7-day tour of the Seychelles

1. Day 1

   We meet at 15:00 at Eden Marina on Mahé and check in on the catamaran. We buy provisions and set off for the nearest island, Sainte Anne. We spend the night at anchor in a delightful bay.

2. Day 2

   We set off for Praslin; on the long 3–4 hour passage we are sure to see dolphins, we will fish and, if we are lucky, have sashimi or grilled fish for lunch. We anchor off Anse Lazio — one of the most beautiful beaches in the Seychelles — and relax and swim.

3. Day 3

   In the morning, a short passage to the uninhabited island of Curieuse. Because of the red soil covering it, the island was named Red Island (Ile Rouge). The French renamed it La Curieuse in 1768. This island is the home of giant tortoises. We will walk around the island and visit a quiet, peaceful place — the giant tortoise farm, where we can watch them in their natural habitat; you are even allowed to feed and stroke them. The oldest tortoise is 190 years old and is called Captain Morgan. The island has a well-equipped hiking trail; you can climb to a small viewpoint with a fantastic view, watch birds and see hundreds of coconut crabs peeping out of their burrows.  There are deserted beaches where we will swim and relax under the palms, and beyond a small causeway you can see lemon sharks — these miniature sharks are harmless to humans, bask in shallows 50-70 cm deep, and we can get almost right up close to them. A night at anchor in the Marine National Park.

4. Day 4

   We head to La Digue — the fourth largest island of the Seychelles. La Digue is a perfect habitat for rare species of plants and animals. The island is very quiet and peaceful; it will amaze you with granite boulders against a blue sky, clear sea and the pristine beauty of Anse Source D'Argent, the most photographed beach in the world. Life here is slow and measured, and we will immerse ourselves in this atmosphere of paradise on earth, with no cars — the only means of transport are bicycles. On the beach you can hire kayaks and paddle to see the places where Cast Away and Robinson Crusoe were filmed, or walk to the vanilla plantation and lie in the shade sipping a cocktail made with local rum. Or you can hire a bike and ride along shady paths to Grand Anse beach to splash about in the waves, or to Anse Cocos with its calm blue water and a natural pool framed by granite. In the evening we move to a restaurant with a sunset view. We spend the night at anchor.

5. Day 5

   Today Praslin awaits us. There are two programme options, and the crew can choose either or split up: 1. A visit to the Vallée de Mai National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site — a walk through tropical jungle that has remained unchanged since prehistoric times, among the rarest coco de mer palms. These palms, with their very curiously shaped fruit, are a sight in their own right; there are only a few places on earth where you can see them growing in the wild. 2. Excellent snorkelling near Grande Soeur island, where you can swim with rays, turtles and fish. We watch the sunset in a bay in the south of Praslin — Grand Anse or our familiar Anse Lazio.

6. Day 6

   A short passage to the island of Aride. This island is one of the most important nature reserves, managed by the Island Conservation Society of Seychelles, and home to more than a million seabirds. We will land on the south side of the island and watch the birds; a local guide will take us on a tour and we will see fluffy newborn chicks sitting in nests right on the ground. After lunch we cross to Cousin Island, which is also a nature reserve. It is one of the most important nesting areas for hawksbill turtles in the western Indian Ocean. Every year 30 to 100 turtles come to the island to lay their eggs during the daytime, which is unusual, as other sea turtles nest under cover of darkness. The island is also home to Aldabra giant tortoises and the green gecko. The reserve also includes a 400-kilometre marine shelf area; the reefs around Cousin have the highest density of fish, and we will observe them while snorkelling and fish for them once we leave the reserve. We return to Praslin for the night.

7. Day 7

   Early in the morning we cross to Mahé, to the azure bay of Port Launay Marine Park, fishing for tuna and swimming on the way. Mahé is the largest of the 115 islands of the Seychelles archipelago. About 72,000 people live on the island — 90% of the entire population of the Seychelles. Port Launay Marine is a national park with a magnificent horseshoe-shaped beach. Port Launay park is known on Mahé for frequent appearances of whale sharks in its waters. In season these huge, gentle sea giants can be spotted swimming lazily around the bay, rich in plankton that gathers in huge masses in the marine park. The whale shark is the largest fish in the world. It has nothing in common with whales except its size. It feeds on plankton, small fish and crustaceans and is completely harmless to humans. We spend the night at anchor in the park. 

8. Day 8

   Early in the morning we cross to Eden Marina and leave the catamaran by 9:00.

   A spacious, comfortable catamaran with a large cockpit and roomy cabins. On board are 4 double cabins and 4 heads with showers. The catamaran is equipped with everything you need for the voyage: air conditioning, a generator, a watermaker, a functional galley, fridges and a sound system. Masks and fins for snorkelling will be on board.

* Please note that the programme may change slightly depending on the weather.