Nassau Swim With Sea Turtles

Pearl Island's northern reef hosts one of the Bahamas' densest concentrations of juvenile green sea turtles, a population that doubled between 2019 and 2024 after the Bahamas National Trust established a seasonal nesting corridor along the island's western shore. The turtles—Chelonia mydas, green sea turtles named for the color of their fat rather than their shells—migrate here from feeding grounds as far as the Sargasso Sea, drawn by beds of seagrass that thrive in the mineral-rich currents sweeping between Pearl Island and Paradise Island. Adult greens can weigh 300 pounds, but the juveniles gliding through Pearl Island's shallows average 40 to 60 pounds, their carapaces mottled olive and amber. The reef lies in 8 to 15 feet of water, shallow enough for snorkelers to hover alongside the turtles as they graze, their beaked mouths cropping turtle grass with methodical precision. Hawksbill turtles—smaller, more solitary, their shells patterned like tortoiseshell combs—patrol the coral ledges hunting sponges. Both species are listed as endangered, and Pearl Island's protected zone prohibits fishing and anchoring within 200 meters of the reef. The approach from Nassau harbor passes Rose Island and the abandoned lighthouse at Athol Island before rounding Pearl Island's eastern point. The island itself is a reclaimed resort property; the original Pearl Island Beach Club closed in 2014, reopening in 2017 with a conservation mandate that limits daily visitor numbers to 150. That cap keeps the reef uncrowded even during winter high season. Morning departures encounter calmer water and better visibility—the reef's sandy bottom reflects sunlight, creating the electric-blue clarity that defines Bahamian snorkeling. By midday, Nassau swim with sea turtles tours share the shallows with turtles surfacing to breathe, their nostrils breaking the surface every four to seven minutes. The reef drops to 30 feet along its northern edge, where Nassau grouper and yellowtail snapper school above staghorn coral colonies planted by the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation since 2020.