Where to dive with sea turtles

72 destinations where sea turtles are documented by published sources, with the months to go when we know them.

When to go

Dark: peak season. Light: regularly seen.

Destination	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Ningaloo ReefPeak Nov–Mar
Southeast Florida (Palm Beach to Miami)Peak May–Jul
Cancún & Isla MujeresPeak May–Jun
Aliwal Shoal & Protea BanksAll year
BonaireAll year
Chuuk (Truk) LagoonAll year
Dumaguete, Dauin & Apo IslandAll year
Gili IslandsAll year
MaldivesAll year
Okinawa & YonaguniAll year
PalauAll year
PondicherryAll year
Puerto GaleraAll year
Taveuni & Rainbow ReefOct–Apr
Poor Knights IslandsNov–Apr

Also documented here

Sources confirm them, but don't say in which months.

Abrolhos Marine Park, Brazil
Andaman Islands (Havelock & Neil), India
Anilao, Philippines
Azores, Portugal
Bahamas
Bali & Nusa Penida, Indonesia
Belize
Bohol & Panglao, Philippines
Cayman Islands
Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Côn Đảo, Vietnam
Coron, Philippines
Cozumel, Mexico
Crete, Greece
Curaçao
Dahab, Egypt
El Nido, Philippines
Fakarava & Rangiroa, French Polynesia
Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
Florida Keys, United States
Florida Springs, United States
Galápagos, Ecuador
Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas), Australia
Grenada
Hurghada, Egypt
Koh Samui & Koh Phangan, Thailand
Koh Tao, Thailand
Komodo, Indonesia
Kona (Big Island), United States
Mactan (Cebu), Philippines
Malapascua, Philippines
Malta, Gozo & Comino, Malta
Marsa Alam & the Brothers, Egypt
Maui, United States
Moalboal, Philippines
Netrani Island (Murudeshwar), India
Oahu, United States
Phuket & Koh Lanta, Thailand
Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks, Brazil
Riviera Maya & Cenotes, Mexico
Roatán & Bay Islands, Honduras
Romblon, Philippines
Sharm El Sheikh & Ras Mohammed, Egypt
Similan Islands & Khao Lak, Thailand
Sipadan & Semporna, Malaysia
Siquijor, Philippines
Sodwana Bay, South Africa
Southern Leyte (Sogod Bay), Philippines
Sri Lanka West & South (Colombo to Unawatuna), Sri Lanka
SS Yongala (Townsville), Australia
Subic Bay, Philippines
Tofo, Mozambique
Trincomalee & East Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka
Tubbataha, Philippines
Utila, Honduras
Wakatobi, Indonesia

Dive sites known for sea turtles

SS Yongala

SS Yongala (Townsville), Australia

Sunk by a cyclone in March 1911, the wreck lies on a 30 m seabed with its upper parts at 16 m; penetration diving is prohibited by law.

Advanced
Wreck
Reef sharks

SS Thistlegorm

Sharm El Sheikh & Ras Mohammed, Egypt

WWII supply ship bombed on 6 October 1941; holds still carry Bedford trucks and Norton and BSA motorcycles.

Advanced
Wreck
Turtles

Batu Bolong

Komodo, Indonesia

Tiny Central Komodo rock pinnacle with clouds of anthias, bigeye trevally and sweetlips, whitetips on the deeper slopes and common hawksbill turtles.

Advanced
Pinnacle
Whitetip reef sharks

The two pillars left after the collapse of Darwin's Arch, 2024

Darwin's Arch (Darwin's Towers)

Galápagos, Ecuador

Wall drift beside the pillars of the arch that collapsed in May 2021, with large numbers of hammerheads, silky and Galápagos sharks.

Experienced
Drift
Whale sharks

Willemstoren Lighthouse

Bonaire

Advanced-only site at Bonaire's southern tip with lots of schooling fish, lobsters under the corals and the occasional turtle or tarpon.

Advanced
Reef
Turtles

Bells to Blue Hole

Dahab, Egypt

Drop through the Bells chimney to a wall at about 25 m, then follow the wall to cross the 7 m saddle into the Blue Hole.

Advanced
Blue hole
Manta rays

Cai

Bonaire

East-coast reef for experienced divers with a guide, where turtles, eagle rays and moray eels thrive and large schools including tarpon roam.

Experienced
Reef
Turtles

Buddy's Reef

Bonaire

Buddy Dive Resort's house reef, perfect for beginners, where black crinoids perch on coral heads and a resident tarpon greets most night divers.

Open Water
Reef
Turtles

Salt City

Bonaire

Part of Bonaire's southern double reef system, with a good chance of seeing turtles and eagle rays.

Advanced
Reef
Turtles

Blue Corner (Palau)

Palau

Hook in above the wall and watch resident grey and whitetip reef sharks, tuna and barracuda work the current.

Experienced
Wall
Whale sharks

Sardine school over the reef at Panagsama, Moalboal

Panagsama Sardine Run (House Reef)

Moalboal, Philippines

A sardine ball that spreads from 2 to about 15 m off Panagsama Beach, hunted by mackerels and tuna, with a thresher shark if you are lucky.

Open Water
Wall
Whale sharks

Palancar Gardens

Cozumel, Mexico

Sloping reef and wall with gentle currents, much of the dive at 12–25 m, a good introduction to drift diving.

Advanced
Drift
Turtles

Find where to see sea turtles at your level

Photo credits

Yongala dive site, Australia, Orin Optiglot, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
SS Thistlegorm dive site, Northern Red Sea Wrecks, Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Batu Bolong dive site, Komodo, Indonesia, Alexander Vasenin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The two pillars left after the collapse of Darwin's Arch, 2024, Scopoli, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Willemstoren Lighthouse dive site, Bonaire, García-Hernández, J.E., de Gier, W., van Moorsel, G.W.N.M. et al. The scleractinian Agaricia undata as a new host for the coral-gall crab Opecarcinus hypostegus at Bonaire, southern Caribbean. Symbiosis 81, 303–311 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-020-00706-8, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Shore entry to The Bells, Dahab, Tim Sheerman-Chase, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cai Bonaire dive site, Lac Cai, Bonaire, Paul Arps from The Netherlands, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Buddy's Reef dive site, Bonaire, (c) Jay Brasher, some rights reserved (CC BY), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Salt City dive site, Bonaire, LASZLO ILYES from Cleveland, Ohio, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Blue Corner (Palau) dive site, Palau, Matt Kieffer from London, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sardine school over the reef at Panagsama, Moalboal, Iampjanz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Palancar Gardens dive site, Cozumel, Mexico, Matthewselig2019, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons