World's Best Places To Dive With Turtles

Check out this photo gallery below for ten of the world's best destinations for scuba diving with sea turtles, one of Earth's most ancient creatures. The seven species of sea turtles are the green, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley, hawksbill, flatback and leatherback. Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, Kemp's ridleys and hawksbills are listed as Critically Endangered, green turtles are Endangered, and loggerheads, olive ridleys and leatherbacks are Vulnerable; the flatback is Data Deficient. We scuba divers love them — please do what you can to help protect them.

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Diving with Sea Turtles

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

They’re small, but they’re frisky: Since 1981, approximately 31,000 hatchlings have been released from Grand Cayman’s turtle farm. They grow up, but they don’t go far. Last year at Omega Reef, Michael Maes, island resident and underwater videographer, had an encounter that might make an onlooker wonder what he rubbed on his lens. A hawksbill beelined for him and proceeded to keep his beak pressed to the glass for what must have been nearly 20 minutes. It stroked its way to the surface, then returned right to Maes. Maybe it’s the farm’s annual turtle release — or lack of predators — that explains the boldness of these young turtles. Or maybe it’s just something in the water.

Learn more about diving the Cayman Islands here: divecayman.ky

Bequia, St. Vincent and The Grenadines

The first two years in a turtle’s life are its most vulnerable — hunted on shore and sea. On Bequia, Orton “Brother” King learned of sea turtles’ mortality rate, and the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary was born, creating a safe haven for juvenile hawksbills. It has become one more reason the Grenadines maintains a healthy turtle population. For divers and snorkelers, one of the best areas to target for encounters is the Tobago Cays Marine Park east of the island of Mayreau. This protected zone includes the reefs around five uninhabited cays, which also serve as turtle nesting grounds.

Interested in learning more about diving in these lovely islands? Check out our Complete Dive Guide to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Makaha Beach, Oahu, Hawaii

In Hawaii, it’s a challenge to walk the beaches without stepping on throngs of basking green sea turtles — which, by the way, would be illegal because these animals are heavily protected in the Aloha State. Underwater, dive guides can take you to sites such as Makaha Beach off Oahu for known cleaning stations. And it’s full of entertainment. The turtles are about as active as they are on the beach, so although you might not get nose to nose literally, you’ll gain abundant face time — a coup for those who didn’t get enough Instagram fodder from simply walking the beach.

Learn more about diving Hawaii here: diveoahu.com

Punta Vicente Roca, Galapagos, Ecuador

Snorkel the shallow, rocky waters off Punta Vicente Roca on the northwest coast of Isabela, one of the Galapagos Islands, and you’ll swear you’re in a Sea World tank. Galapagos green turtles — a species that evolved separately from the Pacific pack — return to this spot each nesting season December through February. Once they arrive, they stay in close proximity, taking advantage of algae patches and cleaning stations. Jump in and you’re elbow to elbow with dozens. Pick up a camera, and you’ll easily fit at least seven in one shot. One reason they pack in is the sheer number born here: Every year, 3,000 green sea turtles migrate to these six islands to nest.

Want to go diving in the Galapagos? Click here to find out more: http://www.sportdiver.com/aggressor-fleet

Aitutaki Lagoon, Cook Islands

Green sea turtles travel to South Pacific lagoons for the same reasons we do: The water inside the atoll is like a swimming pool — protected, and much warmer than the ocean beyond. Like all reptiles, they’re looking to heat their blood (so what’s our excuse?). In Aitutaki Lagoon, part of the Cook Islands, turtle watching — as well as diving and snorkeling — is especially good November through February when the lagoon becomes a mating ground. Of course, it’s silly to anthropomorphize, but it is fun to imagine that a part of them appreciates the romance of the South Pacific just as we do.

Go diving in the Cook Islands with diveaitutaki.com and tamanubeach.com

Turneffe Atoll, Belize

Swimming along a sea of turtle grass can be as exciting as a road trip through the Great Plains. But, just as you can’t have bison without prairie, you can’t have green turtles without this grass, which blankets the sandy patches encircling the atolls of Belize. From Turneffe, the best dive site for encounters is Elbow Reef, near one of its estuaries. Once the herbivores eat their fill, they wander down a wall pockmarked with holes providing shelter. It’s here — where these holes contain just about anything massive, from green sea turtles with 4-foot-long shells to green moray as fat around as fire hydrants — that excitement finds you.

Go diving in Turneffe with turnefferesort.com

Sipadan, Malaysia

When Jacques Cousteau and his team filmed bones in a turtle cave off Sipadan in1989, they suggested that an internal force guided the animals here for their final hours. Locals suggested instead that they sought shelter and, like kids spun around before a piñata, then couldn’t make sense of their whereabouts. Slip from the cave’s moody confines, and the soft corals, fish schools and — yes — countless turtles speak to the healthy life force of these reefs. Turtle Patch, a site off the island’s southwest side, is a prime spot for encounters, but so is the destination overall. So much so that dive guides often jokingly ask their charges, “Are you sick of turtles yet?”

Go diving in Malaysia with travel-masters.net

Gili Islands, Indonesia

You could dive with the loggerhead and green turtles of Indonesia’s Gili Islands off the northwest coast of Lombok, but you might be more surprised if you go tankless. Turtle hatcheries on both Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno ensure a large population. Let a dive boat carry you to sites such as Gili Meno’s Turtle Point and Meno Wall, or Gili Trawangan’s Good Heart and Halik reefs, but be sure to carve out time in the afternoon to simply snorkel. The turtles are as calm and patient as monks. As if channeling Buddhist serenity, they accept your presence, then continue feeding, resting and — who knows — maybe even meditating.

Go diving in Indonesia with divinedivers.com

Ko Phra Thong, Thailand

Pinpointing the best dives for Thai turtle encounters is as difficult as naming Thailand’s most scenic white-sand beach. Those beaches are one factor contributing to turtles’ success here. Ko Phra Thong could be a contender for the destination crawling with the most turtles. This mainland town north of Phuket welcomes nesting females to 5 miles of its pristine beach. For those looking for singular stand- out dive sites, one is East of Eden, a satellite isle of Similan Island Number Seven. Here, the shallow beaches and reefs of the Andaman Sea support a year-round population. Ko Bida Nok, a site off Ko Phi Phi, also offers frequent hawksbill sightings. It’s one among many prime turtle-watching reefs that just might add up to a thousand.

Interested in exploring Thailand's best dive sites? Check out the Thailand Aggressor and blue-guru.org

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

“The biggest is 2 meters long,” says PADI Course Director Camille Laquerriere of the loggerheads at Turtle Reef, a site off Playa del Carmen. The reef itself is flat, making it easy to spot the big boys. “Here the turtles are very used to divers,” Laquerriere says. “If you approach, they just stay there.” Bigger animals — like sharks and stingrays — find their way here because the currents ensure a steady food supply. Another reason that turtles take up residence here is nearby Xcaret Park — a cross between a theme park and nature preserve.

Go diving in the Riviera Maya with Phoceamexico.com