Curieuse and St Pierre Snorkelling Boat Trip from Praslin

Curieuse Island and its giant tortoises

Curieuse Island lies just north of Praslin, a twenty-five-minute crossing from Anse Possession, and is a national park in its own right. Its reddish earth gave it the old name Île Rouge, and a nineteenth-century leper colony left it almost untouched. Today its best-known residents are the giant Aldabra tortoises: a breeding programme started here in the late 1970s and the island now holds the second-largest population in the Seychelles after Aldabra itself. The boat lands at Baie Laraie, and within a few steps of the ranger station you see tortoises grazing in the shade, some over a century old.

A Curieuse Island tour is one of the top things to do in Seychelles for families, because the animals wander freely and come close. We observe them without touching or feeding, as the rangers ask. Entry is covered by an island tax paid locally for visitors aged twelve and over. Is Curieuse worth visiting? Yes for the tortoises alone; the walk that follows is the second reason.

The mangrove boardwalk and the doctor's house

From Baie Laraie a guided one-hour nature walk crosses the island on a trail that starts as a raised wooden boardwalk through one of the finest mangrove forests in the Seychelles. Seven species of mangrove grow here, the mud is alive with fiddler crabs and mudskippers, and herons and whimbrels feed at low tide. The trail then climbs through takamaka and coco de mer palms, with a viewpoint over the turquoise bay, and drops down to Anse St José on the far side.

At Anse St José stands the old doctor's house, a restored colonial residence from the leper colony days that now houses a small visitor centre about the island's history and ecology. The walk takes about an hour at an easy pace, with time for photos of tortoises, birds and the coastal scenery. It is on sandy and sometimes uneven ground, which is why the trip is not suitable for wheelchair users; children who can walk for an hour manage it well.

Lunch and free time on the Curieuse beaches

Between roughly 12:15 and 13:30 the group has free time on the beach at Curieuse. The sea here is calm and shallow, shaded by takamaka trees, and many guests swim or simply sit with the tortoises wandering nearby. Lunch is not included in this option: you are welcome to bring your own picnic, snacks and refreshments, or you can pay locally for a beach barbecue of grilled fish, chicken and Creole side dishes prepared on the island. Water and soft drinks are provided on board throughout the day.

This free-time block is the most relaxed part of the day and a good moment for anyone who wants to enjoy the beach rather than walk. If you prefer a lighter programme, tell the crew and you can rest on the sand while others finish the trail. Keep an eye on your bags, as the tortoises are curious about anything that looks edible.

Snorkelling at St Pierre islet

Around 14:00 the boat moves to St Pierre, a tiny granite islet off the Côte d'Or coast of Praslin, no more than a cluster of boulders crowned with a few palms. It is accessible only by boat, and the shallow water around it is a marine park with some of the easiest snorkelling in the Seychelles: coral heads a few metres from the rocks, parrotfish, surgeonfish, butterflyfish, sergeant majors and sometimes a turtle. Snorkelling equipment is provided on board, and you snorkel for about an hour from the boat.

The best time for a St Pierre snorkelling trip is the calmer season from November to April, when visibility is highest and the sea is flat, though the islet is sheltered enough to be visited most of the year. Non-swimmers can stay on board and watch from the deck. From St Pierre the boat returns to Anse Possession, where our driver meets you for the transfer back to your accommodation on Praslin.

Getting there: Anse Possession and the boat from Praslin

The departure point is Anse Possession, a quiet bay on the north coast of Praslin between Anse Boudin and Côte d'Or, which gets its name from the stone marking French possession of the island in 1768. We pick you up from any accommodation on Praslin between ten and forty-five minutes before departure depending on where you stay, and boarding is from 09:00 to 09:15 with a short safety briefing before the boat leaves. The crossing to Curieuse takes about twenty-five minutes.

A Praslin boat trip to Curieuse is the most popular day trip on the island, and this shared departure keeps the price per person low while covering everything that matters: tortoises, mangroves, beach and reef. If you stay on Mahe or La Digue, ask us about ferry connections; the trip starts and ends on Praslin only.