Zielo Adventures
A Galápagos green sea turtle swimming over a shallow reef

Galápagos wildlife · Marine life

The Galápagos green sea turtle

Chelonia mydas agassizii · Cheloniidae

Short answer

The green turtle is the animal most visitors actually swim with in the Galápagos, and the only sea turtle that nests here. The eastern Pacific population is darker than green turtles elsewhere — dark enough that it is often called the black turtle. They graze algae in shallow bays, surface calmly a few metres from snorkellers, and are entirely indifferent to being watched.

1 m 2 m A person · 1.75 m 1.2 m

Actual size

shell length.

Length
1.2 m
Weight
to 150 kg
Lifespan
Estimated 60–80 years
The thing people repeat afterwards

They are called green for the colour of their fat, not their shell — a name given by the people who used to eat them.

Where you actually see one

This is the part a general encyclopedia cannot tell you: not where the species occurs, but which sites you can stand on, and what each one is like.

THE EQUATOR EspañolaFloreanaSan CristóbalSanta CruzFernandinaSantiagoIsabelaMarchenaPinta 1 Tortuga Bay 1 Black Turtle Cove 2 Concha de Perla 2 Los Túneles 3 Kicker Rock 3 Playa Mann 4 Las Bachas
  1. 1

    Santa Cruz — Tortuga Bay and Black Turtle Cove

    Tortuga Bay is a walk from Puerto Ayora. Black Turtle Cove is a mangrove lagoon entered by panga — turtles, rays and juvenile sharks in still water.

  2. 2

    Isabela — Concha de Perla and Los Túneles

    Concha de Perla is a sheltered channel a short walk from the pier. Turtles come to you.

  3. 3

    San Cristóbal — Kicker Rock and Playa Mann

    Turtles pass through the Kicker Rock channel alongside the sharks and rays.

  4. 4

    Santa Cruz — Las Bachas beach

    A nesting beach on the north shore. Tracks in the sand from December onward.

Coastlines are real. Darwin and Wolf sit 1.7° further north and are left off so the rest stays legible.

When to go for this one

Year-round in the water. Nesting runs roughly December to June, with hatchlings emerging from about March.

The archipelago has two seasons and they are good at different things — we break both down here, month by month.

Turtles and tortoises get confused constantly, and in the Galápagos they are two animals that never meet. The difference, side by side →

Most encounters with this one happen underwater. Which dive sites, what certification they need, and when →

How to tell it apart

  • Smooth, heart-shaped shell — no overlapping plates, unlike a hawksbill.
  • The eastern Pacific form is very dark, sometimes almost black.
  • One claw on each front flipper; males have a much longer tail.

What it does, and why

  • Adults are almost entirely herbivorous, grazing algae and seagrass — unusual among sea turtles.
  • Surfaces to breathe every few minutes when active, and can rest submerged for hours.
  • Females return to the beach where they hatched, decades later, to nest.

Why people miss it, and who it is not for

This is the part we can write and an encyclopedia cannot: what actually goes wrong when someone comes looking for this animal. It is from running these islands, not from a field guide.

The commonest mistake is the name

People book a trip to see “the turtles” meaning the giant tortoises, and end up snorkelling. Or the reverse. They are two animals in two places on two different days.

Chasing one ends the encounter

They are calm until you swim at them, and then they are gone in three strokes. The people who spend ten minutes with a turtle are the ones who stopped moving.

Hatchlings are a night event and mostly closed to visitors

The nesting beaches are protected after dark and a phone screen disorients hatchlings, which navigate by light. If someone offers you a hatchling release, ask which park permit it runs under.

Conservation status

IUCN Red List: Endangered (green turtle, globally)

The green turtle is listed Endangered globally. In the Galápagos the nesting beaches are protected and the population is comparatively stable, but plastic, longline bycatch and introduced predators on nesting beaches remain the pressures.

Questions people ask about the green sea turtle

Can you swim with sea turtles in the Galápagos?

Yes, and it is one of the most reliable wildlife encounters in the islands. Concha de Perla on Isabela and Tortuga Bay on Santa Cruz are both shore-entry sites where turtles graze within a few metres of snorkellers. You never touch or chase; you float and let them work around you.

When do turtles nest in the Galápagos?

Roughly December to June. Females haul out at night on beaches such as Las Bachas and Quinta Playa, and hatchlings start emerging around March. Beaches are closed or restricted during peak nesting, which is why an itinerary in those months is built differently.

Why are Galápagos green turtles so dark?

The eastern Pacific population carries much darker pigmentation than green turtles elsewhere, which is why it is commonly called the black turtle. Whether it is a distinct subspecies is still argued among biologists.

Are sea turtles dangerous?

No. They are grazing herbivores with no defensive interest in people. The only real risk is a snorkeller crowding one and forcing it to surface awkwardly — which is what the two-metre rule prevents.

What else is on the same islands

These share at least one island with the green sea turtle. On a real day out you are likely to see several of them on the same walk.