Every year thousands of marine turtles come to Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela and Colombia to lay their eggs. Of the seven species of sea turtles, six are found in South America and they are all on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. Some beaches are closed to visitors, however, the watching of sea turtles laying their eggs – or the hatching of eggs – is an important tourist attraction on other beaches.
Based on my own travel experiences in these countries, I suggest the following beaches in Brazil, Suriname and French Guiana. Since I haven't been to Colombia and Venezuela, I won't go into detail about opportunities to watch sea turtles there. Here I explain in greater detail how to visit the beaches to watch sea turtles.
Sea turtle nesting beaches in Brazil
In Brazil you can see five of the seven endangered marine turtle species:
- Olive ridley turtle (in Portuguese: tartaruga oliva)
- Loggerhead (in Portuguese: tartaruga cabeçuda)
- Hawksbill (in Portuguese: tartaruga de pente)
- Green turtle (in Portuguese: tartaruga verde)
- Leatherbacks (in Portuguese: (tartaruga de couro or tartaruga gigante)
Along 1000 kilometres of Brazilian beach, stretching from Ceará in the north to Santa Catarina in the south, are 22 marine turtle stations. They are managed by TAMAR (TArtaruga MARinha is Portuguese for sea turtle) and under supervision of IBAMA / ICMBio. Depending on the station they either do only research, or combine this with tourism. Stations open to visitors are:
- In Espírito Santo you will find leatherbacks on the beaches of Anchieta, Regência and Pontal do Iparanga.
- In Bahia hawksbills and loggerheads frequent the beaches of Arembepe, Praia do Forte and Costa do Sauípe.
- Sergipe is home to the largest concentration of olive ridley turtles in Brazil. Check out the beaches of Oceanário de Aracaju and Picambu.
- On the island of Fernando de Noronha you can watch green turtles and hawksbills.
Marine turtles in French Guiana
Together with the coast of Suriname, this is where half of the leatherback females come to lay their eggs. It is not uncommon during high season (May-June) to encounter dozens of them in one night. Hatching mainly occurs in July-August.
Three species frequent French Guiana's beaches:
- Leatherback sea turtle (in French: la luth / in Kali'na: kawa na)
- Olive ridley turtle (in French: la tortue olivâtre / in Kali'na: Kula lasi)
- Green turtle (in French: la tortue verte / in Kali'na: kada lu)
French Guiana has two easily accessible areas to watch sea turtles:
- Cayenne (the capital), at the beach of Remire-Montjoly. The beach is under supervision of KWATA, a French organisation that protects not only sea turtles, but also other endangered species such as the tapir and giant otter. KWATA has a sea-turtle volunteer program for the beaches of Cayenne.
- La Plage des Hattes in Awala-Yalimapo on French Guiana's northwest coast, along the Maroni River. This beach is part of the Reserve of Amaná and is under supervision of Maison de la Reserve in Yalimapo.
Access to the beaches is free of charge and you don't need a guide. For guided tours in Cayenne, check with KWATA. In Yalimapo tours are organised by l'Association Luth et Nature and Kawana Experience. The latter can be booked through Guyane Voyages.
KWATA: 16 avenue Pasteur, Cayenne, tel : 05 94 25 43 31
Endangered sea turtles in Suriname
Suriname is yearly visited by four sea turtle species:
- Green sea turtle (in Dutch: soepschildpad / in Sranan tongo: krape)
- Olive ridley turtle (in Dutch: gewone bastaardschildpad / in Sranan tongo: warana)
- Hawksbill turtle (in Dutch: karet schildpad / in Sranan tongo: karet)
- Leatherback Dutch: lederschildpad / in Sranan tongo: aitkanti)
The conservation of sea turtles in Suriname comes under the superion of STINASU (STIchting NAtuurbehoud SUriname). At their office in Paramaribo you can obtain information on marine turtles, or apply for their sea-turtle conservation volunteer program at Galibi. High season for sea turtle watching is March-July, hatching mainly occurs in July-August.
STINASU: Cornelis Jongbawstraat 14, Paramaribo. Mon-Thu 7am-3pm / Fri 7am-2.30pm. Email: stinasu@gmail.com
The marine turtle beaches of Suriname can only be reached by boat:
- Matapica: by boat from Paramaribo or Marienburg.
- Galibi Reserve in the northeast corner of Suriname along the Maroni River: by boat from either Albina (border town), Saint Laurent de Maroni (French Guiana's border town) or Awala beach (French Guiana).
Tours to both beaches can be organised in Paramaribo through travel agencies or, for Galibi, in Albina. Note that both sea turtle beaches can only be visited with a guide. Entrance to Galibi Reserve costs SRD 20 (US $5). Expect to pay about SRD 60 (US $15) for a guide. A two-day tour, including transport, accommodation, food, guide and entrance fee will cost around US $150-U$ 200 per person.
sources and suggested reading
- Tamar brochure Revista do Tamar, nr 14.
- Guide Guyane, Philippe Boré, 2010, ISNB 978 - 2-9511548-6-5.
- Les Tortues Marines de Guyane, by Jacques Fretey (coordinateur scientifique), 2005, ISNB 2-9515668-2-4.
- Balades au Suriname, by Philippe Boré, 2009, ISBN 978-2-9511548-5-8.
Karin-Marijke Vis - Karin-Marijke Vis is a bilingual writer (Dutch-English) who has been traveling in Asia and South America since 2003.
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