Anse Patates

What it is

Anse Patates is a small beach at the northern tip of La Digue, below Patatran Village Hotel and bordering the longer Anse Gaulettes. Tourism Seychelles records soft sand, calm seas, a lot of shade and a position close to the road (listing updated 29 September 2024). Snorkeling Report describes the beach as fringed by granite boulders and coconut trees (page updated 14 August 2024), and the hotel's site points to the view across to Coco, the Sisters and Félicité (checked 20 September 2026). SeyVillas adds that dolphins sometimes pass.

Getting there

The road runs alongside, and OpenStreetMap maps a public flight of steps down to the sand; Snorkeling Report also describes taking the stairs down from the road just before Patatran Village (page updated 14 August 2024). Patatran Village Hotel, directly above the beach, says it is roughly 10 to 25 minutes from the jetty by taxi, bicycle or on foot (hotel website, checked 20 September 2026). Measured on OpenStreetMap from the La Digue Ferry Terminal at La Passe, the beach is 1.24 km away in a straight line, and Anse Sévère is 0.42 km south. The hotel rents bicycles at SCR 100 per bicycle per day. Taxis are few: the Ministry of Transport recorded eight taxi operators on La Digue, with provision for 12 club cars to work as taxis, when it published the island's land transport policy on 18 March 2022. No source consulted records an entry fee or opening hours (checked 20 September 2026).

What is there

Nothing on the sand itself, and Snorkeling Report records no public toilets or showers. Patatran Village Hotel above the beach has a restaurant serving a breakfast buffet, lunch by the pool and Creole dinners, and a bar; its site does not say whether people who are not staying there may use them (checked 20 September 2026). SeyVillas says restaurants and toilets are available at the neighbouring accommodation. Bars holding Tourism Seychelles registry listings are at Anse Sévère, 0.42 km south in a straight line on OpenStreetMap.

The water

The sources disagree. Tourism Seychelles describes calm seas and good swimming close in. SeyVillas says no reef protects the bay, so the water deepens quickly and currents strengthen further out, and records a strong tide with sometimes tall waves. Snorkeling Report, from its own survey, calls the spot more exposed to waves than the snorkelling spots nearby and a good location when the sea is calm (page updated 14 August 2024). The Tourism Department's Beach and Sea Safety Guide lists Anse Patates among the surf, body-boarding and kite-surfing locations on La Digue, on a list the guide ranks by danger.

Snorkelling

Snorkeling Report's own survey describes two areas, both entered from the small sandy beach. Along the rock boulders to the west, a moderately deep rubble area where the seabed is badly damaged but hawksbill turtles are often seen and spotted eagle rays visit. Facing the beach, past about 30 m of coral debris, a healthier reef in 4 to 6 m of water with green humphead parrotfish, palette surgeonfish, several kinds of wrasse and abundant sergeant majors. It sets the level at intermediate and puts visitor numbers at low (page updated 14 August 2024).

Safety

The Beach and Sea Safety Guide, 2nd edition (PDF created April 2019, posted on tourism.gov.sc in August 2022), says lifeguards are stationed at Beau Vallon on Mahé and at Anse Lazio and Côte d'Or on Praslin, and that there are no lifeguards at any other beach. Its list of La Digue beaches carrying warning signs covers Anse Cocos, Grand Anse, Petite Anse and Anse Gaulette next door, but not Anse Patates. Anse Patates does appear on the guide's list of surf locations, which it ranks by danger. The guide advises against swimming or snorkelling alone, and says that a swimmer caught in a current should swim across it rather than against it. The UK FCDO says the west coast is unsafe in the north-west monsoon (around December to March) and the east coast in the south-east winds season (around May to September); no source consulted says which applies to the north coast.

Who it suits

Shade, quiet and a short ride from La Passe make this a stop rather than a day: SeyVillas says it sees few visitors beyond hotel guests, and Snorkeling Report puts visitor numbers at low. Weaker swimmers and small children are better served by the reef-sheltered water at Anse Sévère, 0.42 km south, which SeyVillas calls safe for children.