Côte d'Or and Anse Volbert

Côte d'Or and Anse Volbert

The tourism board calls Anse Volbert and Côte d'Or Praslin's main beach resort, with hotels and guesthouses along a coastline that is rarely crowded. It describes Anse Volbert as the longest and most popular beach on Praslin, with clear water for swimming and water sports. Anse Volbert is also one of the island's main settlements.

Boat trips

This stretch of coast is the main departure point for Chauve Souris, St Pierre and Curieuse. The Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority gives the boat ride from Côte d'Or to Curieuse as about 20 minutes, arranged through local tour operators or boat charters. Curieuse Marine National Park takes in Curieuse and the whole channel between it and Praslin, including St Pierre and Chauve Souris, and the Praslin shoreline forms its southern boundary. St Pierre is a five-minute boat ride from Curieuse, with snorkelling and diving.

On Curieuse, visitors can see Aldabra giant tortoises introduced between 1978 and 1982, walk a boardwalk through the mangroves at Baie Laraie, and follow the trail to Anse José. The park opens from 9:00 to 17:00 daily, and entry is SCR 300 for non-residents over 12 (Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority, checked 16 September 2026).

Along the north coast

Further west, the tourism board lists Anse Petite Cour as a small bay beside a hotel, with granite boulders, snorkelling and a view of Curieuse.

The beach

Anse Volbert, also known as Côte d'Or, runs for about 2.6 km along Praslin's north-east coast and is the island's main resort strip. Guesthouses, hotels, restaurants, shops, car and bicycle hire, and dive centres line the road behind the sand. SeyVillas notes that the Côte d'Or merges into the quieter north-western part of Anse Volbert without a clear boundary.

Getting there

The coastal road runs alongside, with roadside parking and bus stops along the route. Some hotels set out sun loungers for their own guests; SeyVillas asks visitors not to use them without permission.

In the water

The water is shallow and slopes gently, with no dangerous coral or cliffs, which makes it popular for swimming and motorised water sports. SeyVillas notes that the tide changes quickly. Boats leave from here for the Curieuse Marine National Park, about a 20-minute ride according to the Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority, and for the islets of St Pierre and Chauve Souris.

Seaweed and erosion

Sources differ on timing. The SeyVillas beach page reports some seaweed at the eastern and western ends, its climate notes link seaweed here to the north-west winds between December and February, and its north-east coast page links seaweed on this coast to the May to October winds. The Climate Change Division said in 2022 that it planned an artificial reef off the Côte d'Or to reduce wave action and erosion.