Mon Repos Turtle Centre

Fantastic experience. My partner and I booked it very last minute so there was only one space left. He accompanied me to the centre and was going to just sit inside while I went but the guides managed to get him in as well thanks to a cancellation. It was looking like we weren’t going to be able to see any turtles but then at 23:30 we were brought down to see the hatchlings. It was truly a magical experience.

Incredible experience thanks to the turtles, Rangers and friendly volunteers.

We were lucky to see a loggerhead turtle lay eggs, after abandoning its first nesting attempt and then restarting. Then we were able to watch another turtle emerge from the water right next to our group.

Our group (2) left the building to see the turtle at 840pm and returned at about 1030pm - a long night for our young kids but well worth it.

Suggestion: read through all of the Mon Repos information on the Queensland Parks & Wildlife service website, as the actual booking site only provides limited information

Turtle nesting seasons start in Nov but I went too early so I have no luck to witness the moment.

The staff is very kind to explain and tell me a lot of stuff about turtles and I learnt a lot from her that day. They sure are very helpful and informative.

You will need to buy a ticket if you want to visit the museum. Else you can walk around or to the beach.

But no visitors are allowed in the night during hatching seasons as the torch light will scare the turtle away. And you are required to book the tour if you want to watch the turtle laying the eggs.

Great time, kids loved it ,very informative
The staff had a genuine interest in what they did ,unfortunately, we went out of the season to see the turtles lay eggs or watch them hatch but still had a good morning out cafe was good too

An unforgettable experience for the family. Lots of activities for young children and the ranger activity at 8:30 PM was fantastic. Staff were all very informative. But it was a late night for the young children, with the turtle not arriving until around 9:00 PM and we didn’t get back till after 11:30 PM.
We were fortunate enough to see a Loggerhead turtle laying her eggs and it was amazing. Just be mindful of the potential late night for young children and try and get them to go to the toilet before heading out onto the beach. Even after being called, there is a lot of pauses so you definitely have time to tell the ranger and they won’t lose any time waiting for you. The last thing you want is to be out there and have to come back!

Beautiful centre with equally beautiful surroundings. The turtle centre joins onto the beautiful beach which is a great addition to visit after visiting the centre. It is great to be involved in the conservation of these magnificent turtles in this area of ecotourism.

Absolutely incredible experience! We had Alicia and Sonia for our tour and they were both so lovely. Alicia’s knowledge is outstanding and it’s so clear how passionate she is about all of the work done here. The event itself was brilliant - I love the setting of being on the beach in the dark and the calm waves, it was brilliant. My group was really lucky as we saw 3 emergences all close together resulting in seeing over 250 turtles making it to the ocean! The centre itself is very informative and so respectful of the turtles. Highly recommend this experience! All the staff were so friendly and welcoming. It truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity - thank you, Alicia and team!

Great Night
Didn't wait long, till I was on the beach watching the action
A full group on the 1st night.
Glad I booked the following night, it was pouring rain. Only a small group this night
Rangers & Volunteers do a Fantastic job. Well done

The Mon Repos Turtle experience was incredible. Although it was getting to the end of the season for the hatchings to appear we were lucky enough to view two nests of turtles emerge onto the sand - all 164 of them. Watching them waddle down the beach towards the water makes you wonder how many will survive their journey. The guides were very knowledgeable and keen to share these beautiful creatures with us.

We saw a 1m long loggerhead turtle laying 159 eggs in daylight! Pretty amazing. We were so lucky we didn't need to wait at all. We also helped move the eggs to a higher and safer ground by carrying them in our hands! The walk to and from the beach about 10 minutes was nice too. Our 10yo and 7yo managed to walk on their own but we needed to carry our 4yo because he couldn't keep up. Our ranger asked all the children to come to the front so they could have a better view. We received a certificate for $5 which goes to the research fund. What an experience! We loved it.

What a great experience!! We went end of January and got to see hatchlings running towards the sea, a loggerhead laying eggs and the nest digging process all in one night

What a fabulous morning learning all about the turtles, the cinematic video was spectacular. Enjoyed a lovely lunch in the cafe. Then we went on a steam train around the park, our knowledgeable guide made the experience very enjoyable. I can recommend this place highly, something for all ages to enjoy. Everywhere was clean and very well cared for.

Very informative, hands on for kids and adults. Beautiful building too. They even let us bring our bikes inside and kept an eye on them as we didn’t bring locks. Can recommend

I would highly recommend this experience! It was amazing to witness the turtles hatching. Unfortunately our tour was cut short due to a storm but the team at Mon Repos provided us with amazing and informative slideshows and videos. Due to the storm I had issues with getting a taxi to my hostel and the staff couldn’t have been more helpful. They allowed me to sit and wait when the rest of the tour had left and made sure that I was getting safe transport back to my accommodation. And as a single backpacker, they walked me out to my taxi (during a storm) to make sure I was safe. They went above and beyond to help me so Traci and the team thank you again!

What a wonderful experience. There are 4 groups each night, we were group 3. Got to turtle centre at 7pm but it's all on turtle time so each group doesn't get to go until a turtle goes on the beach. It was 9.45pm when our group got to go and 10.45pm when group 4 was called. Just be prepared with food, books, games to do while you wait. There is alot to do at the centre though, turtle junior ranger program goes for about 30 minutes to pass time and documentaries are played in auditorium. No umbrellas allowed on the beach so have ponchos if it's going to rain. Once in a lifetime experience so I would have happily waited many more hours to see the loggerhead turtle lay her eggs. The turtle we saw laid her eggs too close to the shoreline so they had to be collected and moved. Was awesome..

Downside is parking. We got there early and found it very hard to get a parking spot and there isn't enough seats in the centre to house all of the people doing tours.

An amazing experience. We went on a night time turtle encounter on Sunday 3rd December and got to see a beautiful big Loggerhead laying 136 eggs. It was so special to witness! Ranger Shane did an excellent job responding to all our questions and guiding the group along the beach.

If you come to Bargara you must come to seeing this Turtle centre, it was full of eduction and will inspired you😆

Had an AMAZING experience. Walked on the beach in the dark. Sat on the beach, could not use phones - AWESOME! - it was so nice and dark and peaceful. Got to see a gorgeous green turtle laying eggs and watched the whole process. Staff were professional and great. Only problem is that the group was too big and the poor guide had to try really hard to project their voice so everyone could hear, especially with the waves. Would recommend some other way of communicating, something like earphones maybe? But awesome experience overall. So nice to be so close and personal with a turtle and learnt so much about turtles even when we weren't seeing one because we had an awesome guide.

Really enjoyed our visit here, we haven't done the turtle experience as yet but it's definitely on the to do list! Liked the building and the low key tourist stuff it seemed to be more a focus on conservation rather than selling stuff which is how it should be. The beach was beautiful. And as a new resident I'm looking forward to being able to fully enjoy this special spot.

An amazing place with conservation at the heart of it. Everyone should visit and donate to support the amazing turtle species that nest here :)