Africa

Guinea

A quiet coast with a marine park where olive ridley, green and hawksbill turtles nest.

Aerial view of trees and beach on the Conakry coast — Conakry coast · Photo: Tim Oun on Unsplash

Story only

Story only, for now. We love learning about this place and its ocean, so we share its story here and do not sell trips yet. Checked by Ocean Calling on 6 Oct 2026. Sources: Iles Tristao, Key Biodiversity Areas; Tristao Islands pilot site, ResiliENSEA (GRID-Arendal); Guinea travel advice, UK FCDO (gov.uk).

Why: The Tristao Islands in northern Guinea, at the mouth of the Kogon river, are a Ramsar wetland of international importance since 1992 and a community-managed marine protected area since 2008. The mangroves, sandbanks and mudflats shelter West African manatees, Guiana dolphins and sea turtles, flamingos numbering 5,000 to 10,000 and more than 20,000 wintering wading birds. The Nalou and Balant communities, who see parts of the islands as sacred, look after the place. We honour that by sharing the story, and we never swim with, touch or chase the animals.

Turtles

Why Guinea

The Tristao Islands, about 100 miles from Conakry, form a marine protected area since 2009. On Katrack island there is a 20 km beach where hawksbill, green and olive ridley turtles come to nest, and it is the last big refuge in Guinea for olive ridleys. Nearby Alcatraz island holds a large seabird colony, and dolphins and turtles are recorded in the surrounding waters. Ocean Calling is only researching Guinea for now.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

When to go

Timing changes a lot from place to place. See each place below.

We share this place as a story so you can learn. There is no Ocean Calling trip.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Story only

We tell the story. We do not sell a trip here.

Checked 6 Oct 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check

The story

Where in Guinea

We share these places as stories and research notes. We do not offer or sell trips here.

Tristao Islands

Story only

A remote island group and marine protected area with a long turtle nesting beach on Katrack.

Also seen: Nesting turtles (community nest protection work, not a sighting trip)

Animals

Animals recorded in Guinea

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Olive ridley turtles nesting on Playa Ostional, Costa Rica

Olive ridley turtleLepidochelys olivaceaSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Hawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricataSeen in 88 countries in the AtlasCritically Endangered

Green turtle resting on the reef, shell and head pattern in sharp detail

Green turtleChelonia mydasSeen in 103 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Common bottlenose dolphin swimming over a seagrass bed

Common bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Two Atlantic humpback dolphin dorsal fins at the surface of calm water in Guinea-Bissau

Atlantic humpback dolphinSousa teusziiSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasCritically Endangered

Mother and calf manatee diving together in the Casamance River, Senegal

West African manateeTrichechus senegalensisSeen in 15 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Adult brown booby standing on a rock with its bill open against blue sky, Principe

Brown boobySula leucogasterSeen in 104 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Scalloped hammerhead shark cruising in deep blue Red Sea water

Scalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewiniSeen in 57 countries in the AtlasCritically Endangered

Oceanic whitetip shark with pilot fish in sunlit Red Sea water

Oceanic whitetip sharkCarcharhinus longimanusSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasCritically Endangered

Silky shark swimming near the surface in blue water

Silky sharkCarcharhinus falciformisSeen in 48 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Blacktip shark swimming in green water in the Galápagos

Blacktip sharkCarcharhinus limbatusSeen in 49 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Nurse shark swimming over a reef at Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

Atlantic nurse sharkGinglymostoma cirratumSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Whitespotted eagle ray gliding over reef and sand in Belize

Whitespotted eagle rayAetobatus narinariSeen in 58 countries in the AtlasEndangered

Blue sharkPrionace glaucaSeen in 50 countries in the AtlasNear Threatened

Blackchin guitarfish lying on pale sand beside rocks, with a shark-like tail and two tall dorsal fins

Blackchin guitarfishGlaucostegus cemiculusSeen in 20 countries in the AtlasCritically Endangered

Spiny dogfish resting on the seabed at the Josephine Marie shipwreck, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Spiny dogfishSqualus acanthiasSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Dusky grouperEpinephelus marginatusSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Diver beside an Atlantic goliath grouper at Dry Tortugas National Park

Goliath grouperEpinephelus itajaraSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasVulnerable Milk sharkRhizoprionodon acutusSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Two spotted ragged-tooth sharks resting under a rocky overhang at Aliwal Shoal, South Africa

Ragged-tooth shark (sand tiger)Carcharias taurusSeen in 17 countries in the AtlasCritically Endangered Atlantic weasel sharkParagaleus pectoralisSeen in 18 countries in the AtlasEndangered

Common smooth-hound swimming just above a sandy seabed, with a slim grey-brown body and two dorsal fins

Common smooth-houndMustelus mustelusSeen in 35 countries in the AtlasEndangered

Reed cormorant perched on a low stump among tall reeds

Reed cormorant (long-tailed cormorant)Microcarbo africanusSeen in 27 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Tope shark swimming in clear shallow water, seen from the side

Tope shark (school shark)Galeorhinus galeusSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasCritically Endangered

Marbled electric ray lying on a sandy seabed, spotted pattern visible

Marbled electric rayTorpedo marmorataSeen in 18 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Brown ray resting on a sandy seabed, with a blue-centred eyespot on each wing

Brown rayRaja miraletusSeen in 18 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern Kitefin sharkDalatias lichaSeen in 17 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Velvet belly lanternshark swimming just above a dark seabed, with a violet sheen along its flank

Velvet belly lanternsharkEtmopterus spinaxSeen in 17 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Nursehound resting on a rocky ledge among sponges

NursehoundScyliorhinus stellarisSeen in 16 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Common torpedo resting on sand, showing the dark spots on its round disc

Common torpedo (ocellate torpedo)Torpedo torpedoSeen in 16 countries in the AtlasVulnerable Smooth lanternsharkEtmopterus pusillusSeen in 16 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern Sharpnose sevengill sharkHeptranchias perloSeen in 15 countries in the AtlasNear Threatened Atlantic torpedo (electric ray)Tetronarce nobilianaSeen in 15 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Spiny butterfly ray resting on a sandy seabed among seagrass

Spiny butterfly rayGymnura altavelaSeen in 14 countries in the AtlasEndangered Arrowhead dogfishDeania profundorumSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasNear Threatened Smooth butterfly rayGymnura micruraSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasNear Threatened

Bignose shark swimming above deep-sea coral, filmed from a research submersible off North Carolina

Bignose sharkCarcharhinus altimusSeen in 11 countries in the AtlasNear Threatened

Roughtail stingray resting half-buried in wet sand at the water's edge

Roughtail stingrayBathytoshia centrouraSeen in 10 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Curious?

Why this is a story, not a trip

Read our ethics check above. If you would like to talk about it, Rocío is happy to explain.

Ask Rocío Back to the Ocean Atlas

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