Anse Lazio (Seychelles)

...the world.

Anse Lazio is situated on the north west corner of Praslin in Bay Chevalier. It is a 1Km long perfect crescent of soft, lightly fluffed up white sand so finely grained it feels like flour. The beach is relatively deep, from the fringe of takamaka trees and palms to the waves of the warm Indian Ocean, so there is no need to retreat far to avoid an incoming tide. To the right of the beach the craggy deserted Pointe Chevalier ...
...These attributes have resulted in Anse Lazio repeatedly being voted "the best beach in the world" by numerous travel publications and newspapers. Indeed, some people make a special day trip to Praslin just to see it, and in the guide books it is talked up as if it is the eighth wonder of the world.

There is no doubting that it is worth seeing, Anse Lazio is magnificent as beaches come, but after a while in Seychelles, I found ... more

Praslin is the second largest island in the Seychelles and the most popular with tourists. It has primeval forest and wonderful scenery, coupled with some good quality hotels which are less expensive than their exclusive counterparts on the outer islands. But what Praslin is most famous for is the soft white sanded beaches and crystal clear turquoise waters that surround the small island, many of which have been voted among the best in the world.

Anse Lazio is situated on the north west corner of Praslin in Bay Chevalier. It is a 1Km long perfect crescent of soft, lightly fluffed up white sand so finely grained it feels like flour. The beach is relatively deep, from the fringe of takamaka trees and palms to the waves of the warm Indian Ocean, so there is no need to retreat far to avoid an incoming tide. To the right of the beach the craggy deserted Pointe Chevalier curves round a protective arm, to the left the verdant headland undulates away, giving a secluded, closed in feel. These attributes have resulted in Anse Lazio repeatedly being voted "the best beach in the world" by numerous travel publications and newspapers. Indeed, some people make a special day trip to Praslin just to see it, and in the guide books it is talked up as if it is the eighth wonder of the world.

There is no doubting that it is worth seeing, Anse Lazio is magnificent as beaches come, but after a while in Seychelles, I found myself getting a bit picky. I found enough significant down sides to Anse Lazio, that I would not even rate it my favourite beach in Seychelles (that honour would have to go to Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue, famous for people revelling in Bounty bars on its shores, with its shallow crystal waters, unusual boulder topography, and hidden little coves) let alone the world.

There are good points, of course. Often Seychelles beaches are completely without facilities of any kind, but at Anse Lazio there is the excellent Bonbon Plume Restaurant. This is set back from the beach and is a collection of open air rustic tables shaded by the trees. They specialise in quite fancy Kreol cuisine, with fresh locally called fish (spiced, grilled, curried etc.) from around SR150 (about £14), which is about average price in Seychelles. Due to budget requirements I just had a slice of homemade coconut cake and a fresh mango juice, but I had a good peer as other people's meals went by, and the quality looked very high. The downside is that the restaurant closes in the evening, which is unfortunate, because one of the big draws of Anse Lazio is the sunset.

Due to its north-west facing location, Anse Lazio is perfectly located to experience the full force of a Seychelles sunset. The beauty of the deep reds and golds of the setting sun, coupled with the idyll of the beach, is watched by a band of tourists every day. Praslin is a tiny island, and it is worth the short drive just to enjoy this miraculous ten minutes.

So the sand and air may be perfect, but the water knocked it off my top spot. I get agitated sitting still for too long, so my perfect beach needs to provide the opportunity for a good swim. The water needs to be deep enough, and after a minor drowning incident in South Africa, reasonably flat. Anse Lazio unfortunately has rather large waves, the kind that throw you in the air while your just trying to have a relaxing soak. I didn't snorkel here, but I have read it is meant to be good, even though I believe there isn't much of a coral reef, especially since this was one of the areas worst hit by the tsunami in Seychelles. There is an interesting witness account by the owner of Le Bonbon Plume, and photos of the damage at http://ioc.unesco.org/iosurveys/seychelles/sey9.htm.

The best way to reach Anse Lazio is via a winding up and down metalled track, which is definitely best accessed by car. A rental car will cost around US$60 for two days. There is a free car park, with spaces for around 20 cars, but this is always pretty busy. I know for sure there are buses to Anse Boudin, and I expect one or two per day make their way out to the beach, but Praslin buses tend to be sporadic. A bus journey costs SR3 (35p) for any distance.

Other great beaches on Praslin include:

Anse la Blague - the coral reef is easy to swim out to here making it ideal for snorkelling. I was lucky enough to swim with two young hawksbill turtles for about 15 minutes, and there are many reef fish and invertebrates to see. There is a small open air beach side restaurant, part of Hotel La Vanille, which has terribly slow service, but eventually produces excellent coconut milkshakes.

Anse Consolation - this tiny secluded bay by Point Consolation, in the quiet South Eastern part of the island, has a small sandy beach with interesting shells and a few small fishing boats.

Anse Kerlan - this long, deserted beach near the tiny airport has beautiful views of Cousine and Cousin islands.

Anse Possession - pretty narrow beach scattered with large granite boulders, with a view of Curieuse Island. This is where the French claimed possession of Praslin in 1768.

Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or) - the most popular stretch of sand and the location of most of the large resorts. This is a long white sanded beach, with shallow crystal clear turquoise waters, ideal for swimming, watersports and sunbathing.

Grande Anse - this is the longest beach on Praslin and the site of one of the two villages. After Cote d'Or, this is the other tourist centre, but the beach is very congested with seaweed congested, and the waters shallow. The sunsets are beautiful.

Top Seychelles beach tips:

Do not sit under the palms, preferably don't even walk under them. This may sound like a joke, but a worrying number of tourists set up camp for the day directly under a collection of huge 3Kg coconuts, lurking precariously 40m above them. They are meant to fall down by design….I would imagine the impact isn't pretty!

Anse Lazio is rare in that it does have facilities in the form of the Bonbon Plume café. But most Seychelles beaches are bereft of modern comforts such as toilets, shops, beverage providers etc, so it is best to bring emergency water, food, toilet paper (?) if necessary.

If you have read any of my other Seychelles reviews, you will know by now that I have a secret desire to spread the word about the unsuspected high crime rate. No matter that Judith Chalmers and people in films leave all their stuff on the beach while they swim - it is definitely not advisable here. I have never been to a country where so many suspicious people lurk in the bushes, and to leave wallets and cameras on the beach is possession suicide. I used to leave everything in the car, which isn't ideal, but was the only option when I was on my own, and then tie the key to myself.

The temperature varies between 22-34 C, and the sun is strong, so slip, slap, slop is definitely the way to go.

Conclusion

So, is Anse Lazio worth visiting? A resounding yes. It is definitely the stuff of tropical daydreams - just do your power swimming and snorkelling elsewhere, then head on down to relax on the fine sands, enjoy some fine local cuisine and watch the sun go down.

© 2005 V.L.Collyer
 

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