A week around Praslin: Curieuse, Aride, La Digue
If you would rather skip open-water crossings, take the boat on Praslin itself: the best-known sights of the Seychelles are all within a couple of hours from here. The loop is about 55 nm: the giant tortoises of Curieuse, the bird reserves of Aride and Cousin, Anse Lazio beach, the St Pierre islet and La Digue. No leg is longer than two hours, and most of the route lies in the lee of Praslin itself.
Day by day
Baie Sainte Anne (Praslin)
- Praslin (Baie Sainte Anne)-4.344, 55.758
Boat handover after 17:00 at the Baie Sainte Anne jetty. The Praslin airstrip is ten minutes away; from Mahé it is about fifteen minutes by air or roughly an hour by ferry. Provisioning in the village, dinner ashore.
Praslin → Curieuse
- Curieuse-4.283, 55.733
Round the headland to Curieuse, a national park with free-roaming giant tortoises and coco de mer palms. Admission is charged per person; lunch on the beach by the rangers' station, night at anchor in Baie Laraie.
Curieuse → Aride
- Aride-4.213, 55.665
North to Aride, a reserve where more than a million seabirds nest and Wright's gardenia grows wild nowhere else. There is no harbour: the reserve's boat lands you, while yours stays at anchor with someone from the crew on board.
Aride → Anse Lazio
- Anse Lazio-4.293, 55.696
Back down to the north-west corner of Praslin. Anse Lazio is a white beach with granite boulders at both ends, one of the great postcards of the Seychelles. Night at anchor off the beach.
Anse Lazio → Cousin → Baie Sainte Anne
- Cousin-4.331, 55.662
- Praslin (Baie Sainte Anne)-4.344, 55.758
Round the west end of Praslin to Cousin, another bird reserve that is landed only by the wardens' boat. Then along the south coast back to Baie Sainte Anne. If you make it before closing time, the Vallée de Mai is ten minutes away by taxi: a primeval coco de mer forest and a UNESCO site.
Praslin → St Pierre → La Digue
- St Pierre-4.313, 55.746
- La Digue-4.350, 55.833
A short hop past the St Pierre islet, a granite rock with palms and the clearest snorkelling of the week, to a buoy off La Passe on La Digue. Bicycles and Anse Source d'Argent before the day boats arrive.
La Digue → Baie Sainte Anne
- Praslin (Baie Sainte Anne)-4.344, 55.758
Across the channel back to Praslin and into Baie Sainte Anne by mid-morning. Refuelling and handover, night at the jetty; the next day, the flight to Mahé.
Coordinates are approximate, for the harbour or bay. Paste them into Google Maps or a chartplotter, and check the chart and pilot book before you moor or anchor.
Good to know
- Wind and season: December to April is the north-west monsoon, with light winds rarely over 15 knots, short squalls and downpours. From May to October the south-east trades hold 15–25 knots. Almost the whole route lies in the lee of Praslin and can be sailed in either monsoon.
- Reserves: Aride and Cousin are landed only by the reserve's own boat and are not open every day — check visiting days and hours in advance. On a day with swell Aride cannot be landed: it drops out, and the day goes to Curieuse and Anse Lazio instead.
- Parks: Curieuse is a marine national park with a per-person fee; fishing inside the park is banned and you never anchor on coral. The small harbour at La Passe on La Digue is busy with ferries, so yachts lie on buoys or at anchor outside and go ashore by dinghy.
- Logistics: international flights land on Mahé; from there Praslin is about fifteen minutes by local flight or roughly an hour by ferry. The fleet arranges the permit to cruise between the islands along with the boat.
When to go and what it costs in the Seychelles
Median € per berth per week from the agent's latest check, monohulls; each month's page has both boat types, a chart and boats departing that month.
Discounted boats in the Seychelles
All boats in the Seychelles
How long is the Praslin — Curieuse — Aride route and where do you stay overnight?
7 days and about 55 nautical miles in a loop, starting and finishing in Praslin. Overnight stops in order: Praslin (Baie Sainte Anne), Curieuse, Aride, Anse Lazio, Praslin (Baie Sainte Anne), La Digue. The longest leg is day 5, 18 nm.
When is the best time to sail the Praslin — Curieuse — Aride route?
The Seychelles are sailed all year round. The calmest months are April, October and November, between the trade-wind seasons. From May to September the south-easterly blows, fresher and drier; from December to March the north-westerly, calmer and more humid. The fleet is almost all catamarans, booked 4–8 months ahead. By the agent's latest checks (catamarans), the cheapest month is December: a median of €616 per berth per week. The most expensive is March, at €840. The most boats with 20% off or more are in November: 57%. The agent checks the current month and the next five; each month has its own page with the numbers.
How much does a yacht for this route cost?
A whole boat in the Seychelles for a week starts from €2,940 in the agent's current selection: the cheapest discounted week departing in the next three months. Prices per berth by month are higher up the page; the boats are under “All boats in the Seychelles”.
Do I need a licence to charter a yacht?
For a bareboat charter (no skipper or crew provided), yes: a skipper's licence and, as a rule, a VHF radio certificate. Without a licence, we add a skipper, paid separately from the boat price.
What's included in the boat price?
Just the boat, for a week. Usually paid separately: transit log and final cleaning, fuel, marina fees, the security deposit (or deposit insurance), a skipper, cook and hostess if you need them, and extras (SUP board, on-board Wi-Fi, coffee machine, child safety netting).
