🌿 Nature
Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary
A one-man hawksbill turtle project on the windward shore, raising hatchlings for release.
Typical duration
45 min
Price
Donation, about EC$20-30 per person (≈ €6.8–10 / $7.4–11)
From port
4.5 km / 2.8 mi
Transfer time
15 min
Indoor / Outdoor
outdoor
Queue risk
low
🕐 Best time to visit
Morning, when the tanks are being cleaned and fed
The Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary is a private project on the windward side of the island, started by Orton King, a retired fisherman who began collecting hawksbill hatchlings from nearby beaches to raise them past the age at which almost all of them die. What you see is modest: concrete tanks under a shade roof, turtles sorted by year, and a guide who explains the work and the arguments about it. It is not a slick attraction, and conservationists disagree about the approach, but it is genuinely the island's best thing to do with children. Entry is by donation and you need a taxi to get here.
Getting there from the port
Taxi across the island to Park Bay, about 15 minutes; ask the driver to wait