La Digue is the third most populated island of the Seychelles, lying east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island and it was our second stop after Praslin. There is no airport on La Digue so ferry ride from either Pralin or Mahe is the only option one would have. We would highly suggest to stay in La Digue for at least 3 days so that you can explore best of explored and some unexplored beaches as well, and also spend some quality time in leisure. Here is our Complete Guide to La Digue in Seychelles or Ultimate La Digue Tour Guide 2021 and a list of things to do in La Digue. Our La Digue itinerary 3 days or La Digue Island Itinerary along with tips should help you make your perfect plan. You can find more in depth La Digue Island Guide or La Digue Travel Blog here.
La Digue island is absolutely famous for its top listed pristine beaches. Once you reach La Digue you would see it’s a whole new world. Life is slow yet very peaceful. We just loved every bit and corner of it. We heard it covers an area of 10km² & 4 square miles only which makes it relatively easy to travel around by bicycles or on foot. You would hardly find any motor vehicles in that island (very few) as life moves on bicycles everywhere here. So make sure you rent a bicycle to experience the best of La Digue.
Check out our top 10 photos of La Digue here.
Helpful tips about La Digue Island Seychelles
How to reach
La Digue can be reached in less than 20 mins from Praslin by a short private ferry ride which you can pre-book through MC Seychelles(Michel Chetty – Call/WhatsApp: +248 2535389 / 2535336 / 2524039) who gave us very good rental deals and was very helpful for booking other island excursions as well.
From Mahe it takes 1hr 30mins to reach La Digue. There are direct fast ferry connections between Mahe – Praslin- La Digue which you can book through (The Cat Cocos and CAT ROSE). If you staying in Praslin, then you can also opt board the same freey from Praslin to La Digue. You can also check their updated schedule on their Facebook page.
Where to stay in La Digue in budget?
As it is a very small island option might be very limited for luxurious hotels like Mahe & Praslin. Though you will have options to meet your needs for sure. We preferred to stay in a budgeted property so we booked our stay via Airbnb at CHEZ MERA and to our luck Mera(our host) was an extremely kind and helpful to us in every possible way she could. Our stay was just few kms (2-3) away from the harbor. You can use the this Airbnb link to book your stay in Seychelles and we would get a small credit at no additional cost to you.
Where to eat in La Digue?
The best way is to explore various take away, there are plenty available every 5 mins specially on the Western side of the island towards the harbor. Couple of famous take away food counters are Mi Mum’s/ Gala Take Away which you can try. We also managed to pack some good quality food from ‘LE BON COIN’ at times (take away ranges from 50 SCR per person per meal). In this island almost everything closes by early evening 8pm except few restaurants. Talking about restaurants there are 2 good restaurants which you can check for fine dining are ‘Le Repaire -Itialian Restaurant ‘and famous ‘FISH TRAP’ restaurant.
Bicycle rental : Complete Guide to La Digue
Best way to explore La Digue is on Bicycles but golf carts are also available if you are there for a short visit. We rented our bicycles from our stay host Mera (100 SCR per cycle per day). You would find many bicycles on rent boards around the island.
Currency : Complete Guide to La Digue
You can either use Seychelles Rupee (SCR) OR EURO which is easily accepted everywhere. If possible, try to carry some hard cash as most of the local shops don’t accept plastic money apart from few retail stores. You might find only few ATMs around the harbor so make sure you to carry sufficient cash.
Climate & basics to pack : Complete Guide to La Digue
Seychelles in general have warm temperatures throughout the year as it is located near the equator so you can basically focus on your beach wears the most. On La Digue, rainfall can be very heavy, but it usually lasts for one hour or less. The day we reached it rained cats and dogs twice. So don’t forget to pack rain ponchos or umbrellas. Apart from that sunscreens and coconut oil (for sand-flies) too!
Mostly the rainfall is from October to March while we went in December However the weather remains pretty decent in July to September.
Snorkeling gears : Complete Guide to La Digue
Be you are a pro or a new water baby don’t forget to carry your water gears. You would definitely need those in almost all beaches where you would find no one around to provide you with those. Also be careful before jumping into any of the beaches which might not be meant for swimming or snorkeling because of the water current or may be for sharp dead corals. Surfing is also popular on the islands, and there are lots of opportunities to sign up for some surfing lessons around La Digue.
Budget/Cost : La Digue
- Cat Cocos Ferry(Mahe to La Digue – one way 60 Euros)/(Praslin to La Digue – one way 15 Euros)
- Airport/Jetty to Hotel Transfer: 100-200 SCR
- Bicycle Rental: 100 SCR Per Day
- Hotel: 100$ per day for a couple inclusive of breakfast
- Food: 50-80 SCR per meal from takeaway joints
- L’Union Estate Entry Fee: 115 SCR Per Person
How to plan La Digue Itinerary for 3 days
Day 1 of La Digue Itinerary 3 days: Visit the Anse Severe Beach and enjoy the gorgeous sunset
After checking in our rooms and having a light meal we paddled towards Anse Severe beach which is the north-west coast for the sunset. On the way we came across a beautiful graveyard we couldn’t hold our self from stopping by. Once you reach, there is a very famous fruit juice bar known as the ‘Bikini Bottom’ (no alcohol served) grab your favorite drink (try their special mixed juice for 100 SCR) as we did and enjoy the gorgeous sunset.
In case you are early for the sunset like us or have more time during the day, then you can explore below beaches on the North Western side which is 20 mins cycling from Anse Severe beach and all lies in the same stretch!! Make sure to come back for the sunset to Anse Severe and relax!!
- Anse Gaulettes Beach
- Anse Banane Beach
- Anse Fourmis Beach
Day 2 of La Digue Itinerary 3 days: A day just to yourself to relax at the world famous and most photographed beach of ANSE SOURCE D’ ARGENT
This is one of the best and beautiful beach we saw in La Digue.This is a public beach but access to the beach is only through L’Union Estate so you need to pay for entry (115 SCR per person). On your way there, you can find a museum, old coconut mills and giant Aldabra tortoises as well.
What makes this beach even gorgeous are its unique rock formations on all sides of the beach. You really need to experience the view to know why it’s one of the most photographed beach across the world. This beach looks insanely gorgeous right after the high tide from 2pm. Once you go you know!! Make sure to pack some eatables if you wish to spend the entire day there as there are hardly any food joints accept one or two fruit/juice shops.
After the high tide we were extremely excited to go for glass bottom kayaking (Crystal Water Kayaks) and this was the highlight of our trip (full guided trip 35 Euros per person which includes 3 island trip for nearly 3 hours).
We would highly recommend to avail the best of its experience without a miss. It’s something we never tried before and its was just amazing. The beaches even felt more beautiful from the middle of the ocean with fishes and corals clearly visible right under our kayaks. Seriously it was one of the most amazing time that we could have ever experienced anywhere in the world.
DAY 3: Explore the picturesque and less explored beaches on the South Eastern Coast of La Digue
We finished our breakfast at comfort and later stopped at the first beach of the day which almost took us 30 mins of cycling from our stay near the harbor. The roads towards the south east are of small climbs so we had to walk our bicycles for couple of time. There are three best beaches towards the south-eastern coast. First you would reach Grand Anse beach where you need to park your bicycle and need to climb some rocky mountain to reach other adjoining beaches. We would add the hike is pretty tiring and rocky. So make sure you carry some water as you might get dehydrated. Also make sure to wear comfortable hiking shoes.
There are chances you might not find the route to the climb in the beginning, also it was very confusing for us as well. However, you can check the map available there by the road which would show a very narrow swampy climb at the start. The beaches you can explore towards the south eastern coasts are-
- Grand Anse
- Petite Anse Beach
- Anse Cocos Beach
You can also add a one more day in staying at La Digue, if you wish to go for day trips & explore the nearby islands
Check our detailed Seychelles Itinerary here to plan yours!!