September 20, 2019

Quick Guide To Visiting The Seychelles – Part 2. La Digue

My favourite of all the islands, La Digue is the place to go for the ultimate Seychelles experience.

Just a short 20-minute ferry ride from Praslin, when you step off the jetty it immediately hits you just how laid back this little island and its people really are. The smallest of the three main islands, La Digue has a tiny population of just 2,000 people. In fact, the only way to get around is by foot, bicycle or golf cart.

Hot tip: Brush up on your French! The locals are incredibly friendly so expect to be greeted with “Bonjour Madame/Monsieur! Ça va?” everywhere you go.

Rolling our suitcases along, we finally came to our villa and were greeted by Frank and his son Blaise. An American expatriate, Frank moved his family to the Seychelles four years before to open up the beautiful and quaint, O’Soleil Chalets guest houses. Extremely roomy with high ceilings, the villa had a full kitchen, separate bedroom and powerful air-conditioning (thank god!)

Just 25 metres away from O’Soleil Chalets is the beautiful Anse Severe. A swim at this beach became a daily staple and later, a place to watch the sunset with a drink in hand. It was here that we were lucky enough to experience one of the most incredible sunsets we had ever seen.

On day two we hopped on our hire bikes and cycled towards Anse Caiman, a very secluded beach that is amazing for snorkelling. You can cycle along the road until a certain point but then it stops short and you’re forced to walk in the low tide around the granite boulders. It was a bit tricky, but we finally got there and enjoyed an afternoon watching the likes of Bat, Butterfly and Parrot Fish swim by.

Heading back was interesting…

Hot tip: Don’t try and hike over granite boulders at high tide. It is not fun.

La Digue is renowned for being home to one of the most iconic beaches in the Seychelles, Anse Source D’Argent. One of the most photographed beaches in the world, this is the beach that has characterised the Seychelles with its iconic granite boulders and crystal clear water. We were warned by Blaise to get there early before the mad rush, but we soon found out that a ‘mad rush’ in the Seychelles means about ten people.

A National Heritage site, Anse Source D’Argent is located inside L’Union Estate and you have to pay a small entrance fee upon arrival at the gate. After that, you’re welcome to explore the estate and La Digue’s history, including walking around landscaped gardens where you’ll find the old Plantation House, a traditional copra mill and kiln and the cemetery of the early settlers.

The beach itself was, as we expected, absolutely stunning. With knee-deep, crystal clear water for about 100 metres out, it’s an incredible experience to walk amongst a variety of fish and even feed them! They are pretty tame and will come straight up to you if they think you have food.

Having worked up quite an appetite from all the cycling and swimming, we ventured out to spoil ourselves with dinner at the Fish Trap Restaurant. One crab curry, one chicken curry and about a thousand cocktails later we walked (stumbled?) home past the pumping music of the outdoor nightclub and several locals enjoying a beach bbq. I could stay here forever!

The next day we said ‘adieu’ to La Digue and were on our way to Mahè.