Seychelles Island Hopping – Cousin, Curieuse & St Pierre
Overview
It might seem odd to post an article discussing a Seychelles island hopping cruise which departs from a small Seychellois island itself but I promise it’s worth reading on!
There are 3 main habitable islands in the Seychelles: Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. If you are based on Mahe, you can arrange day trips to Praslin and La Digue. However, I’d definitely recommend at least a few nights on each of these islands! If you’ve just started planning your trip to the Seychelles then have a read of my post Seychelles Survival Kit first.
To see other islands you’ll need to book a day trip on a private charter. Most of these depart from Praslin Island (see my post on Praslin Island for more details). Visitors can join tours as part of a group or privately. We decided to go for the private option and spent an absolutely incredible day aboard a private jet boat that tailored our journey to our preferences. This was professionally done by our sailor on the day, after asking us some specific questions.
Which islands do most tours include?
The classic tour involves Cousin, Curieuse and St Pierre islands. We elected to have less time at St Pierre Island and more time for a BBQ seafood lunch and some relaxation time on our own private beach, a secluded cove on Anse La Farine. However if you are a fan of snorkelling, St Pierre comes with high commendation! Departing from Praslin, you’ll do a complete circle of the island throughout the day. Moreover, this was quite a fun way of seeing places we had stayed and eaten at dotted around the Praslin coastline, including the marvellous Kempinski Resort from the sea!
Itinerary
Departing Praslin Island and circling Praslin Island with stops at:
Cousin Island
Curieuse Island
St Pierre Island
Anse La Farine
Cousin Island
For all tourists with an interest in ecology and animal life, I’d suggest (nay, urge!) Cousin Island. This small granite island lies 2km west of Praslin and is home to countless lizards, nesting seabirds, crabs, giant Aldabra tortoises and diverse native flora. It has undergone decades of conservation (see below) to restore its rich ecosystem and biodiversity.
Below: Information boards on Cousin Island
What days an I visit Cousin Island?
Cousin Island is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to midday. However, recent opening times have varied in response to Covid measures. Only a select few wardens and caretakers live on the island.
This conservation effort has been praised as one of the greatest of all time. The bird has been reclassified from ‘critically endangered’ to ‘near threatened’.
In 1969, the Red List said the Seychelles warbler could well become extinct in our time. Now we can say the Seychelles warbler was saved in our time.
Dr. Nirmal Shah, Nature Seychelles’ Chief Executive
Cousin Island was the first stop on our itinerary and the entry to the island was grand! Having arrived slightly early, we had moored offshore until the official opening time of 9.30am. In the mean time, some curious (and huge!) batfish had come looking for food and the sailor gave us some bread to feed them.
Our entry to Cousin Island
Not long thereafter, another smaller speedboat came to collect us to join another group for the island tour. He ensured we knew where the handles were and gave us a simple instruction:
Hold on, this will be fast …
The next minute we were barrelling towards the shoreline with no clear indication that we would slow on arrival. This is how they land ashore! In order to combat the choppy wave break about 10 metres from shore, the boats charge on in and slide up the sand at speed. It was truly a wild experience.
We walked up the sand which was so bright that I was for once, extremely glad to have remembered my sunglasses. Our guide then took us on a comprehensive tour of the island, through the mid section, past the swamp, around the coastline and then back to the boats awaiting us. The concentration of lizards is estimated as 1 per metre square and if you don’t watch your feet, you’ll almost certainly step on one! Definitely one of the highlights was getting up close and personal with the friendly giant tortoises who love a good neck rub!
R: life size tortoise shell
One of our most special encounters in the Seychelles happened on Cousin Island.
Our remarkable Hawksbill Turtle experience
On the northern section of the island, our walk had taken us to a Hawksbill turtle nesting site. As we stood around this, our guide pointed to the ocean edge and there was a mature female turtle, coming in to her nest. It was truly remarkable to watch the turtle navigate the rocks at the shoreline in the rough tide. Cousin Island is considered to be the most important nesting site for the Hawksbill species in the Western Indian Ocean.
Our departure from Cousin was equally as memorable, with the boat having to time its exit amongst the crashing high waves shortly out from shore. As we again held on for dear life, it was soon on to the next part of the tour!
Curieuse Island
Bottom: Curieuse Island map
This tiny 2.9km squared island is on the north eastern coast of Praslin and is well known for its red coloured soil. Curieuse Island was originally used as a leper colony! Today it is a national park, home to the famous Coco de Mer palms and also to more than 300 Aldabra tortoises. Some of these giant tortoises are protected in shelters near the Ranger’s station, whilst others roam free across the island. The shoreline is dotted with boats and fascinating granite rock formations.
On the southern side of the island is a mangrove swamp with a walkway for visitors. We spent the majority of our time under a hut on the shore, celebrating the half way point of our day with a bottle of French champagne, with the company of a friendly tortoise.
Spotting the famous Motor Yacht A
The Motor Yacht A is the fifth most expensive yacht in the world and we had a special sighting during our lunch break on Curieuse Island. It’s reminisce of a stealth warship or submarine and we saw it at various times on our trip in the Seychelles. If you look at the rear of the ship there is a small opening where the private jet boat is released! Needless to say, we were aboard a slightly more modest craft.
St Pierre Island
St Pierre is a tiny island which moreso resembles a small rocky outcrop, on the east coast of Praslin. It’s famed for its incredible snorkelling, or alternatively you can swim in the pristine waters.
Anse La Blague for lunch
We had built up quite an appetite by this stage and it was approximately 3pm before we hit this spot. The smells of the BBQ seafood had us tantalised from the boat, as we moored and walked along the soft sand to Villa Anse La Blague.
A personal table had been set for us and we were treated to fried eggplant, BBQ chicken and sausage, coleslaw with apple, yellow rice and a whole baked fish each. The food was delicious, the staff delightful and the cosy secluded cove had us feeling the most special people in the world.
Anse La Farine
Technically, Anse La Farine is part of Praslin Island, however it is only accessible by boat and it was truly a most beautiful and secluded stop on our itinerary. If you want to visit here though, you’ll have to reduce some time elsewhere.
The small cove has one of the best swimming beaches in the Seychelles. It has many trees for shade, large rock formations to explore and of course… sand crabs aplenty. Our boat dropped us to shore and then moored out at sea to give us some time to explore alone. It was heaven!
The day concluded with a return to the Baie St Anne marina and fortunately our accommodation had a private track leading to it from the car park so we could walk home. We returned around 5pm and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my time in the Seychelles.
Top R: Yachts at Praslin Marina
Bottom: Baie St Anne, including our accommodation at Chalets Cote Mer
