Le Méridien Bora Bora Turtle Sanctuary

On the sidelines of your vacation on the beautiful island of Bora Bora, you can also see one very valuable thing here, which is seeing turtle captivity. As well as being known as an island with romantic overwater bungalows, with the iconic lush Otemanu mountains, one of the resorts on Bora Bora also ensures marine wildlife is very well preserved.

We think it’s a precious time to visit the turtle sanctuary when you trip to Bora Bora for vacation. Then, are you wondering about Bora Bora turtle sanctuary? If you are really interested to know more about this valuable resort in Bora Bora, keep staying on this page is totally a must for you.

Bora Bora Turtle Sanctuary

Background: The Opening of Bora Bora Turtle Sanctuary

The Bora Bora Turtle Center / Sanctuary was founded in 2001 and developed it in 2012 into a larger Ecological Center with a wider building infrastructure and coral conservation program. The turtle center began when a resort guest brought an injured turtle to the hotel for treatment. This guest certainly regretted that there was no institution in Bora Bora that specifically handled turtles.

The life of a turtle is certainly threatened if it is not protected by one institution, especially since Bora Bora is an exotic natural tourist spot that anyone can visit. Of course, if it is not properly maintained and protected, it is possible that the turtle habitat will be very threatened. Well, that’s one of the reasons which formed of  The Bora Bora Turtle Center at Le Méridien Bora Bora.

Today, the Bora Bora Turtle Center works in collaboration with the environmental department of the French Polynesian Government. However, the mission of this turtle center is to protect and rehabilitate any endangered sea turtles including Hawksbill and Green.

The also works to educate both locals and tourists to engage in sustainable activities for the region’s ecosystem. In this turtle sanctuary, the staff really works to heal sick or injured brought to the center. They also develop the educational programs and engage in ongoing scientific research on the species’ population in French Polynesia.

What Are the Purposes of The Bora Bora Turtle Center?

Just like its mission, The Bora Bora Turtle Center has several objectives including protecting sea turtles through conservation measures, promoting, sustainable ecological management, and educational development.

With these multiple goals in mind, the center can hopefully save, care for, and release healthy sea turtles back into the ocean as well as participate in surveys to assess nesting health and become aware of the dangers facing turtles / marine life in our time.

For more information, the turtle is only in the middle as a shelter. Of course, it will be long enough for them to recover from their injury or illness. You can think of it more than like a hospital or infirmary.

What Are the Activities at The Bora Bora Turtle Center?

Of course, as long as you are on vacation in Bora Bora, you can visit The Bora Bora Turtle Center every day. It’s because this turtle center is of course open daily and works on some activities, donations, sponsorships, and also shops. Then, the guest of Le Meridien can also interact here in a number of ways.

An early activity in The Bora Bora Turtle Center is starting from turtle feedings in the mornings. Then, it’s followed by Healing Hours in the afternoons. The Le Meridien guests can help the staff during the latter activity by cleaning the turtles using toothbrushes and also water to scrub off the dirt, bacteria and algae which can really cause shell rot. You can then rinse them and make sure the turtle cleans out.

If you get a more unforgettable experience, you can also join Live My Life, as an immersion activity in a full-day starting from 9 A.M to 3.30 P.M. It also includes a two-course lunch to take part in the day to day activities of the Bora Bora Turtle Center team. This conference actually informs people about the various stages of a turtle’s life starting from the birth to rehabilitation of turtles. Then, any recommendations associated with fragile and rare animals are also given.

On a Discovery Day, it may allow the guest to not stay at Le Meridien to enjoy the hotel facilities and ecological center as well as lunch at Te Ava restaurant. Moreover, it also includes a round trip boat transfers to and from Vaitape.

In The Bora Bora Turtle Center, there are also plenty of places that you can visit including museum (filled with posters, exhibits, photos, a giant model and a short documentary), pool (with supervised interaction decorated by corals, shells, sea stars, sea urchins and sea cucumber) and also lagoonarium.

Moreover, in the afternoon, the guests can also swim with turtles in a man-made mini lagoon which is supplied with fresh sea water through a tube. Aside from interacting with turtles in the Bora Bora Turtle Center, You’ll also snorkel with some of the cutest tropical fish ever.

A protected inner lagoon gives a chance to swim and snorkel alongside to recover turtles as well as tropical fish and other marine life. However, the lagoonarium is a great place for anyone who gets a bit skittish about snorkeling due to its shallow depth is perfect for smaller children or anyone who is not a strong swimmer.

If you’re snorkeling, don’t be weird if you suddenly interact with a large moray eel hanging out on the rocks at the bottom too. Then, non-swimmers can also get a peak at all the fish through the large glass window on the side of the lagoon wall at one end of the lagoon.

Important Fact: The endangered green sea turtle is so named not because of its color, but because they eat green seaweed. A lot of injured turtles are brought to hold centers by residents and police who find them once they’ve been subjected to a range of threats from land animals and also domesticated animals. Nets, pollution, boats and clueless poachers can be the potential threat.