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Lying east of La Digue, Félicité is a luxury resort island. Although you cannot land there unless you stay in the Six Senses Zil Pasyon resort, snorkeling along the island’s shore is included in most snorkeling trips from La Digue. Its reef is damaged but rich in fish, and you will easily encounter in the shallows spotted eagle rays and hawksbill sea turtles, frequent visitors to the location.

Coral reef at Felicite Island, Seychelles
The coral reef in Félicité Island.

How to get to Félicité Island snorkeling area?

Félicité Island lies a few miles off the coast of La Digue. There are several options to reach this spot:

  1. Book a stay at the Six Senses Zil Pasyon. In this case, the resort will organize your boat transfer to the island, and you will have access to the spot from the shore.
  2. Book a snorkeling tour to visit the area. Tours from La Digue usually combine snorkeling stops in Félicité and Coco Island.
  3. Reach the spot by your own means, if you have your own boat or you are visiting Seychelles in a chartered catamaran.

Félicité Island snorkeling map, Seychelles

Water entrance for snorkeling Félicité Island

If you are visiting the spot on a boat tour (or with your own boat arrangement), you will enter the water from it. If you stay on the island, enter the water from the small sandy beach just south of the port.

Snorkeling tips to better explore Félicité Island

Félicité Island is a privately owned island with access restricted to its guests. Tours will drop you off directly on the reef, which lies a few dozen meters from the small island.

The spot can be divided into two distinct areas: the channel of the small marina, visited by spotted eagle rays, and the fringing coral reef, which lines the coastline south of the marina.

Parrotfish at Felicite Island, Seychelles
Several species of parrotfish call the reef home.
    1. The channel. This deep area (↕20-25ft/6-8m) features relatively poor sandy beds, but it is the best location to observe the spotted eagle rays. It is not unusual to come across groups of two or three rays, resting on the seabed.  As soon as a snorkeler freedive, they swim off straight away into the ocean blue, darting above the sand.
    2. The fringing reef. This appproximately 100-meters wide coral area extends all along Félicité Island’s western shore (↕6-12ft/2-4m). Common sights on the fringing reef are schools of convict tang, wrasse, butterflyfish, and occasional schools of green humphead parrotfish. The coral is overall in decent condition, but some areas are badly damaged. It is also on the fringing reef that you will have the best chance of spotting hawksbill sea turtles.
Snorkeling with spotted eagle ray at Anse Sévère, Seychelles
A spotted eagle ray in Felicite Island’s channel.

Be careful when you explore the channel, as boats may (rarely) use it to access the marina.

Restaurants and accommodation on Félicité Island

The Six Senses Zil Pasyon is the only accommodation on the island.

 

  • Level required Intermediate
  • Maximum depth20ft/6m
  • Water entranceFrom a boat
  • Potential DangersUsual precautions
  • LifeguardNo
  • Visitor numbersMedium
  • Access costsTour price
  • Restaurants nearbyNo
  • Public toilets & showersNo

MAP Spot

Sea turtle watching in La Digue Island

snorkeling-hawksbill

Hawksbill sea turtles are a familiar sight in La Digue and its neighboring islands, like Félicité Island. In order to be a responsible snorkeler, be sure to respect the following rules when observing them:

  1. Do not attempt to touch or ride sea turtles
  2. Stay at a distance (6 to 10ft) from sea turtles
  3. Do not chase a turtle swimming away
  4. Avoid sudden movement and allow sea turtles plenty of space when they come up to the surface to breathe

On La Digue main island, Anse Patate and Anse Caiman (both with free shore access) are also excellent snorkeling spots to encounter hawksbill sea turtles.

These spots are accessible to anyone with basic snorkeling skills, and feeling comfortable in the water and with his snorkeling gear. You will enter the water from the shore (beach, pontoon, ladder, rocks) or from a boat. The water height in the sea entrance area is reasonable, but you will not necessarily be within your depth. Moderate currents can occur in the area, even when the sea conditions are good. The distance to swim to reach the most interesting snorkeling areas of the spot does not exceed 200 meters.

This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.