Sal Island: Sea Turtle Experience from Santa Maria
Description
Join an exclusive experience for small groups to live a unique moment with the best atmosphere and respecting the guidelines of the Biodiversity Project biologists. Professional guides with knowledge and extensive experience, and volunteers in the turtle protection and preservation project. Enjoy the knowledge of a guide specialized in nature tours who will tell you everything about their evolution, characteristics, the historical relationship with turtles and interesting facts about turtles. The guides will ensure an ecological and environmentally conscious experience for the turtles and visitors. Sea turtle watching is a unique experience for all nature and wildlife lovers while visiting Cape Verde. By choosing Sal Experience, a local sustainable company, you will support our beach cleaning program and sea turtle preservation and protection efforts.
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
From the reception of your hotel or accommodation, airport or other departure point previously agreed with the client. If you don't see your hotel or accommodation in the list above, send us your address and we will pick you up there. The guide will be fully identified with a badge, Sal Experience shirt and a yellow sign with Sal Experience written on it.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Wear dark colored clothes and comfortable walking shoes.
- Expert guides who will offer you a unique and environmentally conscious experience for turtles and visitors alike.
- The observation of nesting depends on environmental factors and is not guaranteed. However, in the last 5 years, the success rate has been 100%.
- It is necessary to be physically fit to walk.
- We provide lights that allow you to take photos and make videos. Photos/videos with flash and white lights are not allowed.
- People under the effect of alcohol cannot participate in order not to disturb the natural habitat of sea turtles.
- To ensure a safe and respectful experience for both you and the turtles, remember to wear dark clothes and comfortable, closed shoes when observing them, especially at night. Why dark clothes? Light or bright colors can scare and disorient turtles, especially puppies. When wearing black, dark brown, dark green, dark blue, dark gray or other dark shades, it helps us minimize disturbances and mix with the environment.
- Thank you for choosing our turtle observation experience! To ensure the safety and well-being of the turtles, in accordance with the new directives of the Ministry of the Environment, the tour has two possible hours of departure: 19h30 or 21h00. The exact time depends on the conditions of the day and the regulations, and the time of your transfer will be confirmed in the morning of the day of activity.
- Turtle experience is not recommended for people with reduced mobility and children under 3 years of age.
- Not recommended for people with nictophobia
Reviews(142)
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that you have to seize when in Sal. I went the first day of the season and it wasn’t necessarily guaranteed that we’d see any turtles, so I didn’t have high hopes. Lo and behold after 2 hours we saw the first 2 of the season! The entire experience is magical. The guides are super knowledgeable and informative and such lovely people! Definitely want to come back and see the babies hatch soon!
Stayed at Hotel Melia Lhana Beach Resort and Spa. Arrival to the airport the transfer punctual and correct. The very good hotel with excellent location, very professional staff and excellent treatment. Varied food with only limited fruit that for conservation reasons was limited only to less demanding fruits of duration. In relation to very good quality accommodation and always arranged at hours. A.Small bump in the first busy night due to the presence of mosquitoes in the room solved on the second day. The animation was also satisfactory, as were the pools. But I repeat that what marked me most was the excellence of the performance and treatment of the staff.
I expected more from this nightly visit to the turtles. You travel a lot on foot, with little light or red light. And it was very hard to find a turtle. Long Waiting time and I finally managed to see one in the distance. The guides only let the turtles approach groups of 9 to 10 people at a time. So the first group was still nearby, but then the Turtle left. I was only able to see a few pups . According to me October is no longer the ideal time to see the desova (it seems the best months are until September) and maybe that is why some of my disillusionment.
Need the wear dark clothing and enclosed sed shoes if you have them and no white light and no strong scents should he worn
It was special and beautiful to watch, but also sad that the baby turtles may not survive. The crew were fantastic and knowledgeable b
It was a top experience to see! Only they arrived 20 min late with pick up which was a shame but otherwise it was good
Absolutely incredible experience, completely eco-respectful, the Loggerhead Turtle laying her eggs, covering them then heading back out to sea for 4 years genuinely moved us to tears 🥰
We were so excited to be seeing the turtles in thier own habitat. On arrival we were es ported out the mini bus and it was all a bit jumbled as there was three different languages spoken amongst the group. We were told to follow the guide and then had to walk in the pitch dark with no light as he said it startled turtles. We walked like this for a very long time. It’s was rough terrain and the group of mostly 20 somethings walked at a fast pace. We eventually go to where a turtle was and the guide told us a little bit of information for about 2 mins. He did this in three languages which was confusing and he spoke quietly so not to disturb turtle but we just couldn’t hear any of it. We watched the turtle lay her eggs, cover them up and then return to the sea. But the whole time we stood. We were close to the sea and the tide was fast approaching. This trip is NOT suitable if you cannot walk fast and a long way or have any mobility problems. Walking in pitch dark was terrifying as I feared falling. Also standing watching turtle lay eggs was for a very long time. And the guide just sat behind us not saying anything about turtles. It felt almost intrusive watching the turtle and nothing about it was eco friendly or in keeping with natural environment.
Anazing experience with Chan, our guide who took us to a mother turtle laying eggs and we saw how she covered over the nest carefully and made her way back to the sea. It was an incredible experience
We saw a turtle laying eggs. It was the best part of our holiday. Realistic. We had been hesitant to do that and we would have been really dumb to miss out on that. The guide seemed like a nice person also very funny.
