Turtle Talk

The moment sea turtle eggs begin to crack open is one of nature's most dramatic events. Inside a sandy nest, dozens of hatchlings emerge at nearly the same time, and within hours they are scrambling across the beach toward the open ocean. But getting to the water is only the beginning. Baby sea turtles face one of the most dangerous journeys in the animal kingdom, and the ones that make it carry a secret that will guide them home decades later.

Most visitors to Hawaii know the green sea turtle, the beloved honu that glides along the reef at Turtle Canyon and rests in the shallows off Waikiki. But Hawaii is home to a second sea turtle that almost no one ever sees. The hawksbill, known in Hawaiian as honu'ea, is critically endangered, rare even in these islands, and quietly living out its ancient life in some of the same waters where the honu thrives.

Hawaiian green sea turtles look calm and unhurried on the reef. But that peaceful glide through the water is the result of millions of years of survival against real threats. From the moment they hatch on a sandy beach to the decades they spend as adults, honu face predators at every stage of life. Some of those predators have been hunting them for millions of years. Others are brand new. Understanding them helps explain why these animals are both tougher and more fragile than they look.

Hawaiian green sea turtles eat differently at each stage of life. Hatchlings start out as carnivores, hunting jellyfish and crustaceans in the open ocean. By the time they grow up and return to Hawaiian reefs, they have made a complete switch to plants. Understanding what honu eat and why reveals how deeply connected they are to the reefs they live on.

Every spring, Hawaiian green sea turtles begin one of nature's most ancient rituals. The 2026 nesting season is underway, and for anyone visiting Hawaii this summer, understanding when and where these remarkable animals nest can add something unforgettable to your trip. Here is what the science says, what is different in 2026, and how you can experience honu up close the right way this season.

The leatherback sea turtle is unlike anything else in the ocean. It has no hard shell, can weigh as much as a small car, and dives deeper than most research submarines ever go. Here is everything you need to know about this extraordinary animal and why it lives in a completely different world from the green sea turtles gliding through Turtle Canyon off Waikiki.