My husband and I had a great time. Dudley was very knowledgeable and you can really tell he cares a lot about the turtles. Dudley mentioned we could release baby turtles so we went back that evening to release 10 baby turtles. It was an amazing experience, also emotional seeing them head off into the water. Thank you Dudley we had a great time. Tip for travellers, we asked a tuk tuk driver to take us to this Turtle sanctuary however he took us to a different one (it had the same name) its because this certain turtle sanctuary charge more for admission and give some money to the tuk tuk driver. This is unfair. When you arrive ask if Dudley works there. I don't want Dudley losing business because he generally cares about the turtles. 🐢 I have added a picture of the sign.

A place that has a reputation for the conservation of turtles. While quite dowdy to visit, it is a "shack" on the beach the work that is being done is fantastic. The person who showed us around was obviously very enthusiastic about the work being done and passionate about the damage being done to turtles by fishing nets and plastic. The maimed turtles being cared for is a lesson to learn from. I suggest a visit just to show how as humans we impact on the lives of other animals.

My wife, myself and our two young boys spent a week volunteering at the Kosgoda turtle sanctuary and had an amazing experience learning how Dudley and his team are helping preserve all the sea turtle species in the area. The work this centre undertakes greatly increases the chance of survival for the sea turtles and is helping to educate the local population on how important it is to look after the environment and also the turtles. The small donation to enter the sanctuary goes a long way to help look after the turtles and there are also opportunities to pay extra to release turtles on an evening, back into the ocean which is an amazing experience. Dudley was such a brilliant host and his wife cooks amazing food, if anybody would like to try a volunteering experience with a young family I couldn’t recommend a better place, Dudley also arranged day trips to other areas of the island during our free time, he was an absolute legend and made our holiday in Sri Lanka so special.

Once in a lifetime experience! Dudley & his team were very welcoming, they have full knowledge about the turtles and able to answer any question. I was fully involved with the group with cleaning out the turtle tanks and were very lucky to release baby into the sea. Additionally, I was staying in the accommodation and the food was very good and authentic!

Lot of the pictures you see on internet is not the reality. There was onky 2 baby turtles when we whent. They dont allow you to touch or hold them in your hands. You can see the other turtles in their enclosure. Great work in rehabilitating and rescusing injured turtles. Not many turtles. Maybe a total of 20. There is also few fish tanks.

Our guide was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We saw lots of turtles of different ages and species. We were encouraged to handle them and get photos etc. We left a small donation. We saw around 30 volunteers arriving in the morning, all of whom looked like western tourists/travellers. I left a little concerned that what we had seen was not conservation, but effectively a private zoo/aquarium. There are dozens of similar places along the coastline in the Galle District, most appear to be privately run. They can rely on armies of Western volunteers and sizeable donations from visitors (in some cases hundreds of dollars). The incentive for profit must be immense, yet there appears to be very limited evidence they help turtle populations and no regulation. When I asked if turtles raised here would adapt to life in the wild I was quickly assured that isn't a problem, but I am not convinced. I can't help wondering whether turtles would be better served by diverting the money and effort of these places into measures to protect natural turtle habitats. Leaving conservation to private enterprise feels dangerous.