about 3 hours · Evening · Wildlife

Turtle nesting watch at Rekawa beach

No charge from us. The project charges an admission fee at the visitor centre; the amount is not published. You pay there, not to us.

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Green sea turtle swimming over seagrass in shallow water off Sri Lanka — Green sea turtle in shallow water off Sri LankaPhoto: Jithma Kalingu via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What happens

A night watch on Rekawa beach run by the Turtle Conservation Project: you wait at the visitor centre from 20:30 and are walked to a nesting turtle only if one comes ashore. On some nights none do. Red torches only, no flash, no touching, and no hatchlings on request.

What is in the price

Included

Once you pay the project's fee: the visitor centre and a guided walk to the beach when a turtle nests

Not included

The project's admission fee, paid at the visitor centre
Transfer from Tangalle (about 10 km)

Season

Runs all year.

Turtles nest all year at Rekawa, with more from about April to July. Full-moon nights are brighter and often quieter.

Limits

Minimum age 6.
Waiting can run past midnight. Bring repellent and patience.

How we run it

This is an in-situ watch, not a hatchery. The project asks visitors never to ask locals, hotel staff or guides to show them baby turtles. We do not sell hatchery visits where hatchlings are kept in tanks or handled.

Where it is offered

Tangalle (Rekawa and Hiriketiya)

Tours with this activity

Wilpattu to the south coast, 12 daysIncluded · tour, $1,368 per person for two, 12 days, comfort hotels, shoulder season, tickets included, temple-run sites and one activity paid there
Honeymoon Sri Lanka, 9 daysIncluded · tour, $1,268 per person for two, 9 days, superior hotels, shoulder season, tickets included, one activity paid there
Surf and beach, south coast, 8 daysIncluded · tour, $824 per person for two, 8 days, comfort hotels, November rates, tickets included, one activity paid there
Ayurveda and wellness, 8 daysOptional extra · tour, $1,165 per person for two, 8 days, comfort hotels, shoulder season, tickets included

Sri Lanka with children: safaris and child prices
Keep drives under three hours and pick Udawalawe over Yala. A 7-day loop for a family of four is about USD 2,080 with Majeste in comfort hotels, Nov 2026.
Sri Lanka honeymoon: route, season and cost
Two nights at most stops, the hill train and three coast nights: nine days in 4-star hotels is about USD 1,259 each with Majeste, as of 7 Nov 2026.
Best time to visit Sri Lanka: month by month
January to March is driest on the west and south coasts, in the hills and the Cultural Triangle; May to September suits the east. Checked 7 Nov 2026.

Where the figures come from

Turtle Watch Rekawa (Turtle Conservation Project), checked 7 Nov 2026
ABTA Animal Welfare Guidelines, unacceptable practices, checked 7 Nov 2026

Looking for something else?

See all activities, including what we do not sell.