Sea Turtle Tours in Galveston, TX

Sea Turtle Tours in Galveston, Texas are not conducted by a public aquarium or zoo. They are conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Sea Turtle Facility, a US Federal Government Research Facility that raises threatened and endangered sea turtles in captivity.

It is the only facility of its kind in the United States, and one of the few in the world that raise Kemp's Ridley hatchlings. These turtles were given to the facility by the government of Mexico as part of a joint conservation and recovery project between the United States and Mexico.

The Sea Turtle Facility also has a rehabilitation center and hospital for injured sea turtles from the upper Texas Coast. 24,000 Ridleys and 1,500 Loggerheads have been reared, tagged and eventually released since 1978. Injured or sick sea turtles are also released back into the wild once they've recovered.

On a tour, which typically lasts 30 minutes, visitors will see 600 live sea turtles in 30 saltwater tanks. No glass or fence separates visitors from the sea turtles. Visitors may not touch sea turtles since special permits are required to handle them and they've also been known to bite.

Visitors will usually see more than one species of turtle in the facility. They will also get to see exhibits on turtle eggs, tags and tagging techniques. Most of these exhibits are interactive. Sea turtle skulls and shells are available to touch.

The facility offers public tours three days of week. Tours are free. The best time to see hatchlings is August through September even though there are sea turtles in the facility all year.