Hawaiʻi honu nesting season is underway, and most summer visitors won’t recognize the signs. The beach you walk down at sunrise might have a sea turtle nest buried under the sand a few feet from the high-water mark. You won’t see the nest. You won’t see the mother. She came ashore at night, dug, laid, covered, and crawled back to the water before dawn. The nest is there, and so are the rules around it. Most visitors don’t learn either one until a state monitor walks up and asks them to back away from a roped-off square of sand.
Hawaiian green sea turtle (honu) nesting runs from late April through late October. Hawksbill (honuʻea) nesting runs May through December. Both peak in June and July, per the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources. That window sits squarely on the summer travel calendar.
Here’s what changes for beachgoers this summer: keep distance, watch for roped nests, kill beach-facing lights after sunset, and call the right hotline if you find a hatchling.
