During our holidays we are happy to be active on the road and so we have also chosen a very special hike for our stay on the Seychelles island of La Digue. Our destination: the dream beach Anse Marron at the southernmost tip of La Digue, which can only be reached by boat or by several hours hike.
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On your own or with a guide?
We have thought long beforehand whether we should do the hike to Anse Marron on our own or take a guide. In Internet forums we have read a wide variety of opinions on this: some said that one could walk the way loosely alone, others said that this was far too dangerous. In general, we always explore our holiday destinations on our own, such as the hike to Le Morne in Mauritius. In the end, we decided on a guided tour with Gerard Niole of CocoTrail Guide and didn’t regret it. Local guides know the paths like no one else, can better assess the tides and also tell the guests something about flora and fauna. We felt very safe all the time, even if it went over stick and stone and daringly over rocks. Therefore, we would recommend a guided tour to everyone!
Hiking route, prices & preparation
The tour to Anse Marron with Gerard is scheduled for 6 hours and costs 40 EUR if you book directly over him (CocoTrail Guide). This is great value for money for a hike to one of the most beautiful beaches in the Seychelles. By the way, the group size will never be more than 8 people, which is also a big advantage compared to other guides.
In order to be optimally equipped, you should take the following things with you during the hike:
– Sufficient drinks: We each had 2 litres with us.
– Sunscreen: Indispensable, because the sun exposure is very intense.
– Camera: Hundreds of photo motifs are waiting to be captured along the way. Therefore, a camera or a smartphone should definitely be in your luggage.
– Bathing suits & towel: The lagoon at Anse Marron offers a refreshing cooling down.
– Ordinary footwear: Sporty sandals or neoprene booties are definitely recommended, because you walk along the beach, as well as climb over rocks and wade through the water.
Depending on the ebb and flow, you can start the hike either on the east coast or the west coast of La Digue. The local guides are always very well informed about this and have a very good view of the changes in the tides. Our hike started on the west coast of La Digue on the Grand Anse, so we took a taxi west from the helipad (which is located on the east coast). From here we went along the east coast to the Anse Marron and then along the west coast back to the starting point.
Our hike along the east coast
From our accommodation La Diguoise we rode within a few minutes by bike to the helipad in front of the L’Union Estate Park, because here our tour started at 8.30 am. Our guide Gerard has been waiting for us and an Italian couple who have arrived with us at the same time. And already our group was complete and it could start 🙂
The Grand Anse
After we took a taxi to the west coast of La Digue, our tour started at 8.45 am on the wonderful beach of the Grand Anse. The beach was deserted around this time, only a decorated wedding pavilion stood alone in the powder-sugar-soft sand. After a few meters we discovered traces of a turtle in the sand, which probably came to the beach at night for egg laying and which we missed by a few hours. What a pity!
The way through the jungle
Almost at the end of the Grand Anse we went into the bushes and our path led through the dense jungle, past some forest dwellers, flowering meadows and over rocks.
The Anse Songe
After a short time we came out at the next beach. The Anse Songe is a small, wild beach with many rocks. Due to its remoteness, there are hardly or never any people to be found here. On the granite rocks we have found some old crab shells, which are the remnants of the skinning process of the crabs.
The Grand l’Anse
The heat was already very intense in the morning, so we got quite sweaty. But luckily, a breeze blew around our noses from time to time. From Anse Songe we continued directly on the coast until we reached the Grand l’Anse. The beach is very long, but due to the strong surf and the rocky ground less suitable for bathing.
The scenery with the upstream rock formations is fantastically beautiful, so we have a little pee here, in which we could let our drone fly. From a bird’s-eye view you can also see the more distant beaches on the east coast of La Digue, which look very close from above, like the Grand Anse and Petite Anse.
Hike along the east coast
From here began the more difficult part of the hike with many climbing games over and under rocks, partly we just passed through the rock crevices.
We would certainly never have found this way without our guide, so we were super happy that Gerard led us safely through the rock labyrinth. At this point we also met a couple who were travelling without a guide and who had totally lost themselves. Therefore, once again the recommendation to take a guide in any case, so that you can also enjoy the hike.
After we had completed the daring climbing games, we got closer and closer to our destination at the southern tip of La Digue and suddenly had a beautiful view of the first beach section of the Anse Marron.
The Anse Marron
The Anse Marron is a dream beachthat is unparalleled – as from the picture book! It consists of two beach sections separated by several granite rocks.
The eastern stretch of beach
The first section where we got out of our hiking trail is a white little beach where the sea quickly gets deep and the waves come in unprotected.
Here we have also discovered traces of a turtle in the sand that have led into the bushes. And behold, there was actually a turtle in the low bushes, which was about to dig its eggs. Wow! In order not to disturb her, we first looked for some distance and hid behind a rock – until it was finished some time later and then ran fast across the beach back into the sea. What an experience!
The southern stretch of beach
Our way led us to the second beach section of the Anse Marron, which we liked much better than the first one. Because here – sheltered between granite rocks – there is a natural lagoon pool with crystal clear water and lots of small fish. After Gerard told us that we would spend our 2-hour lunch break here, we couldn’t be in the water fast enough 😊
The best thing was that we were completely alone with our group all the time. In the meantime, a boat had laid out for about 20 minutes on the first stretch of beach and then was gone again, so we didn’t notice much of it. Gerard said that the day is quite well chosen, because it was Sunday and on this day many guides do not offer any tours at all, because otherwise it would surely have been a bit fuller here.
In the meantime, our guide Gerard has prepared a delicious lunch for us. Everyone has got a plate of fresh fruit, a fish spring roll and fish leaf dough bags. There is definitely no more beautiful setting for lunch!
Our drone footage from Anse Marron
We used the longer lunch break at Anse Marron to take many photos of this dreamlike scenery. We also sent our drone into the air, because the pictures from the bird’s eye view are always breathtaking.
Our video of Anse Marron
Here is a short video from the southern tip of La Digue.
Our hike along the west coast
Around 1.30 p.m. we left with a heavy heart at Anse Marron to start our way back. This led us along the west coast of La Digue. On the way Gerard showed us a lot about the flora and fauna, which can be found here in the Seychelles. And of course we were also allowed to taste, e.g. a freshly cracked coconut or an Indian almond.
Once again we passed beautiful beaches, such as the Anse Pierrot, where the film Robinson Crusoe was shot in 1980. Compared to the Anse Marron, there was actually a lot more going on at Anse Pierrot, as it is easier to reach this beach and the tours of Crystal Water Kayaks also stop here.
The Anse Source d’Argent
Our path continued through knee-deep water until we reached the first section of the Anse Source d’Argent. The beach with its extraordinary granite formations is considered a dream beach and is regularly listed among the top 10 beaches worldwide. And precisely for this reason, the beach is a real visitor magnet for many day trippers from other islands and cruise guests. For us, the beach has lost some of its charm due to the large number of visitors, even if the scenery with the typical granite rock formations, the flat sloping beach and the turquoise blue water is of course dreamlike.
Over the L’Union Estate Park we arrived at the helipad again at around 3.30 pm and were overjoyed… but also something broken 😉
The tour was one of our absolute highlights in the Seychelles and one of the most beautiful hikes we have done so far. Therefore, we can highly recommend it to everyone!
Our travelogues from the Seychelles
White dream beaches, crystal clear water, sun and palm trees: the Seychelles are the epitome of an island paradise. For 2 weeks we explored the main islands of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue and saw the most beautiful sights: From gorgeous beaches, fascinating nature parks to hidden photo spots, animal islanders and beautiful viewpoints.
» Seychelles: Things to know & Travel Tips (Mahé, Praslin & La Digue)» Seychelles: Travel Planning, Flight & Rental Car
» Mahé: Things to know & places of interest
» Mahé: Tropical Hideaway Apartement & Beau Vallon Beach
» Mahé: Victoria – Things to do & beautiful photo spots
» Mahé: The Rock Pool (Ros Sodyer) at Anse Takamaka
» Mahé: Top 10 most beautiful beaches on the island
» Cerf Island: Snorkeling in Sainte Anne Marine Park
» Praslin: Things to know & places of interest on Praslin
» Praslin: Acajou Beach Resort on the Cote d’Or Beach
» Praslin: Fond Ferdinand – Coco de Mer Nature Reserve on Praslin
» Praslin: Vallée de Mai – UNESCO National Park on Praslin
» Praslin: Top 5 most beautiful beaches on the island of Praslin
» Curieuse Island: A trip to the giant tortoises
» Félicité: The luxury resort Six Senses Zil Pasyon
» La Digue: Things to know & Travel Tips from the island of La Digue
» La Digue: Cat Cocos Ferry & La Diguoise Guesthouse
» La Digue: Crystal Water Kayaks – Transparent kayak tours on La Digue
» La Digue: Anse Marron – Hike around the south coast of La Digue
» La Digue: Top 10 – The most beautiful beaches on La Digue
» La Digue: The resort Le Domaine de L’Orangeraie