This is our La Digue Seychelles day trip – tortoises, vanilla plantations and Anse Source d’Argent, all in one day.
You may have seen a place many times on TV, desktop wallpapers and screensavers. You might think that you won’t be awestruck, and it will seem familiar when you visit there. However, when you do see it in real life, it still takes your breath away! La Digue in Seychelles is one such place.
La Digue is a 10 min boat ride away from Praslin (read about how you can book tickets here). We woke up at 6:45am and took a bus to the Praslin jetty for our Cat Cocos boat which would leave at 8:45am. If you were feeling a bit sleepy when you got on the bus, you would be wide awake by the time you reached the jetty – it is crazy how fast these buses go on such narrow roads! We reached well ahead of time – thankfully, the water was very clear, and the fish kept us entertained.
The ride was surprisingly smooth (like the ones we had in Croatia). At the La Digue jetty, we picked up a couple of bicycles – the preferred mode of transport to explore the island.
We headed straight to the L’Union Estate – a colonial-era plantation and farm – also, home to some giant tortoises and the Anse Source d’Argent beach. We grabbed some breakfast at the Old Pier Café while enjoying the beach views.
Next stop, the tortoise farm. The tortoises here were huge – some were older than 100 years! People who say that tortoises are slow are not exaggerating – we tried feeding them some leaves, and it looked like they were moving in slow motion! One of them was nice enough to pose for a photo!
We then rode through vanilla plantations and reached the main attraction – Anse Source d’Argent.
Any amount of time here would feel like less – I’ll let the pictures do the talking now.
You can also go snorkeling here – if you’re lucky, a few fish may come all the way up to the shore to say hello! Here’s one of them who was consistently photobombing everyone. It kept coming really close to our feet as we walked in the water!
We left rather reluctantly as we didn’t want to miss our boat. We cycled around to the north of the island till the point where the road started going down a steep slope – we were in no mood to push the cycle back up that slope!
With just about an hour left, we grabbed some lunch from Mi Mum’s takeaway (the juice was so fresh and delicious that we converted more currency just to have more of it!) and some ice-cream from Glorious Bakery.
The boat picked us up at 2:15pm and we headed back to explore more of Praslin. If we would pick one beach out of all the ones we visited in Seychelles, it would no doubt be Anse Source d’Argent in La Digue!
If you’re going: practical notes
- Getting around: Bicycles, picked up right at the La Digue jetty – the island’s preferred way to get around.
- Food: Lunch from Mi Mum’s takeaway (get the fresh juice) and ice cream from Glorious Bakery.
- Watch out for: The road north gets steep near the top – we turned back rather than push bikes up it. Time your bike loop so you don’t miss your return boat.
La Digue Seychelles: Quick Answers
Is one day enough to see La Digue, or should you stay overnight?
We did La Digue entirely as a day trip from Praslin – bus to the jetty by 6:45am, boat over by 8:45am, and back by 2:15pm – and still fit in the tortoise farm, Anse Source d’Argent and a full bike loop of the north. It’s tight, but doable if you start early.
How do you get to La Digue from Praslin?
We took the Cat Cocos ferry from Praslin jetty – it’s about a 10-minute ride and surprisingly smooth.
What’s the best way to get around La Digue?
Bicycles. We picked ours up right at the jetty and cycled everywhere – it’s the island’s preferred way to get around, and there’s barely any need for a car.
What is there to see at L’Union Estate and Anse Source d’Argent?
L’Union Estate is a colonial-era plantation with giant tortoises over 100 years old, vanilla plantations, and the Old Pier Café for breakfast with beach views – it leads straight into Anse Source d’Argent, the granite-boulder beach that’s basically Seychelles’ most photographed spot.
Is La Digue worth visiting on a Seychelles trip?
Absolutely – of every beach we saw across Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, Anse Source d’Argent was the one we’d pick if we could only choose one.
Want the exact stops from this day – L’Union Estate, the tortoise farm, Anse Source d’Argent – pinned on a map? Subscribe for the Seychelles Magnet Map and pre-trip checklist.
For more details on how you can plan your trip to Seychelles, check out all the blogs here:
- Scenic Seychelles – Our itinerary and tips to plan your perfect 5-day vacation in paradise – on a budget!
- The Beaches and Mountains of Seychelles – Part One (Praslin)
- The Beaches and Mountains of Seychelles – Part Two (Mahe) – Some of the must-do’s while you are exploring the two biggest islands
- A Day in La Digue – Home to the iconic “Seychelles Wallpaper”
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