TYPICAL
7 DAYS ITINERARY WITH NORTHWEST WINDS
November to April
Day
1 : Praslin
Don't
leave Praslin without visiting Vallée de
mai, a valley protected by UNESCO home of rare
species of trees and particularly the famous coco
de mer, a unique palm tree. A walk in the Vallée
de mai is enchanting. The path wanders in the
near obscurity created by enormous palm leaves
of the cocos de mer. The trunks are 40 m high
and sway gently in the breeze, making a strange
rustling sound as they rub against one another.
Wherever you look the foliage seems to go on and
on as the path winds up through dark, damp clefts
before coming out onto the ridge where there are
magnificent views over a dense sea of green.
Day
2 : Praslin to La Digue - 6 miles
Anchorage
in Petite or Grande Anse, South East of the island.
Rent a bike to visit this beautiful island never
overrun with tourists, thanks to the lack of accommodation.
With its white tracks winding under tall palm
trees, houses with roofs of palm leaves, small
copra factories, fine white sand beaches and large
polished rocks, La Digue might be the most beautiful
island in the Seychelles. No cars, only bicycles
or carts drawn by oxen. Horse rides are also possible.
Day
3 : La Digue to Curieuse - 7 miles
Sail
around Marianne and Félicité. Anchorage
on the west coast of Grande Sœur for lunch.
Unforgettable snorkelling at Cocos Islands. Made
of large rocks with strange regular stripes carved
by the sea, Cocos Island forms a beautiful sight
with a great harmony of shapes and colours. The
ochre colour of the rocks is in contrast with
the bright green palms of the coconut trees and
the white sand of beaches lined with deep turquoise
water. Under the sea, the vision is equally attractive
with large arbores cent corals where thousands
of many coloured fish swim in front of narrow
breaks and dark caverns.
Go to Curieuse and anchor for the night in Baie
Laraie, east coast, or go back to Baie Sainte
Anne if you need water.
Day
4 : Curieuse to Saint Pierre to Curieuse - 6 miles
Curieuse,
part of the Marine National Park is the home to
a hundred or so giant turtles, you cannot miss
them. 45mn walk, into mangrove and "coco
fesse" trees, leads you to the other side
of the island, where is a nice beach and small
but interesting museum. Sail to St Pierre islet,
a mass of rounded rocks crowned with a clump of
tall palms swaying gently in the wind: typical
and superb scenery of the Seychelles photographed
on countless occasions and printed a million times
in tourism magazines! Excellent spot for snorkelling
with magnificent underwater scenery. Go back to
Baie Laraie for the night.
Day
5 : Curieuse to Aride to Curieuse - 12 miles
Aride
Island, placed under the supervision of the Royal
Society for Nature Conservation, is a conservation
area. Narrow paths through the dense vegetation
leads to the rocky barrier in the north from where
the whole island can be observed. Free of cats
and rats, which have ravaged so many tropical
islands in the worlds, Aride is a haven for a
wide variety of seabirds, unique vegetation and
rare land birds. The ten species of breeding seabird
include the rare roseate tern and the red tailed
tropicbird. The world's largest colony of lesser
noddy, more than 200,000 couples nest there. Open
on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays. Back to Baie
Laraie for the night.
Day
6 : Curieuse-Cousin to Bay Ste Anne - 15 miles
Cousin
Island is a nature reserve and bird sanctuary
with rare species and some giant turtles. Less
than 800 meters in diameter, the island can be
visited from Tuesday to Friday. A small path leads
to the turtles' enclosure from where it leads
to the summit through dense vegetation. Great
panorama and good spot from which to observe the
gracious flights of tropicbirds. During the season
of southeasterly winds, there may be up to 100,000
couples of black noodies nesting in the trees.
Go back to Baie Sainte Anne for the night.
Day
7
Check
in at the base at 09.00 am.
TYPICAL
7 DAYS ITINERARY WITH SOUTH EAST WINDS
May
to October
Day
1 : Bay Ste Anne
Visit
of the Vallée de mai, a valley protected
by UNESCO. A walk in the Vallée de mai
is enchanting. The path wanders in the near obscurity
created by enormous palm leaves of the cocos de
mer. The trunks are 40 m high and sway gently
in the breeze, making a strange rustling sound
as they rub against each other.
Wherever
you look, the foliage seems to go on and on as
the path winds up through dark, damp clefts before
coming out onto the ridge with magnificent views
over a dense sea of green. Night anchorage in
Bay Ste Anne.
Day
2 : Ste Anne Bay to Curieuse- 8 miles
Sail
to St Pierre islet, a mass of rounded rocks crowned
with a clump of tall palms swaying gently in the
wind: typical and superb scenery of the Seychelles
photographed on countless occasions and printed
a million times in tourism magazines!
Excellent
spot for snorkeling with magnificent underwater
scenery. Sail to Curieuse and stop in Anse san
José. Part of the Marine National Park
Curieuse. 45mn walk, into mangrove and "coco
fesse" trees, leads you to the other side
of the island, home of hundred or so giant turtles,
you cannot miss them.
Day
3 : Curieuse to Cousin island to Anse Lazio -
9 miles
Cousin
Island is a nature reserve and bird sanctuary
with rare species and some giant turtles. Less
than 800 meters in diameter, the island can be
visited on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and
Fridays. A small path leads to the turtles' enclosure
from where it leads to the summit through dense
vegetation. Great panorama and good spot from
which to observe the gracious flights of tropicbirds.
During the season of southeasterly winds, there
may be up to 100,000 couples of black boodies
nesting in the trees.
Anchorage for the night in Anse Lazio, the most
comfortable mooring in Praslin and may be the
most beautiful beach in the Seychelles.
Day
4: Anse Lazio - La Digue.
Rent
a bike to visit this beautiful island never overrun
with tourists, thanks to the lack of accommodation.
With its white tracks winding under tall palm
trees, houses with roofs of palm leaves, small
copra factories, fine white sand beaches and large
polished rocks, La Digue might be the most beautiful
island in the Seychelles. No cars, only bicycles
or carts drawn by oxen. Horse rides are also possible.
Anchor outside the harbor.
Day
5 : Marianne and Félicité islands,
Cocos islands - 13 miles
Sail
around Marianne and Félicité. Mooring
buoys west of Cocos Islands. Made of large rocks
with strange regular stripes carved by the sea,
Cocos Island forms a beautiful sight with a great
harmony of shapes and colours.
The
ochre color of the rocks is in contrast with the
bright green palms of the coconut trees and the
white sand of beaches lined with deep turquoise
water. Under the sea, the vision is equally attractive
with large arbores cent corals where thousands
of many coloured fish swim in front of narrow
breaks and dark caverns. Unforgettable snorkeling.
Go back to La Digue for the night.
Day
6 : La Digue to Grande Sœur island to Bay
Ste Anne ( Praslin ) - 11 miles
Anchor west of Grande Sœur. Visit of the
island made of two steep and rocky hillocks, linked
together by a low isthmus. A small coconut plantation
hiding some shacks covers the sandy plateau. The
contrast made by the bare rocky part and the undergrowth
of the coconut grove is beautiful.
Great
snorkeling on the west coast where you can see
marine turtles. Nice beaches on the east coast.
Open from Monday to Friday. Go back to Baie Sainte
Anne for the night.
Day
7
Back
to the base at 12 noon.
