La Digue is definitely one of my favorite islands after my vacation in Seychelles. La Digue is the smallest of the main inhabited islands in the Seychelles and truly a laid-back island paradise. Having previously been to Mahé and Praslin, a lifestyle of serenity and tranquility combined with great photo opportunities awaited us on La Digue. If you are looking for perfectly white beaches, turquoise sea and a relaxed atmosphere without cars, this is the place for you.
La Digue Seychelles – Island Info
La Digue is one of the main islands of the Seychelles, next to Mahé and Praslin. It is the smallest of the 3 islands with 9,81 km². The islands is a popular destination for tourists especially because of its famous beach section Anse Source D’Argent. The beach is also repeatedly counted among the most beautiful beaches in the world.
What makes La Digue special and conveys this relaxed attitude towards life is the fact that almost all people on La Digue get around by bicycle. You will look for rattling engine noises here in vain. Most of the life takes place on the western half of the island, while the eastern part is occupied by 333 m high mountain Nid d’Aigle. La Digue is also surrounded by a coral reef which is why some of the beaches are good for snorkeling from the water. Our favorite beach for snorkeling was Anse Severe.
Accommodations as well as banks, stores, restaurant, takeaways and bike rentals are mainly located to the west near the Jetty. Everything here is within walking or biking distance. La Digue has no sights to offer in the actual sense. Here are definitely the beaches and the sea in the foreground. In my opinion, that’s all you need for a relaxing vacation in paradise.
How to get to La Digue
The first part of the journey is the international flight to Mahé, the capital (island) of the Seychelles. International flights to Mahé cost around 600-700 Euro from Germany, depending on the time of travel. We have paid in March 2020 from Dusseldorf to Mahé with British Airways about 680 Euro pP. To travel directly to La Digue there are two options for you. You can fly by plane to Praslin and travel from there by ferry to La Digue or you go from Mahé directly by ferry to La Digue.
Option 1: By Plane and Ferry to La Digue Seychelles
For option 1 you book a flight ticket from Mahé to Praslin. The airplane costs with ca.150 Euro pP only 50 Euro more than the ferry for round trip and can be booked, like the international flight. In addition, you get to see the islands on the approx. 20-minute flight again from a bird’s eye view, which can also be a real highlight.
On Praslin you have to take a cab to the harbor to take the ferry to La Digue. The ferry between Praslin and La Digue runs several times a day. The crossing takes about 15 minutes and costs 14 Euro per person. You can book the tickets on site at the counter or in advance online at Seyferry.
Option 2: By Ferry from Mahé to La Digue
For variant 2 you will go from Mahé airport to the harbor. At the airport there are enough cabs waiting for you, so you don’t have to take care of it in advance. The trip takes about 30 minutes and costs 600 SCR (about 40 Euro). To secure a place on one of the ferries and to minimize the organizational effort on site, you can book the ferry tickets again in advance at e.g. Seyferry.
The booking is fast and unproblematic and the pages of Seyferry are even available in German. When booking online, you will receive a voucher that you can exchange for a ticket on site. On site, everything was well organized, so that you have to be at the port at most one hour before departure. If you want to be a little more flexible with the booking, you can also drive to the port an hour before departure and buy an appropriate ticket at the counter.
- Ferry Mahé – Praslin
- Price: 50 Euro
- Duration: about 1 hour
- Ferry Praslin – La Digue
- Price: 14 Euro
- Duration: about 15 minutes
- Ferry La Digue – Mahé
- Price: 50 Euro
- Duration: about 1 hour 15 minutes
The most Beautiful Hotels
From the harbor you can go to the hotel. From small self-catering apartments to luxury hotels, there is certainly something for everyone. On the Seychelles no wishes remain open. What you should keep in mind is that La Digue is a small island and the hotel options are limited. It is therefore worthwhile to book early so that you can still get a place in your desired accommodation.
Luxury Villa in the Jungle
If you are traveling as a family and want to have your own kingdom, you should definitely plan a few nights at Villa Pasyon*. Villa Pasyon is a bit hidden, so you can enjoy a lot of peace and quiet. The villa is also a good starting point to explore the beaches of the island by bike.
The villa has a pool and a beautiful garden with mango, star fruit and avocado trees. In the garden live free-range chickens and a turtle, also in the trees you can always discover wild birds.
Jungle Feeling in Villa Pasyon*
Central Self-Catering Apartment
On La Digue, we can recommend the La Digue Self Catering Apartment* right near the Jetty. Our beautiful little apartment was super centrally located at the harbor and was the perfect starting point to reach all the different corners of the island by bike. We also had several supermarkets, restaurants and a great bakery nearby, so we could get enough provisions for our bike baskets and spend the day on the most beautiful beaches on La Digue.
La Digue Self-Catering Apartment on La Digue*
Luxury Hotel on the Beach
The small wooden chalets of La Digue Island Lodge* are located directly on the beach. Each accommodation unit entices with a wonderful view of the Indian Ocean and the beautifully landscaped gardens. In addition to a pool and a restaurant with a view of the sea, La Digue Island Lodge also offers its own diving station. A special highlight are the open bathrooms with outdoor shower of the chalets.
The La Digue Island Lodge directly on the beach*
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How many Days should you stay on La Digue?
How many days you should stay on La Digue depends on how much variety you want to have during your vacation. We were on La Digue for a total of 5 days and would have liked to spend a few more days there. Also, the island has enough to offer to do another activity every day besides a visit to the beach…. and that in this absolutely relaxed atmosphere. So plan with pleasure 5-7 days on La Digue.
Things to do on La Digue Seychelles
Boat Trip Big Sister & Coco Island
Just a 20-30 minute boat ride away are the three small islands of Cocos Island, Big Sister and Felicite. The islands are combined in different ways on the various day trips and snorkeling excursions from La Digue. The island are, like actually all Seychelles islands, simply paradise.
During the boat trip you visit partly the islands and make snorkeling trips in front of these islands. Especially when snorkeling, we have seen here many different small fish, but also sharks and turtles. For me, the trip to Big Sister and Cocos Island was the absolute highlight during our 2 weeks in the Seychelles.
Anse Source D’Argent
On the lists of the most beautiful beaches in the world we always mention Anse Source D’Argent. Anse Source D’Argent has earned this title especially because of the rock formations that give the beach its characteristic features. The potential of the beach has also been recognized by the owners of the former coconut plantation, so that you have to pay an entrance fee to visit the Union Estate Park and the adjacent beach Anse Source D’Argent.
Currently (as of March 2020) one pays per person 115 SCR (about 6 Euro). If you come in the afternoon, you can visit the beach again the next day with your wristband, which you get at the entrance. For the entrance fee you can visit the beach, the old colonial buildings, the former coconut plantation and the vanilla plantation. At the beginning of the beach Anse Source D’Argent you have the possibility for a special kayak experience. With the so-called Crystal Kayaks you can experience the rock formations and the beach from the water.
Explore La Digue by Bike
Okay… a bike tour is not necessarily a sight to see, but is definitely one of the most amazing things to do on La Digue. A bike ride around the entire island not only sounds like a relaxing day, it is. With a little effort at least. Because even if you drive a lot in the direct vicinity of the beach, you have to climb the one or other small slope on La Digue with the bike again and again.
Therefore, you regularly see people pushing their bike or pushes itself. Nevertheless, you should not miss this relaxed way of transportation on the small Seychelles island and explore the island with its beaches on your own.
Hike to Anse Cocos
If you want to visit one of the most beautiful beaches on La Digue in the Seychelles and get some exercise at the same time, the Anse Cocos Trail on La Digue is for you. The beach Anse Cocos is always counted among the most beautiful sights on La Digue and we can only confirm this. For us, this was a day trip, as we took our time on the hike as well as on the individual beaches.
During the hike you will visit 3 incredibly beautiful beaches that are little visited. The Anse Cocos Trail leads you from the Grand Anse over the Petite Anse to the Anse Cocos. Here you should buy a coconut at the small bar, take a seat under the palm trees, look at the sea and just relax.
Crystal Kayak Tour
Number 5 on our list of the best things to do on La Digue is a kayak tour. Who hasn’t seen them before, the cool pictures of people paddling in transparent kayaks in the turquoise blue sea? After seeing the photos online, I really wanted to do that too. The idea of seeing what happens underwater while kayaking was just totally exciting to me. And where do you find these Crystal Kayaks?
You guessed right… on the island of La Digue in the Seychelles. And there on the most photographed beach in the world, Anse Source D’Argent. The fact that you are riding in transparent kayaks is not everything. You will go to a small beach that can only be reached from the sea and follow in the footsteps of Robinson Crueso.
La Digue Travel Tips
- rent a bike, either directly at the harbor or at your accommodation
- make sure to make the day trip to Cocos Island and Sister
- go snorkeling at the Anse Severe
- if you want to see turtles, you can also visit them at Anse Severe
- buy bread and delicious carrot cake at the bakery near the Jetty
- find a palm tree on the beach for the perfect vacation photo at Anse Banane
What are your travel tips for La Digue? What is your insider tip or highlight on the Seychelles island? Feel free to leave us a comment with your recommendations.