An amazing experience for both the young and old! From late April to early October every year, turtles will lay their eggs on the beaches of Bali, these eggs are collected and provided a safe environment until they hatch, where they are then released back to the environment. This is where you can get involved!
Location: Kuta or Sanur, Bali
The are a couple of places where you can get involved in these turtle release events, the first being at the Kuta Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Centre (KBSTCC). The second being at the Genius cafe in Sanur, the release of the turtles are dependant on when batches hatch and so you have to keep an eye on their social media, to find out when the next release is. Failing that let us know if this is something you are interested in and we will research to find the most suitable place for you to take part during your stay.
The Experience
- ARRIVE EARLY: to avoid disappointment, we advise that you arrive around 1 hour before the scheduled ticket release time. Once the queue starts, it grows very very quickly and depending on how many baby turtles have hatched, depends on how many tickets are available.
- Donations: Once the queue starts moving, you will be asked to pop some money in a box, this is completely up to you and what you would like to donate to this cause, they are a non-profit organisation and all the funds raise go to the care and protection of turtles in and around Bali. In return for the donation you will be given a ticket
- Safety Briefing: Before anyone gets anywhere near the turtles you have to listen to a small safety briefing, not for yourselves but the baby turtles, this is to inform you that the turtles are very delicate and that adults should supervise young children.
- Line up on the beach: Once everyone has been allocated the turtles that are available, you will carry them down to the beach and line up behind a rope in the sand, this is to ensure that nobody disturbs the baby turtles on their first journey to the water!
- OFF they GO!: When told to, you may gently tip over your pot so the turtle can make a run for the sea, you may watch them head off down the beach and make their first steps into the big ocean, as all turtles move down the beach you will be allowed to move closer for photos and videos, but the main priority is the safety of the turtles themselves.
Duration
Generally the releases happen later in the day when the sand is not too hot for the baby turtles, the whole event will last from queuing to baby turtle release, around 2 hours.
Tips for Participants
Arrive Early: Although the sign may say “Get Token 16:30” if the queu is so big that it is blocking the walkway next to the beach they have been known to start this process earlier, as much as 30 mins before hand, so we advise you to arrive around 15:15-15:30 to secure your place in the queue and guarantee your participation in the experience.
Avoid any physical contact with the Baby Turtles: In the whole process the eggs have just been protected from predators and other humans, the turtles will still do their trip down the beach as they would if they just hatched on the beach and the Conservation Centres try to keep the whole process as close to the natural one as possible.
Stay Hydrated: Bring water to stay hydrated, especially in Bali’s warm climate. The are also plenty of small cafes/ bars along the seafront where you can buy a ice cold drink.
Conclusion
For most this is a once in a lifetime activity, allowing you to get incredibly close to a baby turtle and help it on its way for a better future and at the same time helping to increase the number of turtles in our oceans! We cannot stress enough about how sought after this event is and how busy it gets, so let us know if you want more information on the next event and we shall try to help you as best we can!