swim with turtles
SWIM WITH TURTLES LADY MUSGRAVE ISLAND
Swim With Turtles
Swim With Turtles Great Barrier Reef
Take a swim with a wild turtle in the inviting, pristine waters of the Lady Musgrave Lagoon. The calm, turquoise water in the sheltered lagoon provides the perfect opportunity to come face to face with a turtle while snorkelling from our luxury catamaran, Reef Empress.
Lady Musgrave Experience offers guests an experience like no other swimming turtles of the Lady Musgrave lagoon in their natural habitat. Watch as a turtle swims up for a breath of air or glides past you as you float on in awe.
See turtles all year round as these beautiful creatures take refuge in the sheltered lagoon. During the day turtles can be seen swimming in the lagoon, resting under ledges or getting cleaned by fish at cleaning stations, where you can witness the turtles being cleaned by smaller fish.
The two types of turtles seen in the lagoon include the friendly, docile green turtle like Crush from the movie Finding Nemo. The other species seen all year around is the endangered hawksbill turtle. Throughout the breeding season the larger loggerhead turtles enter the lagoon to nest on the island then return back out to sea.
Swim With Turtles, Lady Musgrave Experience
An Abundance Of Marine Life Everywhere
Huge coral walls with pristine corals, ledges and caves just waiting to be explored. They are home to many of our signature marine life species in:
- The Giant Queensland Groper
- Moray Eels
- Resident Green, SW Pacific Loggerhead and Hawksbill Turtles
- Large Pelagics
- Black Tip Reef Sharks
- Anemones and Anemone Fish
- Lion Fish
- Manta Rays
- Eagle Rays, Sting Rays
- Thousands of species of reef fish just abundant in numbers likely rarely seen before
- White Tip Reef Sharks
- Tiger Sharks
- Hammerhead Sharks
- Tawny Sharks
- Lemon sharks
They are all genuine regulars at our private unexplored dive sites that are waiting for your experience.
Great Barrier Reef Swim With Turtles Tours
Learn more about what you might see.
From October, the breeding season begins and the waters are full of activity as more turtles are returning to the beach where they were born to mate and start their own clutch of eggs on Lady Musgrave Island. Between October and March, female turtles come ashore at night to nest, leaving behind turtle tracks for visitors to discover on the island walk.
Hatchlings emerge 8-12 weeks later in December-May, using the lightest area of the night sky to make their way into the sea. The island is home to a moderate sized Green turtle rookery plus a small but stable Loggerhead turtle rookery.
Reef Empress is positioned in the Lady Musgrave lagoon for a comfortable and safe snorkel for guests to explore the snorkel site for turtles and other marine life. The turtles in the Lady Musgrave lagoon are wild marine animals so to ensure the likelihood of swimming with a turtle our crew will provide a briefing highlighting the location of our marked turtle cleaning station.
To assist further, our in water snorkel guides and crew on lookout will point out any passing turtles while ensuring guests are comfortable and safe in the water.
Being in the presence of a turtle is something everyone needs to experience. Our Lady Musgrave Experience snorkelling tours is the perfect opportunity to tick this experience off the bucket list. Ready to take the plunge?
FAQ’s – Swimming With Turtles
Can I touch the turtles?
As visitors to the Lady Musgrave lagoon we ask our guests to show respect to all marine animals by appreciating with your eyes and not hands. Our tours allow guests to witness wild animals in their natural, undisturbed habitat. Guests have the opportunity for a close encounter with a turtle from the island walk, glass bottom boat and swimming with them in the lagoon.
Will I see a turtle?
The turtles at Lady Musgrave are wild creatures however our experience will do everything to provide guests with the opportunity to see a turtle. Our snorkel guides’ in-depth snorkel briefing will highlight the location of a marked turtle cleaning station and best snorkel path for snorkelers. While ensuring the safety of our guests in the water, our in water snorkel guides and look out crew will help spot any turtles for snorkelers. Our Glass Bottom Boat Driver will also take guests to the turtle cleaning station during the Glass Bottom Boat Tours and during breeding season turtle tracks can be seen on the island. If you are very lucky, during the season (January to March), it may be possible to see baby hatchlings running to the water from their nests. Nature is full of surprises and our crew will do our best to work with nature to bring you the best experience possible.