Seeing endangered Green Turtles in Oman and staying at the Ras al Jinz Turtle reserve.
The torch swung across the sand. Suddenly revealing a huge hole, in the middle of which a dark green turtle lay.
As we crouched silently behind her we could see the eggs, white and glistening, falling into the pit below. The dream of seeing turtles in Oman was coming true in spectacular fashion.
*AD / This post contains affiliate links and I may also have been compensated or gifted in this post. To read more please see my Disclosure Policy.
Table of Contents
About Ras Al Jinz turtle reserve
We had come to Ras al Jinz, the turtle reserve around two hours east of Muscat.
This centre is a leading protector of five species of turtles. All of which use the eastern shoreline of Oman, as nesting grounds, two of these species being endangered.
Seeing endangered Green Turtles in Oman
Our small group moved on, my five-year-old son’s hand clutching mine. I could barely make him out beside me in the dark.
Our guide discovered another turtle, huge and beautiful, also laying her eggs in the soft sand of the Ras al Jinz beach.
We walked silently along the beach. Guided carefully and close now to the sea.
The guide’s torch picked out large, white crabs, scuttling ominously in and out of the tide, searching for newly hatched turtles to eat.
My ten-year-old whispered to me, “they look like skeleton crabs”. He was right, their luminous shells glowed bright and they had a menacing look to them.
We came upon another turtle, her head moving from side to side, large flippers sending sand flying as she worked hard to cover up her newly laid eggs.
It looked such an effort as she pushed the sand. Huge swathes of it sent cascading through the sky.
Predators to the turtles
She would then create another hole. Slightly to the side of her actual nesting site, an attempt to trick the foxes which will come scavenging for turtle eggs for dinner.
With foxes, crabs and gulls a constant threat a staggering 998 turtles born from each 1000 eggs won’t survive.
The reason they are an endangered species depressingly clear.
One of the other scouts on the beach found a small baby turtle. Newly hatched and making its journey to the sea.
Best experience when travelling
It was a magical moment to watch. To know the journey it had ahead of it. To see the white crabs darting backwards and forwards and hope it could be one of the few to make it.
As it disappeared beneath the foaming waves it was impossible not to feel a sense of hope and desperately wanting it to escape into the ocean for a long and happy life.
This hour-long visit to the beach is probably one of, if not the, best experiences I’ve had when travelling.
It is hard to describe quite how emotionally charged it is to see endangered green turtles laying their eggs. Heaving themselves back into the sea.
And watching newly hatched baby turtles making their journey from beach to water and attempting to defeat the odds and survive.
Everyone was incredibly respectful. And although there were many children in our group everyone spoke in hushed tones, no camera flashes glared and everyone listened to our guide.
Staying at the Ras al Jinz Turtle reserve
With tours running at 8.30pm and 5am it was great to be able to wander back to bed afterwards.
Obviously, there is no guarantee of seeing any turtles. Our guide told us that often you will only see the big turtles or only the little turtles. And sometimes, like the week before, nothing at all.
We felt very lucky to see as much as we did.
Glamping in Oman
The Turtle Reserve has two types of accommodation available for guests. The Carapace Rooms designed for families and groups, and the large luxury eco tents which we absolutely loved.
These sturdy tents are based on a hill a short walk from the centre. They come complete with air conditioning, two double beds, TVs, tea and coffee making facilities and an en-suite bathroom with shower and proper flushing loo.
They were perfect for the family to be able to stretch out, read, relax and eat together.
We were so comfortable here. The tent was a great place to escape from the scorching heat of the midday sun and it was just a few minutes’ walk down the hill to the reception centre.
Find out more about Ras al Jinz and check availability here and check out our ultimate guide to Oman with kids.
Top Tips for seeing turtles in Oman
- Don’t just turn up and try to see them yourselves. You can disrupt the very sensitive process and these endangered animals need to be kept as safe as possible. Always travel with a registered guide via Ras al Jinz Scientific centre. They used scout guides on the beach to find nests and also find ways to approach them without disturbing the turtles.
- If you can I definitely advise staying at Ras al Jinz. The safari tents are such lovely, comfortable accommodation. You have two chances to see the turtles – at 8.30pm and 5.30am when we visited in April. This is so much easier when you can just wander down the hill. Hotel guests are also the first group to go out and they have two beaches you can visit if no turtles are found on one of them.
- Children are welcome but you need to explain to them what is happening first and the reason why there can be no noise. We were part of a large group of kids in our trip who I was really worried about but everyone was very respectful of the turtles and kept hushed voices.
- Turn all camera flashes off. These can disturb the turtles and stop them laying their eggs.
- Watch out for the crabs on the beach. We saw lots of crabs waiting for the baby turtles just off the beach in the sea so beware of paddling in the water here.
- Don’t use torches or flashlights on the beach as again these can disrupt the turtles. A benefit of going with a guide is they use special red torches or know when to use regular beams to not disturb the turtles.
- Never try to touch a turtle or pick it up. They should be left completely alone to lay eggs or make their way back to the beach unhindered. Turtles return to the same nesting place each year so any disruption of this process could be catastrophic.
- Be prepared to see nothing. Our guides told us that there were plenty of times in low season when no turtles at all were spotted. The night we visited in April there were 12 turtles on the beach. The night before, two turtles and the one before that none. August is high season when they regular count 125 turtles on the beach here.
