Yacht Charter La Digue

Yacht Charter in La Digue, Seychelles

La Digue is the fourth-largest island in the Seychelles and the most atmospherically distinctive — a small, relatively flat island of granite outcrops, vanilla plantations, and tropical forest where the pace of life is determined largely by the tide and the wind, and where ox-carts and bicycles are the principal means of transport. No car hire is available on La Digue, and the island's few roads are narrow and unpaved. This absence of motor traffic gives La Digue an extraordinary quality of quiet that is almost impossible to find elsewhere in the Indian Ocean islands, and the combination of this tranquility with the island's extraordinary natural beauty — particularly the beaches of the southeast coast — makes it the most beloved destination in the Seychelles for visitors seeking genuine escape.

Anse Source d'Argent

Anse Source d'Argent is the most photographed beach in the Seychelles and one of the most photographed in the world — a series of small sandy coves separated by enormous rounded pink and grey granite boulders, accessible through the former coconut plantation of L'Union Estate in the southwest of the island. The boulders, smoothed by millennia of wind and water erosion, create shapes of extraordinary sculptural beauty against which the white sand and turquoise water of the coves provide a backdrop of almost surreal perfection. The beach is shallow and calm, protected by the reef offshore, making it suitable for swimming and snorkelling for all ability levels. Early morning or late afternoon visits, when the light is warm and the day-trip visitors have not yet arrived, offer the experience at its most magical.

The Anchor and Snorkelling

The anchorage off La Digue's main settlement, La Passe, is one of the most popular in the inner Seychelles — a well-sheltered bay with good holding ground and excellent provisioning possibilities from the small shops of the village. The snorkelling from the anchorage is excellent, with a resident population of hawksbill turtles that has grown significantly since the local community began protecting nesting beaches, and a reef of considerable colour and diversity visible from the surface in the clear water. The island's isolated eastern beaches — Anse Cocos, Petite Anse, Grand Anse — are accessible only on foot or by dinghy from the yacht and offer the combination of dramatic scenery and complete solitude that defines the La Digue experience.

Giant Tortoises and Wildlife

La Digue is home to a small but healthy population of Aldabra giant tortoises, several of which can be seen in the grounds of L'Union Estate coconut plantation near Anse Source d'Argent. The island is also one of the last refuges of the Seychelles paradise flycatcher, a critically endangered bird found nowhere else in the world, whose brilliant turquoise male birds can be spotted in the forest of the interior. The coastal forest of La Digue, with its takamaka trees, badamier, and coconut palms, is full of bird life including the Seychelles sunbird, Seychelles bulbul, and the introduced but colourful Madagascar fody. For naturalists, La Digue offers an extraordinary concentration of endemic and near-endemic wildlife in a tiny area.