Coco, Felicite and La Digue Island-Hopping Day Trip from Praslin

Praslin: pickup and the crossing

The day starts with pickup from your hotel on Praslin fifteen to thirty minutes before the 09:00 departure; please wait at your reception or in the lobby. Our driver brings you to the jetty where the boat waits, and with no more than eight guests on board, boarding and the safety briefing take only a few minutes. Masks, snorkels and fins are handed out and fitted before you leave.

The boat heads east from Praslin across the channel towards La Digue, with Félicité and the Sister Islands rising ahead and Curieuse behind you. The sea is usually calm in the morning and the crossing to the first stop takes about half an hour. A Praslin boat trip that combines three islands in one day is among the most popular things to do in Seychelles, and the small group keeps it relaxed.

Coco Island: an hour over the reef of a marine park

Coco Island is a tiny islet of granite boulders and a handful of palms north of La Digue, surrounded by shallow coral so rich that its waters are protected as a marine national park. The island tax is paid in cash per person on the day and is not included in the price. The boat moors off the reef and you have a full hour in the water, with our crew swimming alongside anyone who wants help.

Visibility is often excellent, and the coral gardens shelter parrotfish, snappers, surgeonfish, butterflyfish and sometimes eagle rays and hawksbill turtles. Coco Island snorkelling is suitable for children who can swim, and a flotation vest can be worn by anyone who prefers one. Please keep your fins off the coral and never stand on it.

Félicité: granite boulders and deeper water

The second stop is Félicité, the large, steep granite island east of La Digue, whose cliffs drop straight into clear, deeper water. Here the snorkelling is different from Coco: huge boulders coated in soft coral, channels full of fish and, on the sand below, the occasional resting reef shark that is harmless and shy. Another hour is spent in the water, again with the crew on hand.

Félicité was once a coconut plantation and is private today, so the trip enjoys its waters rather than its beaches. Between the two snorkelling sessions, soft drinks, water and local chips are served on board, and the view across to the Sister Islands and La Digue is one of the finest on any boat trip from Praslin.

La Digue: free time with a bicycle

La Digue is the fourth largest island of the Seychelles and one of the most charming: there are almost no cars, people get around by bicycle or on foot, and the lanes of La Passe village are lined with Creole houses, vanilla gardens and small shops. The boat lands you at the jetty in La Passe and a bicycle is included so that you can explore on your own; lunch and any guide on the island are at your own expense, and there are plenty of cafés and restaurants in the village.

Most guests ride to Anse Source d'Argent, about two kilometres south, through L'Union Estate, an old coconut plantation with giant tortoises, a traditional copra mill and a plantation house; the estate charges its own entrance fee, paid on the spot. The beach beyond is famous for its pink-grey granite boulders, shallow turquoise lagoon and the photographs everyone has seen before they arrive. Giant tortoises along the way are observed, never touched or fed.

Anse Source d'Argent and the return to Praslin

Anse Source d'Argent is a chain of small coves separated by sculpted granite boulders, with a reef offshore that keeps the water shallow and calm, so it is ideal for wading, floating and photographs; the best light is in the afternoon, exactly when this trip gives you free time. If you prefer, ride north instead to the quiet beaches of Anse Sévère or Anse Patates. Allow time to cycle back to the jetty for the boat.

The boat returns you to Praslin and our driver drops you at your hotel about eight hours after pickup. If you have been wondering how to get to La Digue from Praslin and see Coco and Félicité in the same day, this island-hopping trip is the simplest answer: one pickup, one boat and three islands.