Where to See Sea Turtles: 13 Parks Ranked by Real Odds

Q: Where is the best place to see Sea Turtles?

Coiba National Park. In Coiba National Park, Panama, the chance of seeing all 2 (green turtle and hawksbill) on the same day is about 70%, the highest of the 13 parks where all of them live, and over a three-day visit it rises to over 90%. Next come Komodo National Park (about 50% a day), Raja Ampat (about 30% a day) and Bali Barat National Park (about 10% a day). It multiplies each animal's daily chance, as if they were independent, so read it as a rough guide.

Q: Which of Sea Turtles is hardest to see?

Green turtle. In Coiba National Park, the best park for Sea Turtles, about about 80% of wildlife watchers report the green turtle on a given day, against about 90% for the hawksbill. The hardest one decides how many days you need.

Q: How do you complete Sea Turtles on Wallace's Line?

Mark them as seen. Tick ✓ Seen on each animal's card, add your trips, or link your iNaturalist account. Your passport counts Sea Turtles three ways: anywhere in the world, all in one park, and all in a single trip.

The checklist: 2 animals

LC

Chelonia mydas

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely

CR

Eretmochelys imbricata

Daily sighting probability ~90% · Very likely

Where to go

Chance of seeing in

Month by month at Coiba National Park

>90%

Jan

>90%

Feb

~90%

Mar

>90%

Apr

>90%

May

~50%

Jun

>90%

Jul

>90%

Aug

>90%

Sep

>90%

Oct

>90%

Nov

>90%

Dec

Time of day

Where they are recorded most Parks with some of them Cities with some of them

Parks

#	Park	Country	Animals	All 2 in 3 days
1	Coiba National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	2 of 2	>90%
	Green Sea Turtle			>90%
	Hawksbill			>90%
2	Komodo National Park	🇮🇩 Indonesia	2 of 2	>90%
	Green Sea Turtle			>90%
	Hawksbill			>90%
3	Raja Ampat	🇮🇩 Indonesia	2 of 2	~80%
	Green Sea Turtle			~90%
	Hawksbill			>90%
4	Bali Barat National Park	🇮🇩 Indonesia	2 of 2	~60%
	Green Sea Turtle			~70%
	Hawksbill			~80%
5	Ningaloo Marine Park	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 2	~40%
	Green Sea Turtle			>90%
	Hawksbill			~40%
6	Cape Range	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 2	~40%
	Green Sea Turtle			>90%
	Hawksbill			~40%
7	Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	2 of 2	~40%
	Green Sea Turtle			~60%
	Hawksbill			~60%
8	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	2 of 2	~30%
	Green Sea Turtle			~90%
	Hawksbill			~30%
9	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	2 of 2	~20%
	Green Sea Turtle			~50%
	Hawksbill			~40%
10	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	2 of 2	~10%
	Green Sea Turtle			~40%
	Hawksbill			~30%
11	Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	2 of 2	~10%
	Green Sea Turtle			~40%
	Hawksbill			~30%
12	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	2 of 2	~10%
	Green Sea Turtle			~30%
	Hawksbill			~30%
13	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	2 of 2	~10%
	Green Sea Turtle			~30%
	Hawksbill			~20%
14	Machalilla National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~80%
15	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~80%
16	Cabo Pulmo National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~80%
17	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~60%
18	Royal National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~50%
19	Ostional Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~50%
20	Noosa National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~50%
21	Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~50%
22	Booderee National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~40%
23	Tijuca National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~40%
24	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~40%
25	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~40%
26	Main Ridge Forest Reserve	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~40%
27	Padre Island National Seashore	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~40%
28	Celestún Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 2	Missing: Green turtle
	Hawksbill			~30%
29	Daintree National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~30%
30	Everglades National Park	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~20%

Cities

#	City	Country	Animals	All 2 in 3 days
1	Sydney	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 2	Missing: Hawksbill
	Green Sea Turtle			~30%

Zoos & centres

#	Zoo / Centre	Country
1	SeaWorld San Diego	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 2 in captivity
2	Kélonia	🇫🇷 France	2 of 2 in captivity
3	Aquarium de La Rochelle	🇫🇷 France	2 of 2 in captivity
4	Aquarium des lagons	🇫🇷 France	2 of 2 in captivity
5	Beijing Zoo	🇨🇳 China	2 of 2 in captivity
6	Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo	🇧🇲 Bermuda	2 of 2 in captivity
7	Emirates Park Zoo	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	2 of 2 in captivity
8	Gran Acuario de Mazatlán "Mar de Cortés"	🇲🇽 Mexico	2 of 2 in captivity
9	Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden	🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China	2 of 2 in captivity
10	Key West Aquarium	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 2 in captivity
11	L'Oceanogràfic	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 2 in captivity
12	Lagoonarium	🇵🇫 French Polynesia	2 of 2 in captivity
13	Maui Ocean Center	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 2 in captivity
14	National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium	🇹🇼 Taiwan	2 of 2 in captivity
15	North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 2 in captivity
16	North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 2 in captivity
17	Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium	🇯🇵 Japan	2 of 2 in captivity
18	Palau Aquarium	🇵🇼 Palau	2 of 2 in captivity
19	Parque y Zoológico Nacional Arquitecto Manuel Valverde Podestá	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	2 of 2 in captivity
20	Penang Bird Park	🇲🇾 Malaysia	2 of 2 in captivity

Show all 20 Show fewer

Before you go

Where is the best place to see Sea Turtles?

Coiba National Park

In Coiba National Park, Panama, the chance of seeing all 2 (green turtle and hawksbill) on the same day is about 70%, the highest of the 13 parks where all of them live, and over a three-day visit it rises to over 90%. Next come Komodo National Park (about 50% a day), Raja Ampat (about 30% a day) and Bali Barat National Park (about 10% a day). It multiplies each animal's daily chance, as if they were independent, so read it as a rough guide.

Which of Sea Turtles is hardest to see?

Green turtle

In Coiba National Park, the best park for Sea Turtles, about about 80% of wildlife watchers report the green turtle on a given day, against about 90% for the hawksbill. The hardest one decides how many days you need.

How do you complete Sea Turtles on Wallace's Line?

Mark them as seen

Tick ✓ Seen on each animal's card, add your trips, or link your iNaturalist account. Your passport counts Sea Turtles three ways: anywhere in the world, all in one park, and all in a single trip.

← All challenges

Sea Turtles

The checklist: 2 animals

Green Sea Turtle

Hawksbill

Where to go

Month by month at Coiba National Park

Month by month at Coiba National Park

Month by month at Coiba National Park

Month by month at Coiba National Park

Month by month at Coiba National Park

Month by month at Coiba National Park

Time of day

Parks

Cities

Zoos & centres

Before you go

Where is the best place to see Sea Turtles?

Which of Sea Turtles is hardest to see?

How do you complete Sea Turtles on Wallace's Line?