Long Beach

Long Beach runs along the shore beside Georgetown, black volcanic sand backed by lava, and between roughly December and May green turtles come ashore on it in numbers that make it one of the most important nesting sites in the Atlantic, the females having swum some two thousand kilometres from the Brazilian coast to lay on the beach where they hatched. By morning the sand is churned with tracks and body pits.

What you actually see

• The nesting turtles - green turtles coming ashore in very large numbers.
• The migration - females arriving from the Brazilian coast some two thousand kilometres away.
• The tracks - the sand churned with trails and body pits by morning.
• The black sand - the volcanic beach the nesting happens on.

When to go

December to May is the nesting season, peaking around February and March. Outside it the beach is empty of turtles. Nights are when the animals come ashore.

Honest expectations

Lights and flash photography disturb nesting turtles and are restricted; watching is governed by rules that are enforced. Currents off the beach are dangerous and swimming is not advised. Access at night may be limited during the season.

Nearby

Georgetown is beside it, and Comfortless Cove is north.