Anse Cocos

What it is

Anse Cocos is a long beach on La Digue's east coast, just north of Petite Anse. Seychelles.cc puts it at nearly 500 metres and SeyVillas at 450 m by 20 m; the outline mapped on OpenStreetMap measures 467 m end to end in a straight line. SeyVillas records the bay as one of the island's first settlements, with a copra industry, and says the abandoned buildings and the remains of the coconut-drying kiln still stand behind the sand; OpenStreetMap maps ruins there.

Getting there on foot

No road reaches Anse Cocos. The usual way in starts at Grand Anse, crosses a small hill to Petite Anse, then goes over a rise, through forest and across two small wooden bridges before dropping to the beach (SeyVillas). The path mapped on OpenStreetMap from the north end of Grand Anse measures about 1.2 km and is tagged as a hiking path; SeyVillas gives the same 1.2 km between the two beaches. Times vary by source: SeyVillas' beach page gives about 30 minutes one way, and 30 to 40 minutes for the walk back to the facilities at Grand Anse; Seychelles.cc gives about 45 minutes. A second route comes in from Anse Fourmis to the north (Tourism Board), following the coast past Anse Caïman: the mapped coast path from Anse Cocos to Anse Caïman is about 0.9 km, and the section north of it runs partly over rock, tagged a harder grade on OpenStreetMap. An inland route is mapped too, as the "Jungle Trail to Anse Cocos" and the "Anse Cocos - Romeo and Juliet trail".

The walk itself

SeyVillas' hiking guide describes palm forest and sandy paths, in places with tree roots and loose stones, and rates Grand Anse to Anse Caïman easy and suitable from about six years old: 2.25 km, 60 m of climbing, about two hours there and back with photo stops, and free of charge (checked 20 September 2026). Anse Marron on the southern tip is the walk the same guide rates hard and only possible with a guide, at EUR 50 plus SCR 150 for entry to L'Union Estate. It advises hiking shoes rather than flip-flops, two litres of water each and a start before 9am, since about half the route has no shade. Bikes are left at Grand Anse.

The water

The Tourism Board describes Anse Cocos as more sheltered than Grand Anse and Petite Anse and safe for swimmers, while warning that strong currents still occur. Seychelles.cc says the same: the small bay behind large granite rocks at the far end is usually calm, while the open beach can have dangerous currents when the waves are up. SeyVillas keeps swimming for confident swimmers, recommends the natural pools and records shallow water at low tide. The rough season is put differently by different sources: SeyVillas says May to October, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office gives the south-east winds as around May to September and says the east coast is unsafe then (checked 20 September 2026). The Tourism Department's Beach and Sea Safety Guide lists Anse Cocos among the four La Digue beaches with an official warning sign and records no lifeguard anywhere but Beau Vallon on Mahé and Anse Lazio and Côte d'Or on Praslin; if a current takes you, its advice is to swim across it rather than against it.

Food, drink and shade

What is on the beach is not settled. OpenStreetMap maps a building as a bar at the southern end of the beach, where the path from Grand Anse comes out, added in January 2022 and named there as Fruit Bar; a 2024 guide by WeSeekTravel describes a small beach bar at that end called Coco Bar, which cut fruit for the writer after the walk. The two records give the place different names. No hours, prices or current trading are confirmed by any source checked, and SeyVillas' beach page still names Grand Anse, 30 to 40 minutes away, as the nearest snack bar and bike stands. SeyVillas' hiking guide describes a bar at Anse Caïman further along the trail, where it says you can buy a fresh coconut, and traveller reviews of it run to August 2025 (Tripadvisor). Carry water and food. Shade is a few trees and the rocks at the far end (Seychelles.cc); SeyVillas counts about ten visitors on a normal day.

What is nearby

SeyVillas gives the distances from Anse Cocos as 536 m to Anse Caïman, 565 m to Petite Anse, 1.1 km to Anse Fourmis and 1.2 km to Grand Anse.