Hawke’s Bay, Karachi: Beach Huts, Turtle Season and How to Get There

Where is Hawke’s Bay?

Hawke’s Bay (also written Hawkesbay or Hawksbay) is a sandy beach on the Arabian Sea about 20 km south-west of Karachi city, west of the harbour beyond Keamari, reached along Mauripur Road and Hawks Bay Road. It takes its name from Bladen Wilmer Hawke, who owned a house on the beach in the 1930s. A 2026 hut guide describes it as the city’s busiest and most family-oriented strip of beach huts.

From Hawke’s Bay the shore runs east towards the harbour, past Turtle Beach to Sandspit. French Beach lies on the same road between Hawke’s Bay and Paradise Point. In 2015 WWF-Pakistan described the Hawke’s Bay and Sandspit coast as a 20 km stretch where marine turtles come ashore to nest.

Hawke’s Bay at a glance	Detail
Where	About 20 km south-west of Karachi, via Mauripur Road
Drive	About an hour from most of the city (2026 guide)
Hut rates	From about PKR 6,500 a day (2026 guide)
Turtle season	About August to February, peak October and November
Best season	October to March
Rough-sea months	May to September (Herald, 2017)

How to get to Hawke’s Bay from Clifton and DHA

Drivers reach Hawke’s Bay along Mauripur Road, past Machar Colony, and then Hawks Bay Road. A guide published in August 2026 puts the drive at roughly an hour from most of Karachi. On Sunday 19 July 2026, ARY News reported a traffic jam on the road from Mauripur to Hawke’s Bay as crowds headed for the beach.

No dated source gives a drive time from Clifton or DHA Phase 8 to Hawke’s Bay itself. In February 2022 Karachi’s administrator said the rebuilt Mauripur Road brought the trip from Merewether Tower down to about 30 minutes, and Zameen put nearby Sandspit about 40 minutes from Clifton in 2019.

How to rent a beach hut at Hawke’s Bay and what it costs

Hut plots of 80 to 100 sq yd at Hawke’s Bay and Sandspit are Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) land allotted to individuals, who paid KMC Rs16,000 to Rs22,000 a year in fees, according to Dawn in December 2020. Owners rent the huts to picnic groups, and many have grown into large bungalows. In 2020 KMC served notices on allottees so the land could be auctioned, and no later report on the outcome was found.

Source and date	Rate	What it covers
Staezy guide, August 2026	PKR 6,500 to 25,500 a day	Eight hut operators across Hawke’s Bay, Turtle Beach and Sandspit
Bloom Pakistan, June 2025	PKR 15,000 to 30,000 for 10 hours	Budget huts with two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen and generator
Bloom Pakistan, June 2025	PKR 30,000 to 65,000 for 10 hours	Mid-range huts with air-conditioned rooms and a sea-view balcony
Bloom Pakistan, June 2025	PKR 65,000 to 85,000+ for 10 hours	Large huts with a pool, sea deck and gazebo

Prices have moved over time. Zameen listed hut A-33 at Hawke’s Bay at PKR 15,000 for a 10 am to 5 pm slot in 2019, and Bloom Pakistan listed the same hut at PKR 30,000 for up to 25 people in June 2025.

A typical Hawke’s Bay hut has shaded rooms, a sea-facing veranda, basic washrooms, a kitchen with a gas cylinder and a caretaker who cleans and watches the car. Power comes from a generator for limited hours, fuel is often extra, and the 2026 guide says there is no reliable drinking water on the strips, so bring water and food.

Bookings for Hawke’s Bay huts happen mostly on WhatsApp, with a third to half of the price paid in advance by bank transfer, according to the August 2026 guide. Bring your CNIC, book a week ahead for weekends and a month ahead for long weekends, and get the generator hours, caretaker service, guest limit and exit time in writing.

Turtle nesting season at Hawke’s Bay

Green turtles nest on Hawke’s Bay and Sandspit from about August to February, and sources disagree on the exact months. The Express Tribune reported a season of mid-August to late February in 2025, AFP gave August to January in 2023, and a 2019 Zameen guide named October and November as the peak. Wikipedia lists olive ridley turtles nesting here too, while the Express Tribune wrote in 2016 that green turtles are the only species nesting in Pakistan.

The Sindh Wildlife Department runs the turtle programme at Hawke’s Bay, with a Marine Conservation Information Centre and hatchling nurseries on the beach, according to Dawn in November 2024. AFP reported in 2023 that the department’s staff collect eggs the night they are laid and rebury them in protected nests, where they hatch in 45 to 60 days. In early November 2025 the department reported nearly 25,000 green turtle eggs collected in one month and set a target of 50,000 eggs for the 2025-26 season.

Hawke’s Bay’s nesting sand has shrunk as huts spread along the Hawke’s Bay and Sandspit shore. Dawn reported in November 2024 that a 2009 WWF-Pakistan study found almost 60% of the nesting habitat already lost.

How to see turtles at Hawke’s Bay responsibly

• Keep torches and phone lights off near the tide line, and keep voices low. AFP reported in 2023 that beach-party lights and loud music send nesting turtles back to the sea.
• Never touch a turtle, an egg or a hatchling, and leave marked nests alone.
• Look for fresh tracks on the sand at dawn, which a 2026 guide says appear from about September to March.
• Take all litter home and keep dogs off the nesting sand.
• For a guided visit, ask WWF-Pakistan or the Sindh Wildlife Department. In 2016 WWF-Pakistan arranged turtle-watch evenings from its Wetland Centre at Sandspit, and no 2025 or 2026 public programme was found.

Is swimming allowed at Hawke’s Bay?

Swimming at Hawke’s Bay is allowed outside ban periods. The Commissioner Karachi bans entering the sea under Section 144 in most rough-sea seasons, and the dates change every year. Breaking a ban can lead to a case under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Year	Dates	Hawke’s Bay covered?
2024	28 June to 27 July	Yes, the ban covered all of Karachi after a drowning at Hawke’s Bay on 20 June
2025	6 to 13 June	No, officials said Hawke’s Bay stayed open because lifeguards guarded it
2026	23 May to 22 June	The order covered Keamari’s coastal belt without naming beaches

Is Hawke’s Bay safe? Lifeguards and facilities

Hawke’s Bay has strong currents and undertow, and the Herald described dumping waves there in 2017 that look calm at low tide. On 23 August 2025 three young men were swept into the sea at Hawke’s Bay; Edhi divers rescued one. On 19 July 2026 rescuers pulled six young men from the water, two of whom went to hospital, according to ARY News, while the Express Tribune counted seven rescued near Turtle Beach that day.

Officials said lifeguards and police guarded Hawke’s Bay in June 2025, but an Express Tribune feature from around 2018 found no trained lifeguards, medical post or public toilets there. The 2026 guide advises swimming only where others swim, staying within waist depth, never swimming at night and asking the hut caretaker about the sea. For emergencies, call Rescue 1122 or Edhi 115.

The Cove Beach Resort opened on 21 June 2025 at Turtle Beach on Hawksbay Road, between Hawke’s Bay and Sandspit, and its website lists a pool, cabanas, a sea-view restaurant, jet skis and lifeguards. It publishes no day-pass price as of October 2026. KMC also opened a water sports centre at Hawke’s Bay in February 2022, and its current status is unconfirmed.

Best time to visit Hawke’s Bay

October to March is the best season for Hawke’s Bay, when the sea is calmer and the turtle season is under way, and December and January weekends are the busiest, according to the August 2026 guide. Weekday hut rates are lower. The same guide says swimming bans are common from about mid-June to August, and the Herald reported in 2017 that drowning risk is highest from May to September, so stay out of the water in those months.

Places near Hawke’s Bay

Sandspit, closer to the harbour and quieter than Hawke’s Bay, has its own turtle beach and WWF-Pakistan’s Wetland Centre. Turtle Beach lies between Hawke’s Bay and Sandspit, and French Beach sits further along towards Paradise Point; both are covered in the guide to Karachi beaches. Manora, at the end of the Sandspit sand bar, has a beachfront park and lighthouse.