Even grown men can’t resist the adorable charm of baby sea turtles! The Turtle Hatchery Project in Bali goes by multiple names, including The Turtle Project or Proyek Penyu Turtle Hatchery. Although turtle releases are a huge draw for tourists, The Turtle Project is strictly not-for-profit.
Location
The Proyek Penyu Turtle Hatchery is inside the Reef Seen Divers Resort at Pemuteran Beach. Look for signage for the resort since there are many more signs on the road and the beach. The desk to buy tickets is close to the beach entrance, but anyone around will gladly guide you.
Admission Price at Turtle Hatchery Project
Tickets are Rp. 40,000 per person and are valid for one week from the date of purchase. The operating hours at Proyek Penyu Turtle Hatchery are from 9 am to 5 pm.
What To See at Turtle Hatchery Project
The Turtle Project is a very small place. The “Turtle Project Story” on the price list is just a five-minute explanation of the turtles in the holding pools. This activity runs every half hour. However, if it’s quiet, a staff member will do the story no matter what time it is after you’ve bought a ticket. There is a toilet on-site, but I didn’t need to go so I can’t say what the state of it was.
There were three occupied turtle pools during our visit. One of the pools contained turtles ready for immediate release, and the adjacent pool had turtles that needed a bit more time. The size of the turtles in both tubs looked identical to me, though. The third long pool at the end had one huge adult sea turtle that was twenty years old. This big guy was someone’s pet before he arrived at The Turtle Project, and we were allowed to touch his shell. Apparently, there were no plans to release him.
The daily feeding starts at 4:30 pm. It’s not a grand production. A staff member arrived with bags of fish. She tossed chunks into the pools, and visitors could ask questions while she was around. Feeding the big turtle was a show that was over quickly. The baby turtles, however, spent a long time picking at the food long after the feeder had left. We watched them for fifteen minutes before leaving, and they still hadn’t eaten all the fish yet.
Turtle Releases are very popular at the Proyek Penyu Turtle Hatchery. This activity starts at 9 am and depends on whether any turtles are ready to be released. If you’re coming a long way to do a turtle release, it might be a good idea to call ahead to see if it’s available. Releasing a baby turtle at the Turtle Hatchery Project costs Rp. 100,000.
Saturday Worthy?
If you’re staying in the area or plan to return to Pemuteran Beach multiple times, then The Turtle Project is a cute way to spend thirty minutes or so since the tickets are valid for a week. You can come back to check on the turtles or watch a release or feeding. We were only in Pemuteran for an afternoon, so 80K for half an hour of entertainment was quite expensive. If I could take it back, I would not have come here.
