Turtle Islands National Park, Marine conservation park in Sabah, Malaysia

Turtle Islands National Park protects three islands in the Sulu Sea off Sabah's coast with expansive marine areas. Selingaan is the only island with overnight accommodation and hosts an old hatchery, while the other two islands serve as nesting grounds for sea turtles.

Malaysia's first turtle hatchery was established on Selingan on 1 August 1966, funded entirely by the Sabah state government. In 1972 Selingan, Bakkungan Kechil and Gulisan were designated a Game and Bird Sanctuary; in 1977 this status was upgraded to a Marine Park. Sabah Parks administers the park and its staff monitor turtles, protect hatcheries and tag turtles for research.

On Selingan, rangers call visitors to watch a single turtle lay her eggs each night, then collect the eggs for the hatchery. Visitors release hatchlings into the sea after dark. A nest adoption programme lets guests pay a fee to sponsor a nest and learn about the hatchery's work and turtle habits.

Visitors can only reach the park by boat from Sandakan, which takes roughly an hour. Overnight stays are only available on Selingaan and must be arranged ahead of time, as accommodations fill quickly.

Turtles come ashore on Selingan every night of the year, not only in certain seasons, so sightings are close to guaranteed; October is the peak, when up to 50 turtles may land in one night. Rangers allow visitors to watch just one nesting turtle per night, then collect the eggs for the hatchery.