Snorkeling at Anse La Farine

How to get to Anse La Farine snorkeling spot?

There are no roads to Anse La Farine and to reach the spot you have two options:

The first and most expensive way is to stay at New Emerald Cove Hotel which is located right in front of the tidy beach. As there is no road reaching the resort, the hotel will organize for you a boat pick-up.

The second option and cheaper alternative is to get there by boat with a local guide. Here comes the hard part as the usual snorkeling tours will take you to St Pierre Island and there is no regular snorkeling tour going to Anse La Farine.

The way we suggest getting there is from Anse La Blague, a desert beautiful beach off the tourist path where you will easily find yourself with the whole Anse for you. A local fisherman keeps his small white and red boat parked here (the boat is called Koste), usually right in front of the abandoned estates.

If he is not out fishing he will spot you at the beach and will offer to take you to Anse La Farine. You can negotiate with him a price, how many stops, and how long you will stay there. This is perhaps the best chance you have to reach the snorkeling spot described here.

Water entrance for snorkeling Anse La Farine

Your guide will show you where to get into the water. If you go to the snorkeling spot in your own boat, take the abandoned Emerald Cove Resort (nearby the new hotel) as a reference point and stick to the right side of it when facing the ocean. This is where corals and fish are most abundant but beware of the shallow reef, depending on your boat if the draft is too important you may not be able to navigate around the shallow areas if you do not know the right way through.

Follow your guide instructions about the currents. This is usually not a problem in the marked area if you get to snorkel here with the low tide which we recommend. On high tide, the waves get bigger and the current can be dangerous also in the designated snorkeling area. The reef drop-off protects the bay from waves and currents and venturing off is highly discouraged, the currents on this side of Praslin are extremely strong and tend to take you away into the open ocean.

Anse La Farine snorkeling exploration tips

The whole area marked on the map can be explored. The water is always shallow, with a depth between 3-6ft/1-2m. Occasionally and more towards the reef drop off the depth will increase to about 10ft/3m but other than that the depth is perfect to snorkel. It is never too shallow to make it impossible to swim but not too important to miss the best part of the seabed.

The seabed is majestic and, conversely to the majority of the snorkeling spots of Seychelles, the hard corals here are still in fairly good shape. Sea urchins find shelter between corals, sponges and the rocks while a myriad of fish surrounds you.

The rocky formations of the reef are alternated with sand areas and seaweed areas, but the latter ones are still made interesting by the big presence of rocks making the underwater landscape extremely various and unique in Praslin.

Some of the rocks where the corals grow can reach almost the surface level, in this case, you will easily be able to snorkel around them and keep going with your exploration as a way through is always found with an average depth below you of 3-5ft/1-1.5m. Among the hard corals identified at this location are Pocillopora, Acroporidae, brain coral, and occasionally Echinopora.

You will not spot here huge schools unlike in other places in Seychelles but the fish variety is incredible. Semicircle angelfish and emperor angelfish are frequently seen at reef. You will have the chance to spot in good numbers also threadfin, raccoon and melon butterflyfish, as well as Moorish Idols.

Sheltering around the corals and the sea urchins you will surely spot sulphur damselfish and blue damselfish. Other species which are regularly seen in the area include the convict tang, the lined surgeonfish, the black surgeonfish, the dash-and-dot goatfish, as well as the honeycomb grouper.

Hawksbill sea turtles are occasionally seen in the area but this is not the ideal place to spot them, you will have more chances in other snorkeling spots around the island and especially in La Digue. Schools of sergeant majors are very common and this is the most likely species you will spot in high numbers.

The main danger of this area is the sea urchins which are present in high numbers as well as the corals which are still in a good shape and some of them may be harmful if you touch them. It is anyway always good practice to avoid interacting with the environment which includes touching any species of fish and corals, stepping on them, and feeding the fish.

Another thing to consider is the presence of small jellyfish especially during the Monsoon season, sometimes they do get stuck in the shallow reef during high tide and you will spot big packs of them in high numbers that cannot be counted. For this reason, we recommend keeping your t-shirt on when snorkeling here as extra defense.

Restaurants and accommodation nearby

In Anse La Blague there are no restaurants and neither facilities nearby. You will not disembark while exploring Anse La Farine as the beach is reserved for the resort and the coast is rocky in its surroundings. If you visit this spot while staying at New Emerald Cove Hotel you can rely on the hotel facilities.