Giant Tortoises on Curieuse

Curieuse is the red island. The soil is iron-coloured and it shows through everywhere the vegetation has not covered, which gives the whole place a look nothing else in Seychelles has. It is a short crossing from Praslin, close enough to see, far enough that the sea between them means something on a windy morning.

You land in the shallows, usually off the bow with your shoes in your hand, and the tortoises are simply there. Not behind anything. Aldabra giant tortoises have been reared on this island for decades and they roam it freely, so the first one you meet will be at the top of the beach eating, entirely unbothered, older than you by a margin you should not ask about. They move toward you at their own speed. There is no hurrying it and no reason to.

The path across the middle is a boardwalk on stilts over mangrove, flat and shaded, with crabs working the mud underneath and the roots doing that thing where you cannot tell what is tree and what is water. It ends at the other bay, where there is a restored colonial house. This island was a leper colony, and the buildings and the small museum in them are the only reminder left.

Coco de mer grows here, too. Curieuse and Praslin are the only two places on earth where the palm stands wild, so the ridge above the beach carries the same nuts as the Vallée de Mai without the gate or the crowd.

Lunch is usually a barbecue on the sand while the boat waits, then back across before the afternoon wind builds.

The longer version from Praslin makes three islands of the day. It starts on Cousin, a small nature reserve bought in the 1960s to save a warbler that had almost run out of island. The reserve’s own guides walk you past nesting seabirds and land birds found on only a handful of islands, and in season hawksbill turtles come up its beaches to nest, though nothing is promised. Then Curieuse, with lunch served on board at anchor rather than on the sand, a swim and a snorkel off the granite of Ile St Pierre, and the slow sail back to Praslin.

Either way, it is the best single day out of Praslin, and it works well spliced onto a catamaran day for anyone who wants more sea than island.

Good to know

• The island sits inside a marine national park and the park charges its own fee, generally collected ashore. We confirm the current amount when we quote.
• Landings are often wet. Shoes you can carry, a dry bag for anything that matters, and bare feet on the boat.
• No feeding and no touching the tortoises. They are protected, and the rule is enforced.
• Shade is patchy away from the boardwalk. Hat, water, and reef-safe sunblock on before the crossing.
• If you are expecting, the operators advise against these boat days, mostly for the wet landings and the open crossings. Tell us, and we will plan a gentler Praslin day around you.
• What each boat includes, snorkelling stop and all, is the operator’s decision, and boats are weather-dependent. If the crossing is called off, it is called off, so build a spare day into a Praslin stay rather than booking this for your last one.