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On some nights in French Guiana, an enormous shape comes out of the water and climbs the dark sand. An adult leatherback can reach 160 cm and 450 kg, according to the Kwata association. She digs, lays, covers, leaves. It takes an hour or more. It is one of the strongest encounters this territory can offer, and it happens a few hundred metres from several of our rentals.
Let us be clear from the start: a sighting is never guaranteed. It depends on the season, the hour, and above all on luck. Some people spend three nights on the beach and see nothing. And the point is not to see: the point is not to disturb. A disturbed female may leave without laying. A hatchling disoriented by a white light heads for the road instead of the sea. Here is what local sources say about the species, the sites, the seasons, and above all the code of conduct.
Three species nest on Guianese beaches
The leatherback is the largest sea turtle in the world. It feeds almost exclusively on jellyfish. Kwata gives a breeding season running roughly between April and August, and notes that numbers swing widely: around a thousand nests in the early 2000s, close to ten thousand in 2009, then a sharp drop in the early 2020s. Rémire-Montjoly remains a major site for it.
The olive ridley is the smallest of the three, around 70 cm. Its signature behaviour: females sometimes come ashore all together to nest. Kwata places its mass nesting on the Île de Cayenne from roughly June to August, which makes this one of the most important nesting sites in the Atlantic.
The green turtle favours the beaches of western Guiana rather than the east. Around Awala-Yalimapo is where you are most likely to come across its tracks.
Where to watch: the Île de Cayenne and the west
Two areas hold most of the activity. In the east, the Île de Cayenne: the beaches of Cayenne and Rémire-Montjoly, in particular Montjoly and Montravel. This is where Kwata runs its monitoring of female nesting activity, and the easiest area to reach if you are staying in Cayenne or Rémire-Montjoly.
In the west, Awala-Yalimapo and the Plage des Hattes, inside the Amana national nature reserve. The site is described as one of the largest sea turtle nesting sites in the world, along some five kilometres of sand. Kwata works there with the reserve and has run the Kawana hatchery since 2023 to protect leatherback nests. Factor in the drive: this is the far side of the country, about 250 km from Cayenne to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, then further again to Awala.
| Species | Mainly where | When (per sources) | What you see |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leatherback | Rémire-Montjoly, Cayenne, Plage des Hattes | Roughly April to August (Kwata) | A huge, very slow animal; a long nesting sequence |
| Green turtle | Western beaches, Awala-Yalimapo | Rather early in the year (Air Caraïbes) | Wide tracks in the sand, discreet night nesting |
| Olive ridley | Île de Cayenne | Roughly June to August (Kwata) | Grouped arrivals, sometimes several females at once |
| Emergences | Same beaches | About 60 to 70 days after laying | Dozens of hatchlings racing for the sea |
Nesting and hatching seasons
The French Guiana tourism board describes a nesting season spread over much of the first half of the year, with a peak between April and July, and observation happening mostly at night, from late afternoon through to early morning. Emergences follow around sixty to seventy days later, so the first hatchlings appear while the last females are still nesting.
These markers shift from year to year, and so do the numbers. Do not plan a whole trip around a date. Before you travel, check the current year’s calendar with Kwata and the French Guiana tourism board. They are the ones who know what is actually happening on the sand this season.
The code of conduct
These are not optional suggestions. These are protected species, and disturbance has direct consequences on nesting and on hatchling survival.
- No white light, no flash. White light disorients adults and hatchlings alike. If you need to see, use a red-light torch, as little as possible.
- Keep your distance. Stay several metres back from the animal, behind her.
- Never touch a turtle and never climb on one.
- Do not stand in front of her. Not on her path to the sea, not facing her head while she digs.
- Do not dig up nests and do not try to help hatchlings reach the water. That crossing over the sand matters to them.
- Do not drive on the beach. Vehicle ruts trap hatchlings and compact the sand.
- Dogs on a lead, always. Roaming dogs are one of the identified threats to nests.
- Silence. No running, no shouting, no music around the animal.
One last point, which applies from your rental too: on a beachfront property in high season, close your shutters or dim your seaward lights in the evening. Light pollution is one of the threats Kwata is working to reduce.
Go with a guided outing when one is available
This is the best option, for you and for the turtles. Kwata runs educational seaside outings and activities, notably during emergences, and its teams are on the beaches in season to inform the public. A guide teaches you to read tracks, to recognise the phases of nesting, and to know when to stay back.
These outings depend on the season and on available staff. Ask ahead rather than counting on one the same evening. If nothing is running, stay on the accessible beaches, follow the code above, and accept that you may go home having seen nothing.
Where to stay near the beaches
On the Île de Cayenne we have several addresses minutes from the sand. In Rémire-Montjoly: Kaz’Alizés, a renovated air-conditioned apartment in a quiet residence with a pool, beach 100 m away (Airbnb · Booking); the Studio Jacuzzi Privatif, with its outdoor hot tub and self check-in by key box (Airbnb); and Kaz Mboa vue mer (Airbnb · Booking).
On the Montabo side of Cayenne: Kaz Toti, a villa with a private pool and terrace, Montabo beach on foot, sea turtles in season (Airbnb · Booking), and Cocon Montabo, an air-conditioned studio close to the beach (Booking). Our full catalogue and the all our rentals page have the details.
One honest note: we have no rental in Awala-Yalimapo, or anywhere in western Guiana. If your trip is built around the Plage des Hattes, you will need to stay locally or towards Mana and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, with other hosts. We would rather tell you.
Frequently asked questions
If I come in season, am I sure to see a turtle?
No. The season improves your odds; it does not turn them into a certainty. Allow several evenings if this matters to you, and treat any encounter as a bonus.
Can I go on my own, without a guide?
The beaches of the Île de Cayenne are public. But a guided outing is still better: you will see more and disturb less. On your own, follow the code of conduct to the letter.
Can I take photographs?
Never with a flash: it disorients the turtles. At night and without flash, photos are very difficult anyway. Many visitors end up putting the phone away and simply watching, which is probably the better choice.
What if I find a nest or hatchlings?
Touch nothing, dig nothing, do not help the young reach the water. Move away, switch off your lights, and report the situation to Kwata or to staff on site if something looks wrong.
Watching a leatherback nest at Montjoly is not something you forget. It has to be earned: time, patience, and strict discipline on light and distance. We can put you minutes from the beaches of the Île de Cayenne and tell you, on arrival, where the season stands and who is running what. Message us on WhatsApp, email contact@amazon-conciergerie-guyane.com, or use our contact page. Direct booking, no commission, on our booking page.
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