BEFORE YOU GO

Travel insurance: SafetyWing
Fun Activities in Cyprus:
– Blue Lagoon Cruise from Ayia Napa
– Boat trip to Cape Greco and Blue Lagoon from Protaras
– Boat Trip Blue Lagoon Akamas and Relaxing Day from Paphos
– Half Day Caves Jeep Safari

When planning my trip to Cyprus, I had beach after beautiful turquoise beach on my bucket list. I never thought about what could be under those turquoise clear waters. Until one day, when my friend and I were at a beach (Kalamies Beach). I had fallen asleep in the shade (one of my favourite past times is to have a snooze at the beach – best feeling ever – who is with me?). I was just waking up when my friend came back and said she had seen a sea turtle. I thought she was mucking around to make me wake up faster. After asking her about 100 times she kept insisting she had. We headed back to where she had seen the sea turtle and low and behold after about 10 minutes of looking into the water, there it was, popping it’s little head out of the water taking a breath. This is when my obsession in searching for them began. I had always loved turtles, it was my grandma’s favourite animal and no matter where I travelled, I would always look for a turtle souvenir to buy for her. So I bought a snorkel and the rest is history – I cannot even remember how many times I have now swam with sea turtles, but it is definitely more than times. If you are visiting Cyprus and looking for the best snorkelling locations to find sea turtles, this is the guide for you!

A Little About Sea Turtle Patterns in Cyprus

Nesting Season – from May until early August

Hatchling season – from late July to September

Best time of year to find Sea Turtles – from May to October

Where Can You See Sea Turtles in Cyprus? These Are My Top Locations Where I Swam With Them

Sirena Bay Beach:

My number one location is Sirena Bay – here, I swam with turtles on a daily basis for about 10 days in a row. Believe it, or not, I am still in disbelief myself. Top Tip: during the summer (June to September) early mornings between 8am – 10am and late afternoons between 4pm – 7pm were the best times for me to come across these cuties.

Kalamies Beach:

This is the beach where I had my first sighting and it is not too far away from Sirena Bay Beach. If you have a look at the map below you can see it is just around the corner.

Konnos Beach:

One of my FAVOURITE beaches of Cyprus. Not only are the waters super clear and an unreal turquoise colour, the beach is secluded and surrounded by nature. This is where I spotted the largest sea turtle I saw for the whole summer. This beach is about a 15 to 20 minute drive from Sirena Bay. A common thing between all three beaches is that they are located on the South East Coastline of Cyprus, which makes me think the whole of the South East Coastline is a great location for snorkelling and having a high chance of spotting a sea turtle.

Quick History on the Island of Cyprus:

A quick history behind the island of Cyprus is necessary before I mention the next location. The island has a Southern side (known as the Greek side) and a Northern side (known as the occupied side which is only recognised by Turkey). To find out more head click here.

In order to travel from the South to the North and vice versa you need to cross a “border” where you show your passport. To be able to go to Alagadi you will need a car – you will need to make sure your car or rental car is insured for both sides.

Kyrenia District (Κερύνεια) located in the Northern side of Cyprus:

My friends and I went to a beach in Alagadi as this is where there is a Marine Turtle Conservation Project called “Spot Turtle Project”. Every year, sea turtles nest on the beaches of Northern Cyprus. At Alagadi, they have both the green turtle and loggerhead turtle nesting and laying their eggs in the sand.

We found out that Spot Turtle Project allow public visits to attend the release of the sea turtle hatchlings and were lucky enough to be able to book to attend one evening. There are set times of the release of the hatchlings and they happen at the base at Alagadi and on the West Coast in Akdeniz. They are usually released at 8pm, but there are sometimes additional time slots depending on how many hatchlings there are.

As places here are in high demand you can only book from 12pm on the day of release once Spot Turtle Project know when a release will be taking place.

Spot Turtle Project also offer excursions on the beach (during the adult nesting season) with volunteers to stay into the night. This is when the sea turtles come out of the sea to lay their eggs. During this excursion you can see the nesting process. During the hatchling season, you can book to attend nest excavations which include determining the success of the nest as well as to see the excavation of hatchlings that are stuck beneath the sand.

All excursions are FREE. Spot Turtle Project is a charity so my friends and I bought some merchandise from their info centre as well as donated some money to support their AMAZING efforts and HARD WORK to protect the beautiful sea angels (sea turtles – this is my nickname for them – they are sooo graceful swimming – check out my reel to see what I’m talking about).

To book onto any of these excursions, either visit the base at the Goatshed, Alagadi, call (0090) 0533 872 5350 or contact Spot Turtle Project through their Facebook Page.

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