservationists in Greece, help out at a rescue centre in the Maldives, or get stuck into long-term volunteering in the Seychelles.

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Where to go on a turtle conservation holiday

As a turtle conservation volunteer, you’re helping to protect some of the planet’s oldest creatures. Because turtles were swimming the oceans, and laying their eggs on beaches, as far back as when dinosaurs walked the earth. That is some legacy you’re seeking to preserve, whether it be on a family turtle volunteer project in Costa Rica, or in an island idyll such as Kefalonia in Greece, or the Seychelles. Places that are so beautiful, it’s small wonder that the turtles insist on coming back to them every year. Read on to learn where you can join turtle volunteer projects around the world with our partners.

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1. Costa Rica
2. Greece
3. Malaysia
4. Maldives
5. Seychelles
6. Thailand

Costa Rica

1. Costa Rica

Although Tortuguero National Park is a favourite destination for sea turtle watching in Costa Rica, there are many projects in quieter spots around this stunning country. In Pacuare Nature Reserve, monitor leatherbacks nesting in March-April, with hatching starting around May. In the past, 95 percent of turtle eggs here were poached, but fantastic conservation efforts have reversed the situation in recent years.

Costa Rica

Greece

2. Greece

Endangered loggerhead sea turtles nest on the beaches of Kefalonia, and can often be seen feeding on scraps in the harbour of the capital, Argostoli, where collisions with boats are possible. Volunteering here means travelling from beach to beach by bicycle, in the mornings or at night, to record data and protect nests. You can also visit a rescue centre on the outskirts of Athens run by Archelon, the country’s leading turtle NGO.

Malaysia

3. Malaysia

As if Malaysia isn’t beautiful enough, turtle conservation projects happening on the Perhentian islands take you into a whole other natural sphere. In order to see leatherbacks in their breeding grounds here in the South China Sea, you have to kayak to remote coves, sleep in hammocks under the stars, catch and cook fish in the sand, local style, snorkel or dive to spot the turtles at sea. Tough gig.

Malaysia

Maldives

4. Maldives

Sea turtle conservation volunteers are needed on Naifaru in the Maldives, where a rescue centre looks after turtles found injured in the sea, or saved from the pet trade. You’ll work on a range of tasks from data collection to community outreach, beach cleaning and feeding the turtles. And in your free time, well, you’re in the Maldives aren’t you. Pack your swimsuit and snorkel, because afternoons are for paradise.

Seychelles

5. Seychelles

There are more than stunning sunsets to be seen on the beaches of the Maldives with North Island in particular a haven for green and hawksbill sea turtles, and giant Aldabra tortoises, endemic to the Aldabra Atoll. With full-on conservation projects here that usually require at least a month’s commitment, you get time to really immerse yourself in other projects which include endangered bird and coral monitoring. Phew, life’s a beach.

Seychelles

Thailand

6. Thailand

With turtle conservation still hatching in Thailand, remote projects like one on Koh Phra Thong enable you to contribute to essential turtle monitoring and protection and escape tourist crowds, stay in homestays, educate communities and enjoy life on the beach. Not always leisurely, with packed days monitoring and mothering. Never gets tiring when you’re working with turtles though. And in paradise.