Shell Beach Tours & Tickets

A Shell Beach trip is an expedition package: transport from Georgetown, boats, food, camping gear, protected-area fees and the wardens who accompany you on the beach at night. Group sizes are small, and departures are put together on request during the nesting season rather than run to a timetable.

At night you walk the beach with a warden using red or dimmed light. When a turtle is found you wait at a distance until she has begun laying, when she is less easily disturbed, and then watch quietly. On some nights several turtles come ashore; on others none do.

Shell Beach: how to book locally

Ask a Georgetown tour operator with experience of the north-west, or contact the Protected Areas Commission, which manages the protected area and can advise on permission and on the community groups that host visitors. Give several weeks’ notice so that boats, fuel and food can be organised.

Costs are high for what is a very simple camp, because fuel for the long boat journeys is the main expense; the price per person falls sharply with four or more travellers. Ask exactly what is included, how many nights are spent on the beach, and what happens if sea conditions prevent the crossing.