About this experience
This short evening tour takes you from Weligama to the Koggala Sea Turtle Conservation Project at Habaraduwa, about 15 km west along the coast, and puts you on the sand at the moment a clutch of hatchlings is set free. It is an easy, family-friendly outing built around a hatchery where rescued eggs are protected until the young are strong enough for the water. Releases run in the evening only, and are available from February to June.
Your chauffeur guide collects you from your hotel in Weligama and drives you west along the coast road to the hatchery at Koggala, about half an hour away. There you see the tanks, meet the staff and learn how turtles live, what threatens them at sea and on the shore, and what the conservation work actually involves day to day. Then comes the release itself. You carry a hatchling to the sand, set it down and watch it haul itself towards the surf, pushing past the first waves on its own. Afterwards your driver returns you to your hotel in Weligama.
The tour runs three hours in total and is bookable for one to eight guests. The price covers return hotel transfers from Weligama in an air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking chauffeur guide, plus all entrance fees to the hatchery and conservation centres. Booking is confirmed instantly, and cancellation is free with more than 24 hours' notice, with no refund inside that window.
