Something I’d been itching to do from the moment we moved to Oman was visit the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve. We’d already swum with turtles at the Daymaniat Islands and seen them feeding along the coastline while wild camping on beaches.
I thought seeing turtles nesting would complete the picture. And after nearly two years of living in Oman we finally got the chance to go. In fact, we visited twice, eight weeks apart.
But our visits the Ras Al Jinz weren’t as magical as I’d hoped. In this post I’m sharing why I was disappointed but also why I’d still cautiously recommend it if you want to see turtles in Oman.
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Seeing turtles at Ras Al Jinz

Ras Al Jinz is one of the top places to see turtles in Oman and, just like the Daymaniat Islands Nature Reserve, there are rules in place to protect them.
Within the 120sq km nature reserve is the Ras Al Jinz Resort, which has a visitor centre and accommodation near a nesting beach.
This is the only place in Oman that you can legally see turtles nesting. Other beaches on the reserve’s 45 km stretch of coastline are closed between 5pm and 5am to protect the turtles when they emerge from the sea at night.
Even at the resort, there’s a maximum number of people allowed onto the beach each morning and evening. This is managed through guided tours, which are meant to be limited to 20 people in each group.
Guided tours at Ras Al Jinz

You can take a tour at the Ras Al Jinz Resort whether you are staying there or not. There are lots of other places to stay nearby.
The tours start at 9pm and 5am. If you are not staying at the resort you must get there to by tickets at least half an hour early in the evening and 15 minutes early in the morning.
Tour tickets can be bought at the reception desk. You can find the latest prices for Omanis, residents and tourists on the reserve’s website. If you are Omani or an Oman resident don’t forget your ID card so you can get a discount.
We were also able to buy tickets through our accommodation, SAMA Ras Al Jinz, at no extra charge.
Once you arrive we found the experience was a little different for the evening and morning tours.
Our evening tour at Ras Al Jinz
We did the evening tour during out first visit and arrived just before 8pm. There were already a lot of people at the visitor centre.
We bought tickets and were given a tour number. We didn’t know when we’d be called so we waited in the reception area. We didn’t go upstairs to the museum as we’d didn’t want to miss our tour, but we did buy the kids a snack from the cafe and had a look around the shop.
I can’t remember when the tours began to go out but there were at least three ahead of us. We started our tour at 9.20pm.
When our tour was called we went out the back of the building and got on a bus that took us through the darkness to a drop off point at the back of the beach.
Once we are off the bus, our guide told us that his colleagues on the beach would call us forward when it was OK to view the nesting turtles. It’s important not to disturb them before they start laying as they may head back to the sea, which could be dangerous for them and their eggs.
We walked along a firm path, through an opening in a wall and found ourselves on the beach.
It was pitch black but very noisy because of the wind and surf crashing up the sand.
As you walk onto the beach you immediately notice what look like craters wherever your eyes can strain to see. These are the turtle’s nests.
The sand that has been turned around the nests is fluffy. You can easily find yourself calf deep in it.

We saw five turtles at different stages of nesting during our hour long tour. The process of nesting, from digging to laying and covering the eggs before crawling back to the sea, takes each turtle two to three hours.
As we watched, our guide told us that the Green Turtles we saw were medium in size for this particular beach. They would be about 30 to 40-years-old and weigh 100 to 120kg.
Green Turtles can come back to the same beach and lay up to 100 eggs several times a season. They then migrate around the region for a few years but always come back to nest on the same stretch of coast.
This is what makes Ras Al Jinz so special. It is one of the most significant turtle nesting spots on the Indian Ocean.
Our morning tour at Ras Al Jinz
We got back to our accommodation close to 11pm so decided to not to do the sunrise tour the following morning. Instead we returned eight weeks later when the eggs we saw being laid would be ready to hatch. We were lucky to have this slower time option while residents in Oman.
Morning tours start at 5am and the nature reserve visitor centre opens to non-residents at 4.45am.
There is just one tour in the morning. Again, you take a bus to the beach.

This time we were dropped off right next to the wall and waited here while our guide walked up and down the beach for about 20 minutes.
When he signalled for our group to join him we continued to look for signs of turtles. Some of our group found it hard to keep up, so we ended up scattered across half of the beach.
We already knew from people staying at the same hotel as us that no adult turtles had been spotted the evening before. This was disappointing but not unexpected. Our second visit to Ras Al Jinz was in mid-November, which is outside the main nesting season.


We saw plenty of turtle shells and fox tracks in the sand. Foxes, gulls and crabs are the main predators for baby turtles and there were many more of them to be seen. Sadly we also saw two dead adult turtles on the shoreline.
After 45 minutes a single baby turtle was spotted making a break for the sea. We were able to observe its journey to the water and cross our fingers that it could outsmart the hovering sea birds.
Our group dispersed along the beach as the sun rose. After sunrise you can look around the beach unguided until the evening.
At 6.30am the bus returned to the visitor centre. As there were more than 40 people on our tour, and not enough room on the bus, we walked back to the visitor centre which takes about 10 minutes.

The bad
If you are a keen environmentalist you will be disappointed by the general lack of awareness about wildlife protection.
While our evening tour guide set out the rules for viewing the turtles respectfully before we set foot on the beach, very little was done to enforce them. When we returned for the morning tour, we didn’t get any instructions.
In the evening, our fellow visitors were getting too close to the turtles, having loud conversations over the top of them and using white light torches. We’d been told to avoid doing all of these things because they scared the turtles.

During our morning tour, there was no brief about how to act around turtles before we stepped onto the beach. There was no request to stand back when visitors crowded a baby making its way to the sea. And no rebuke for guests who pulled at the flippers of a dead turtle for fun.
Other people had photos with the bodies of the turtles. My nine-year-old daughter found all of this upsetting and asked if we could leave.
At best, this inconsiderate behaviour made the experience much less comfortable for those of us with compassion for the animals. At worst, the disruptive actions at night put the nesting turtles and their eggs at risk.
There are signs in the visitor centre that say guides will ask you to leave or even call the police if you don’t follow the rules. But people weren’t even being politely asked to moderate their behaviour.
It’s also worth saying that there were also about 25 people in our tour group in the evening and more than 40 in the morning. The maximum advertised number is 20.
So, should you go to Ras Al Jinz?

If you really want to see turtles laying eggs in Oman then guided tours at Ras Al Jinz Resort are the only legal option. Trying to sneak onto another beach in the reserve will get you a fine or worse.
The reserve helps protect the beaches along the rest of the coastline by focusing its tours in one small area, so that it a positive.
Signs in the reserve reception area provide all the right information about the expectations of visitors. Some guides also relay this information to you.
But more could definitely be done to educate and correct visitors who don’t understand the harm that they might be doing. I’d like to think that the fee you pay for your visit is helping develop programmes for this.
Tips for visiting Ras Al Jinz
Here’s our tips for doing a tour ar Ras Al Jinz Resort:
- Ras Al Jinz is a bit more than a day trip from Muscat. Book somewhere to stay nearby.
- Arrive early for the evening tour and check the order in which tours will be going out. This will help you plan how much time you have to look around the museum.
- Wear clothes comfortable for walking in and that are easy to take off at the beach. It’s easier to walk bare foot in the uneven sand.
- Bring a red light torch for helping you walk to the turtle beach. You will be told when you can use it. When you are with the nesting turtles the guide’s light is the only one that should be used.
Can you take photos of turtles at Ras Al Jinz?

Yes, but flash photography is not allowed. I used my iPhone camera during our evening and morning tours. I brought my DSLR for the sunrise morning tour but didn’t use it because I wasn’t getting a good vibe from the experience.
When can you see turtles at Ras Al Jinz?
The main turtle nesting season is from April to September. Visit during this window for the best chance of seeing turtles. It is possible to see turtles nesting and hatching all year round but there are no guarantees.
We visited in September and saw five turtles nesting. We decided to take a chance on revisiting in November as it takes seven to eight weeks for turtles to hatch. So eggs laid at the end of the main nesting season were due to hatch.
However, very few eggs survive, so the further into the season the fewer adult and baby turtles you are likely to see.
I’d suggest not making a special visit to Ras Al Jinz outside of the main nesting season as you may not see anything.
Find out more about the best times to visit Oman for different experiences here.
Evening or morning tour?
During the evening tour you will see turtles arriving at the beach and laying their eggs. You may also see turtles going back to the sea. We saw two returning during our evening tour.
In the morning you might see more turtles going back to the water was well as hatched babies. Turtles usually finish burying their eggs before the sun rises.
The nighttime tour is in pitch darkness. Unless there is a full moon you will see very little of the landscape around you. There were other guides and groups on the beach but we couldn’t see much further than a few meters in front of us.
The morning tour is a very different experience. You can see so much more of your surroundings and potentially more turtles or evidence that they have been there overnight. The morning is also when you’ll see more hatchlings.
Where is Ras Al Jinz
Ras Al Jinz is located on the eastern most tip of the Arabian Peninsular, 260km south east of Muscat.
You’ll need to hire a guide or rent a car to reach Ras Al Jinz. You don’t need a 4×4 as the roads are tarmac all the way from Muscat whether you arrive on the coast road or after staying in Wahiba Sands desert.
The journey from Muscat takes three hours. I’d recommend a stop off at Bimmah Sinkhole, or for a longer excursion, Wadi Shab or Wadi Tiwi (4×4 recommended).
If you are coming from a desert camp in Wahiba Sands the journey is about 160km and will take at least two hours. Add some interest to your road trip and detour to Wadi Bani Khalid.
Where to stay at Ras Al Jinz
You can stay at Ras Al Jinz Turtle Resort but when we went it was the most expensive option. We took a recommendation from friends and stayed at the SAMA Ras Al Jinz eco lodges.

Read our review of SAMA Ras Al Jinz Resort.
Here some more places to stay to close to Ras Al Jinz visitor centre:
- Turtle Guest House – budget option located just outside Ras Al Jinz Resort.
- Turtle Beach Resort – sea front location with swimming pool.
- The Gate – a private four bedroom villa with pool, perfect for groups.
Final thoughts on Ras Al Jinz
Ras Al Jinz was our first turtle watching experience, so we are no experts. But I have read about lots of other reserves around the world and know they can be much more ethical.
This is the only place in Oman where you’re allowed to observe turtles nesting and hatching so it should be blazing a trail for conservation and animal rights.
Instead I think it’s a lost opportunity for educating local and international visitors about the delicate balance of nature.
I came away feeling sad and deflated. It’s very rare for me to feel like this about any of our experiences in Oman. So let me end on a positive and say that if you want to have a more fulfilling experience with turtles here, visit the Daymaniat Islands from Muscat.
I hope you have found my honest account of our experience useful.
Read more tips for travelling to Oman.
Have you been to Ras Al Jinz or seen turtles nesting elsewhere in the world? I’d love to hear your experiences.
Before you go, read these
- Hiking the Sa’al Steps and Jabel Khoneh
- Misfat Al Abriyeen – everything you need to know
- What’s so special about Wadi Shab?
- Wadi Bani Khalid: is it worth visiting?
- 18 things to do in Muscat – culture, outdoor fun & were to cool down
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase I may earn some commission. This does not affect the price you pay.