How to Choose the Best Turtle Tour

Turtle tours are hot business in Rarotonga. While a turtle tour is an amazing experience, not all tours are equal in terms of quality and safety. So please don’t compare the tours on price alone – consider what you’re getting for your money. Here’s my guide on how to choose the best turtle tour – whether you’re going to Rarotonga, or elsewhere.

Please don’t be tempted to try and see the turtles without a tour. Avaavaroa Passage in Rarotonga – where the turtles are – may look like a calm bit of water, but don’t be fooled: there are very strong currents. And you need to go when the tide is right.

Go with a local lifeguard who knows how and where to keep safe – and where the danger spots are. Asking a tour operator some questions upfront about safety is important, so you know what to expect from your tour. This is how to choose the best turtle tour for your needs.

These tips apply to any turtle tours, anywhere in the world – not just those in Rarotonga.

Questions to ask a turtle tour operator

1. Are all your tour leaders certified lifeguards?

And ask what kind of certification they have.

And what kind of safety equipment they have. For example, if they have floats for you to use if you’re feeling tired – how many floats are there? Is it one per person, or are they shared?

We went on a tour with Aqua Oz, and there was a separate float for every person.

2. What is the maximum number of tourists allocated to each lifeguard?

The smaller the group size, the more personal attention you will receive.

To give you a frame of reference, with Aqua Oz it’s one certified lifeguard to two tourists.

While on the tour, I saw much larger groups of maybe 12 or more people per lifeguard.

3. How do you get to where the turtles are?

Aqua Oz and his team walk out to the turtle site at low tide, with everyone sitting on their own paddleboard. This means that you retain all your energy for the snorkelling.

Heading out for our turtle tour with Aqua Oz.

Other tours take people out in small inflatable boats. Again, this is good in terms of arriving refreshed and conserving your energy, but apparently the turtles do sometimes get hit by boats and propellers when they come up for air. And I don’t know how much the turtles enjoy the noise pollution from the outboard engines.

The worst tour I witnessed was one where everyone was made to swim to the turtle location and back. And there were at least 20 to 30 people in the group, with the tour guides on paddleboards yelling at the people swimming. Having this many people on a tour means there’s very little personal space, and a big risk of getting walloped by someone’s fin or arm. And if you get into trouble, it might take a while for the lifeguard to spot you.

There are also tours that use James Bond-like water scooters: devices that you hold on to with both hands, that propel you along. I’ve heard that the tour is very enjoyable, but I personally think it is too invasive to the turtles. The motor power makes it harder for these gentle, graceful animals to out-swim the tourists. It’s hard for them to get away from people. Plus there is the noise pollution from the motors to consider. You might not worry about these things, but this experience isn’t right for me.

4. Is the company locally owned and operated?

Because it’s always good to support the local economy, wherever you are in the world.

5. Do you get personal photos and/or videos?

Many tours offer photos and videos; some do not.

Consider the group size to get an idea of how personalised the photos will be: if it’s a large group, you may not end up with many turtle pics featuring you in them. Or you’ll have other people in them as well.

With Aqua Oz, having one certified lifeguard for two people means that you also get lots of great quality personalised photos and videos. Having this keepsake was important to me, as I’ve been wanting to swim with turtles for years, and wanted to capture this memory.