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Diving With Turtles: Everything You Need to Know (Where, How & Common Species)

Diving With Turtles: Everything You Need to Know (Where, How & Common Species)

Written by Rianne Poesse
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Published on October 31, 2022
sea turtle diving underwater

Is one of your biggest wishes to go diving with sea turtles? And would you like to know where you can dive with these beautiful creatures? Then you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about the different types of sea turtles and where you can find them.

sea turtle
Photo by Wexor Tmg on Unsplash

Diving with Turtles: Species You’ll Find

Most Common Turtles: Green Sea Turtles & Hawksbill Sea Turtles

Most sea turtles live in tropical and subtropical waters. They live in all our oceans, meaning they’re closer to you than you might think. By far the most common two sea turtles are the green sea turtle and the hawksbill turtle.

The green sea turtle lives in the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. It is one of the largest sea turtles out there. An adult is about 3 to 4.5 feet long. For most divers, the green sea turtle, is the first sea turtle they encounter on a dive. Green sea turtles often hang out near ocean grass beds as they’re herbivores and they love eating sea grass. Recognizing a green sea turtle can be tricky as they have a few look-a-likes. Having said that, a distinctive mark of the green sea turtle is their round head and very short beak.

The hawksbill sea turtle also lives anywhere the green sea turtle lives, except the Mediterranean. They’re relatively small sea turtles, reaching about 3 feet in their adult life. You can recognize them by their sharp beak. Hawksbill turtles eat mainly sponges and corals (which is why they need their sharp beak).

If you like to dive with these two species of sea turtles, then you’ll have plenty of locations to choose from. Some locations will have almost a 100% guarantee that you can see them in the wild.

Rare Sea Turtle Species

Did you know there are a total of seven different types of sea turtles? The other give can be a bit harder to find, but not impossible. Based on where their breeding grounds are, it’s possible to locate each species. However, that would only apply during the breeding season, because any other time, sea turtles are usually on the move.

Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

The olive ridley sea turtle (or the Pacific ridley sea turtle) lives in the same spots as the hawksbill turtle, except in smaller numbers. In size, the olive ridley is also a lot smaller, measuring at only 2.5 feet.

Leatherback Turtle

The biggest sea turtle that exists is the leatherback turtle. An adult can grow to around 6 feet and weigh up to 2,000 pounds. They’re very easy to recognize, not just because of their size, but also because of their leathery shell. Unlike the other sea turtles, the leatherback turtle has a relatively soft black shell that looks like leather. A fun fact about the Leatherback Turtle is that they occasionally dive as deep as 4,000 feet. Why they do this is unclear, and some scientist think it’s because they check for jellyfish that migrate in the deeper waters. Other scientists think it’s to avoid predators. Whatever the reason might be, these depths are impressive, and no other turtle has come even close to these depths.

Flatback Sea Turtle & Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle

If you wanted to try to see all seven species of sea turtles, the flatback sea turtle and the kemp’s ridley sea turtle (also known as the Atlantic ridley sea turtle) will be the most difficult to find. The flatback turtle can become your biggest challenge to spot as it lives only in Australia. Meanwhile, the kemp’s ridley is primarily living in the Gulf of Mexico but has been spotted all the way up to Nova Scotia. The kemp’s ridley turtle is also the smallest turtle of the seven species, measuring only 2 feet.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Last, but not least, is the impressive loggerhead sea turtle. This turtle also travels around a lot, and just like the leatherback, it will be at a specific spot during the breeding season. The reason that sea turtles can be found at set locations during mating season is because a female sea turtle will always lay her eggs on the beach where she was born. She will always go back to it. The male sea turtles also know this and hang around the same beaches as they were born themselves.

Sea Turtle Nesting Season

As mentioned, female sea turtle will always lay her eggs on the beach where she was born. On average she creates between two to eight nests each season. Each nest gets filled with about 110 eggs, depending on the species. Hawksbill turtles lay the most eggs (more than 200 eggs per nest), while the flatbacks only lay roughly 50 eggs per nest.

It’s crucial for the continued existence of the sea turtles that their nesting beaches are always available to them. Beach development projects are a major threat for the sea turtles, as well as late night parties on the beach during nesting season. Sea turtles usually lay their eggs at night, when it’s quiet and dark. In some areas, beaches get closed during nesting season and volunteer organizations organize beach patrols to track and protect sea turtle nests.

Sea Turtle Hatching Season

Once the mother sea turtle has laid the eggs in the nest, the eggs are on their own. The eggs have an incubation period of roughly two months. After two months, the eggs hatch and the baby sea turtles will crawl out of their nest to make it to the ocean. Right from that moment on, the baby sea turtle will face many different survival challenges — they  have many predators. Just reaching the ocean is their first challenge as predators including birds, lizards, dogs, raccoons, and even wild pigs will try and eat them before they reach the ocean. Once in the ocean, they need to avoid dolphins, sharks, and many other big fish that can make a meal out of them.

And then there’s also the challenge for the baby sea turtle to find food. Baby sea turtles eat a lot of different things including sea weed, jellyfish, fish eggs, crustaceans, and more. Sadly they often mistake the plastic trash in the ocean for food. Usually this becomes fatal for the little sea turtle. It’s estimated that only 1 out of every 1,000 to 10,000 sea turtles makes it to adulthood.

Knowing how many eggs one sea turtle lays per season and realizing probably only 1 of the hatchlings will survive explains why all species of sea turtles are endangered or at least are listed as “vulnerable”. Because of this, it’s even more important to be careful (and grateful) when encountering a sea turtle on a dive.

sea turtle diving
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

How to Swim with Sea Turtles

The number one rule of diving and swimming with sea turtles is: do not touch. This is incredibly important. Sea turtles are wild animals that should be treated with respect.

If you see a sea turtle on your dive or swim, the best thing you can do is approach it slowly from the side. Never block its forward path and always approach them calmly. Many sea turtles are used to humans in their ocean or are maybe even a little curious. If you stay calm and observe from a distance, there’s a reasonable chance the sea turtle will hang around with you, even allowing you to enjoy its company. If you speed towards the turtle or touch it, you’ll create a stressful situation for the turtle, and it will most likely take off. Make sure to treat every encounter with respect!

green sea turtle
Photo by Olga ga on Unsplash

Best Places for Diving with Sea Turtles

Are you excited about scuba diving with sea turtles? Fortunately, sea turtles can be found all over the world. The adults migrate, but as we mentioned, they have specific spots during breeding season. This makes it easier for us to find them. The juveniles are usually more steady in one spot, as long as there is food for them.

1. Bonaire | Year-Round Sea Turtles

Best time: All year

A great spot to dive (and snorkel) with sea turtles is Bonaire. The two most frequent species of sea turtles that can be found all year around are the juvenile green and hawksbills. They live in the waters around Bonaire. Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire (STCB) has tagged many of them and has caught (and released) the same sea turtles often. This is how we know they live around Bonaire. A dive on the East Coast of Bonaire at the dive site Turtle City can result in over 30+ turtle encounters on a single dive. April or May is the loggerhead mating season. If you visit during this time, there is a chance to encounter loggerhead turtles, especially at the more Southern dive sites.

2. Hawaii | Home of Big Green Sea Turtles

Best time: April to October

Maui, as well as the Big Island, are perfect locations to dive and snorkel with big green sea turtles. Hawaii is home to five out of the seven species of sea turtles. Most frequently you will see the big green sea turtle, as they hang around in the shallows with the sea grass. On the Big Island, you’ll want to snorkel and dive around the beaches on the Kona side. On Maui, chances are highest for a sea turtle encounter on the west and southern coast. Besides green sea turtles, there’s also a chance to encounter hawksbill turtles, leatherback turtles, loggerhead turtles, and olive ridley’s.

3. Australia | 35,000+ Nesting Turtles Every Year on the Great Barrier Reef

Best time: May to October

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the largest reef in the world, approximately 1,200 miles large. More than 35,000 female sea turtles nest on the Great Barrier Reef every year. Most activity is on the more northern side of the Great Barrier Reef, however places like Lady Elliot Island get plenty of sea turtles hanging around.

4. Indonesia | Komodo and Bunaken for Sea Turtle Spotting

Best time: All year

Indonesia offers some of the best scuba diving in the world. Even though Komodo is famous for the manta rays and, of course, the Komodo dragons, the chances of encountering green sea turtles are also high. These chances are even higher in Bunaken, in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Here, you do “wall dives” where you can find tons of turtles relaxing and checking you out just as much. Often, there’s a little current, which results in a turtle drift dive. Big adult green sea turtles are most frequently encountered in Bunaken.

5. Ecuador | See the Galapagos Islands’ Green Sea Turtle

Best time: December to June

Even though sea turtles can be found all year around in the Galapagos Islands, the best time to visit for scuba diving is from December to June when the diving and weather conditions are most ideal. The water is most calm and warm during these months, which makes it way more comfortable to observe the Galapagos green sea turtle. A species of green sea turtle that can only be found around the Galapagos. Not only will you encounter sea turtles during your dive, but hammerhead sharks and manta rays are also very likely!

6. Nicaragua | One of the Best Places to Find Olive Ridley Turtles

Best time: July to November

There are not many places in the world where you can find olive ridley turtles. La Flor Wildlife Refuge in Nicaragua is an exception to this rule. Between July and December, more than 100,000 olive ridley turtles come to lay their eggs close to San Juan Del Sur. Not only do you have a chance to see olive ridley turtles, but also leatherback turtles, green sea turtles, and hawksbill turtles. This is really the place to get your sea turtle fix. A quick google on the words “Nicaragua Arribada” will show you how amazing the turtle presence is in Nicaragua during those months.

7. Malaysia | Swim with Green Sea Turtles and Hawksbill Turtles in Sipadan

Best time: All year

Sipadan is a true diver’s paradise. It’s a place where hammerhead sharks, whale sharks and manta ray’s live. However, even more frequently encountered are the beautiful green and hawksbill sea turtles. You can find them while snorkeling and diving. At times, you might even see 20+ turtles. The turtles eat and relax in the shallow waters. Best part? They’re very used to humans. This means they’ll just keep doing their thing while you can observe them from close by.

8. Costa-Rica | Check Out the World’s Biggest Sea Turtles in Playa Grande

Best time: October to March

Leatherback turtles nest in Costa Rica. The biggest sea turtle species that exists is famous for nesting each year on the beach Playa Grande north of Tamarindo. Approximately 800 leatherback turtles nest on this beach every year. The beach is protected and the nature fees you pay to enter are used to conserve the nesting beaches. It’s unlikely you will be able to encounter the Leatherback turtles nearby underwater. The waters around Tamarindo are pretty rough and visibility underwater will be minimal. However, watching a 6-foot and 1,500 pound heavy turtle moving on the beach will be an amazing experience on its own.

9. Egypt | A Red Sea Full of Sea Turtles

Best time: All year

The Red Sea is one of the most beautiful places to go scuba diving. The vibrant colors of the coral and chances to spot all kinds of fish make it a diver’s paradise. Sea turtles, especially hawksbill and green sea turtles are frequently spotted. There’s an abundance of sea grass that the green sea turtles love to eat. The best place to encounter them is around Marsa Alam and Abu Dabbab. They’re also seen often in all parts of the Red Sea, for example, when on a liveaboard dive trip.

10. Mexico | Snorkel or Dive with Sea Turtles in the Bay of Akumal

Best time: June to November

Akumal is a little beach town just south of Playa Del Carmen. It’s part of the world’s second largest reef that continues all the way to Belize. Visiting Akumal, you can snorkel and swim with Green Sea Turtles. Breeding season starts around June, and in November, nests start to hatch in Akumal.

Rianne Poesse

Rianne Poesse

Rianne Poesse is a passionate scuba diver and writer. She is the founder of the scuba blog Dutch Mermaid and travels around the globe, exploring the underwater world. She writes articles for travel agencies and dive magazines. When diving, she always has a camera with her and you can follow her on YouTube to get […]