Sea turtles live in almost all of the world’s oceans, mainly in warm and temperate seas, and only avoid the very cold polar regions. Most of their lives are spent in the ocean, but females come onto sandy beaches to lay eggs.

Ocean homes

  • Sea turtles are found in every ocean except the Arctic and Antarctic polar seas.
  • They usually stay over continental shelves in relatively shallow coastal waters, rather than in the deepest open ocean.

Typical habitats

  • Adults of most species live in shallow coastal areas such as bays, lagoons, estuaries, and nearshore reefs, though some also travel across the open sea.
  • Young turtles often spend their early “lost years” drifting in the open ocean among floating seaweed mats like Sargassum, which provide food and shelter.

Special cases by species

  • Some species, like leatherbacks, can range from warm tropical waters to cold regions such as off California and even toward sub‑Arctic areas.
  • Others, like the flatback turtle, have very restricted ranges and are found only around northern Australia and nearby seas.

Life between land and sea

  • Males stay in the sea their entire adult lives and never come onto land once they leave the nest.
  • Adult females return to sandy beaches—often the same ones where they hatched—to dig nests and lay eggs during the breeding season.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.