Santiago Island: Turtle Watching Tour with Wildlife Guides

Join a guided turtle watching tour on Santiago Island and witness female loggerhead turtles nesting. Visit Pedra Badejo and enjoy a fresh coconut before the observation.
Experience one of the most unique and breathtaking wildlife moments in the animal kingdom when the majestic female loggerhead turtle comes ashore to dig her nest and drop up to 100 ping pong ball-sized eggs in the sand, before retracting back to the surf.

Begin your experience by heading to Praia de Clarinha in Pedra Badejo, where the Associação Ambiental Caretta Caretta set up camp to continue their important work of turtle conservation during the nesting season.

Pedra Badejo is also very popular for its coconut plantations, and you will have the chance to try fresh coconuts before the turtle observation.

The tour will be operated by experienced and sensible turtle observation guides under the watch of the conservation staff at the beach. Follow the instructions of the guides and conservation personnel at all times.

It is not allowed to drink alcohol during the tour or appear intoxicated. It is not allowed to use flashlights, phone lights, or other types of artificial lights. It is allowed to take pictures and videos without flash if the guides and conservation staff allow these.

It is the highest priority to guarantee an undisturbed nesting process. Therefore, you are advised to wear dark clothes if possible and refrain from wearing perfume or strong-smelling cosmetics.

The excursion will be held in a small multinational group. The staff speaks English, Portuguese, French, and German. Due to operational reasons, German and French guiding cannot be guaranteed.

Please note: though Cabo Verde is one of the world’s most popular turtle mating and nesting spots, the island of Santiago is amongst the less popular ones for the local loggerhead population. Therefore, it is not guaranteed that the nesting can be witnessed or that turtles will be spotted.

The operator has more than 3 years of experience in turtle observation tourism on the island of Boa Vista, but this is their first season in Santiago, so they have no experienced data about the frequency of turtle sightings. However, from mid-August onwards, the probability of observing hatchlings inside Caretta Caretta’s hatchery can almost be guaranteed.

For each guest, €5 is donated to the Associação Ambiental Caretta Caretta.

Para garantizar la disponibilidad de la reserva lo antes posible. Vale la pena reservar con antelación, especialmente si planeas el viaje durante la temporada alta, como los días festivos o los fines de semana.

Esta excursión se puede cancelar sin costo alguno hasta :tiempo de cancelación horas antes del inicio del viaje. Si lo cancela después de 24 horas o no se presenta en la excursión, se le cobrará el precio total de la actividad. El retraso en la recogida o en la salida se considerará como no presentarse.