Marine life profile
Green Turtle
Recorded at 2342 dive sitesWhere divers encounter it
Explore Green Turtle around the world
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), also known as the green turtle, black sea turtle, and Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It alternates between relaxed cruising, feeding and resting, surfacing periodically to breathe.
Meet the species
What to look for
How to Recognize It
Look for a streamlined shell, paddle-shaped front flippers and a beaked face built for its preferred food.
How It Behaves
It alternates between relaxed cruising, feeding and resting, surfacing periodically to breathe.
Special Ability
Powerful navigation instincts guide long journeys between feeding grounds and nesting beaches.
Dive responsibly
Share the water well
How to Approach
Stay beside or slightly behind it, never above it when it needs to surface. Let the turtle set the pace.
Safety
Do not touch, feed, ride or block a turtle. Maintain distance at cleaning stations and around resting animals.
Worth knowing
The detail you remember
Interesting Facts
It is the only species in the genus Chelonia.
Where to Find
Look around seagrass meadows, coral reefs, rocky feeding grounds and protected bays with access to the surface.
Known countries
Sightings map
Green Turtle locations
Plan a dive
Dive sites with reported encounters
Confetti Bay
Mauritius
A firm favourite in the North, a shallow dive site with a slight drop off to a max of 30 m. An ideal training site for PADI Open Water Divers, or a PADI Search and Recovery Specialty, Fish ID, Naturalist or PADI Advanced Open Water Course! So many schools of fish to swim with and enjoy stunning visibility and beautiful colour. Great for macro.
Casa Blanca
Mexico
This is a gorgeous reef named after Casa Gordon, a beachfront house which used to white. The reef very similar in composition and marine life to Paso del Cedral, with a constant drift which helps travel over the reef. A favorite of Cozumel's repeat divers, this dive site is often thriving with sharks, green morays and turtles.
Casino Point Dive Park
United States
One of the most popular dive sites in North America is well worth the acclaim. Featuring enchanting kelp forests, ever-changing marine life and convenient entry, the Casino Point Dive Park is a site you will want to visit again and again.
Cow Rock
United States
Cow Rock, often mentioned with its counterpart Calf Rock, is one of the most popular sites on the South side. Consisting of a rocky bottom topography that is covered in colorful growth, these natural formations create several swim through’s that attract many divers. In addition, this site and others in the area fall within the protected waters of a marine preserve. An abundance of fish, turtles, lobsters, rays, and sharks can be seen here.
El Natural
Puerto Rico
Beach Dive with both a shallow and a deep drop off to 40 m. Many types of sponges and invertabrae. Excellent DPV dive to deep wall using EANX30
Honolua Bay
United States of America (USA)
During the winter months Honolua Bay gets some of the big waves that make Maui famous, the waves that surfers love also bring nutrient dense water into the reef keeping it healthy. In the summer months, and on special winter occasions, Honolua Bay is a must. The coral formations are exceptional, you’re bound to see some large turtles, and mantas are even spotted in certain seasons.
Ilha do Meio
Brazil
Sheltered and quiet place with dives up to 15 m depth. This island, which lies between the Sea of Outside and the Sea of Inside, is very rich in marine life.
Kadena North Steps
Japan
Amazing Reef with Sandy area. Steps for entry/exit Nice Swim through
Kandooma Thila
Maldives
Kandooma Thila, or also called Cocoa Thila, is one of the most exciting dives in South Male’ Atoll with great scenery as well as prolific fish life. The west and north side are the most spectacular, with the top at 16m. These are a focal point for schools of Bluefin Trevallies, eagle rays, dogtooth tunas and loose groups of gray reef sharks (50+ in the right current). Cleaning station for grey reef , you can see them going in a vertical position while small wrasses are cleaning them. Currents can be very strong making it a challenging dive. For experienced divers only.
Mermaid's Grotto
Japan
Short little walk through a wooded area and the Beach opens up for an amazing view. Photographers come here for the above water rock formations. Entry can be straight into the ocean. The best place to enter is to use the channel that was cut out as you can see in the map. It deep enough to start putting your fins on and kick out to the deeper spots. Be prepared to exit at another location and return to vehicle by foot. Its located in the Onna area. Dive site is classified as a level 5 (easy 1 to 5 hard). Parking on the road is limited.
Mike's Maze
Sint Maarten
Part of the Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area. It starts at approximately 40 feet (12 m) and boasts healthy coral formations and numerous maze-like swim throughs, passageways wind around coral heads, through arches and over bridges. This location is where the Nature Foundation conducted one of its coral reef restoration projects. Common critters: Many of the 60 TWA fish species! French Angelfish, schooling Chubs, Spiny Lobster, & Foureye Butterflyfish, Elkhorn Coral formations, Special guests: Spotted Eagle Rays, Squid, Caribbean Reef Sharks, Nurse Sharks, Sexy Shrimp in anemones, staghorn coral formations
MIYARU KANDU
Maldives
Miyaru Kandu is a fascinating channel dive in the Maldives that features many small caves on both sides of the channel and numerous overhangs. The entire channel has been declared a protected marine area. This memorable drift dive is experienced on an incoming current, however even with an outgoing current divers are likely to get a lot of action, though the visibility is not so good. The south side passage of the site contains many large rocks covered with soft corals and teeming with reef fish. On the north side of the channel there is a cave 33m/108ft deep, which is ideal for spotting grey reef sharks. There are also many caves and overhangs at deeper depths on the outside of the reef. This location is ideal for underwater photography.
Pelican Rock
Mexico
Pelican Rock is one of Cabo's most famous sites. A pinnacle covered in purple fans rising up above the surface from around 14 meters underwater at its deepest. Just in front of the pinnacle we also have a beautiful wall dive filled with life, and off to its side one of Cabo's famous sand falls. The dive site has something for everyone. The shallows are great for courses & newer divers, while the deep walls make it an incredible spot for tec divers to explore. But the big highlight is the sheer amount of life that inhabits the site all year round, making it a beautiful spot for all levels of divers.
Toilet Bowl
Japan
High Risk Dive site for entry and exit. You will climb over Lime Stone rock to get to the water. the Walk/climb in is dangerous due to the Lime Stone rock being very sharp. Highly encourage to dive this site with an experienced Diver who have dived it prior. Site can shift in current pretty fast, so be prepared to exit at another location and walk back to vehicle. Can be done from Boat. Known for having sharks throughout the year.
5 Palms, Thulusdhoo
Maldives
5 Palms is a fun drift dive that has something to offer for every level of diver. The top of the reef starts at 5m and drops down at 8m. At 22/25m there is a sandy plateau on the edge of which big fish appear from time to time.
Abo Almadafee أبو المدافع
Saudi Arabia
There are types of sharks, tuna, barracuda and dolphins, characterized by currents and good visibility, there are caves in it, and there is an area behind the Abu almadafea that is useful for snorkeling and swimming.
Abrolhos / Chapeirão Faca Cega
Location being verified
The set of coral pinnacles that received the name of “Faca Cega“ (Blind Knife) consists of one of the main diving points of the Abrolhos Archipelago. It has a room that reaches a depth of 25 meters, with almost 20 meters in diameter. The view is impressive, with several passages and burrows.
Abu Talha
Egypt
15min drive north. Shallowly sloping coral garden with pinnacles, which, when dived north, turns into a sandy slope with table corals. In the shallow area especially beautiful due to massive hard coral blocks.Entrance over the reef top, therefore only diveable at high tide and little wind.
Abwonderdive House Reef
Indonesia
This shore dive ranges from 5m to 30m, featuring a coral reef starting at 3m with soft and hard corals. Artificial reef structures lie between 15m and 18m. The current is usually mild to moderate, making for a manageable dive. The surface is generally calm but can be choppy from May to October.
Achziv Canyon קניון אכזיב
Israel
The Achziv Canyon is a long wall stretching from north to south parallel to the shore line, about 1km from shore. It starts at 10 meters (30 feet) deep and drops to 30 meters (100 feet).
Acres Canyon - קניוני עכו
Israel
A nice, relatively pristine canyon/wall situated 1 mile (1.6 km) off the shore of ancient Acres. The wall starts at 8 meters (16 feet) and drops to around 26 meters (85 feet). It is 70 meters long (330 feet) with a lot of small niches and caves.
Acuario
Mexico
Shallow easy reef dive site. Maximum depth 13m. Mixture of sandy areas and reef. Ideal for Basic Diver and Open Water courses, also excellent training dive site with a large sandy area by the boat moooring line.
Aiona Wreck (حطام أيونا)
Saudi Arabia
ربما أفضل حطام في الجانب السعودي من البحر الأحمر. مليئة بالحياة البحرية. يتم تقسيم هذا الحطام إلى أجزاء 2 ، واحد يصلح لمستوى الدخول مع مسافة مفتوحة والآخر يناسب الغواصين الأعمق والمتقدم مع الممرات والغرف وعمق يصل إلى 50 مترا.
Ajoy
Malaysia
Location: 7 minutes boat ride south of Juara Bay; Depth: 18m+; Current: Sometimes Medium current which could offer drift dive; Site: A sloping coral reef which move into boulder formations full of macro life, moving through a riverscape along the island edge onto a shallow reef with huge rock features.