The nature trail
Grimshaw and Lafortune cut about 4.8 km of paths. The main loop takes 30 to 60 minutes depending on your pace and stops. It is rocky and uphill in places, so wear proper shoes.
Moyenne Island, Seychelles
The granite island Brendon Grimshaw bought in 1962 and replanted by hand, now a national park you can walk round in an hour.
Moyenne Island is a small granite island in the Ste Anne Marine National Park, about 4.5 to 5 km off the northeast coast of Mahé in the Seychelles. Brendon Grimshaw, a Yorkshire newspaperman, bought it in 1962 and spent decades replanting it. It became a national park in 2009, and you can visit on a day boat trip from Mahé.
Moyenne Island at a glance
9.9 ha
Size
About 400 m long and 300 m wide. Some sources give closer to 9 ha.
4.5 to 5 km
From Mahé
Roughly 10 to 15 minutes by boat from Victoria.
1962
Grimshaw buys it
For a reported £8,000, on the last day of a holiday.
2009
National park
Agreed with the government in 2008, formally declared in 2009.
- Where
- Ste Anne Marine National Park, off the northeast coast of Mahé, Seychelles
- Coordinates
- 4°37′10″S 55°30′31″E
- Managed by
- The Moyenne Island Foundation, set up by Brendon Grimshaw
- Getting there
- Day boat trip or private charter from Mahé. No public ferry, no jetty
- Staying overnight
- Not possible. There is no hotel on the island
Moyenne is often called the world’s smallest national park, a description used by BBC Travel among others. It is a media label rather than an official ranking.
The man who bought an island for £8,000
In 1962, on the last day of a holiday in the Seychelles, Brendon Grimshaw bought Moyenne for a reported £8,000. He was a newspaperman from Dewsbury in Yorkshire who edited papers in East Africa. The island had been largely abandoned since 1915, and when he arrived rats were almost the only wildlife.
He moved there in 1973. With René Antoine Lafortune, a fisherman’s son who was 19 when they started, he cleared scrub, cut paths and planted about 16,000 trees by hand. He brought in Aldabra giant tortoises and bred them. Birds came back too: about 2,000 live on the island now.
Grimshaw turned down a reported $50 million for Moyenne because he wanted it to be a national park for everyone. That happened in 2009. He died in 2012, aged 87, and is buried on the island beside his father. The foundation he set up runs it today.
What you see on Moyenne Island
One loop trail, 30 to 60 minutes on foot, passes beaches, lookouts and the graves, with tortoises wandering across it.
Giant tortoises
Dozens of Aldabra giant tortoises roam free. BBC Travel counted nearly 50 in 2022, and hatchlings are raised in two nurseries.
The Jolly Roger
The island’s only restaurant. Some tours, including the Creole Travel Services catamaran day, serve a barbecue lunch here. Others eat on Cerf Island instead.
The graves
Grimshaw is buried beside his father, Raymond. Nearby are two older graves marked “Unhappily Unknown”, found while clearing paths. Grimshaw believed pirates lay in them. Nobody knows who does.
The treasure legend
Local lore says pirates buried treasure on Moyenne and that two men were killed so their spirits would guard it. Grimshaw and Lafortune never found any.
Chapel and museum
A small thatched chapel stands in the forest along the trail, and a small museum tells the story of Grimshaw and the island.
Beaches and palms
White sand and granite boulders, with a beach called Pirate’s Cove. Hawksbill turtles nest here, and the 2009 count of endemic palms included 13 coco de mer.
How to visit Moyenne Island
There is no public ferry, no hotel and no jetty. Most people come on an organised boat trip from Victoria or Eden Island Marina on Mahé, usually with snorkelling and lunch thrown in. A private charter is the alternative.
- Fees
- Non-residents pay the Ste Anne Marine Park fee (Rs 200 a day for anyone 12 or over, card only on site) plus a separate Moyenne landing fee. Tour prices often include both. Check with your operator.
- Timing
- Park tickets run from 8am to 5pm. Tours usually land in the middle of the day.
- Bring
- Shoes for a rocky trail, reef-safe sunscreen and a hat. You wade ashore, so expect wet feet.
Tours that land on Moyenne
Three well-reviewed day trips whose listings include time ashore on Moyenne. The tours page has all 7, plus the rest of the marine park and Mahé.
Lands on Moyenne
Mahé: Saint-Anne Marine Park and Moyenne Island Cruise
7 hours
A catamaran day in the marine park with snorkel stops, a Creole lunch and a guided walk among the tortoises on Moyenne, with the island landing fee already paid.
from$158
Check availabilityLands on Moyenne
Mahe: St.Anne Marine National Park Reef Safari with Lunch
7 hours
Reef viewing from a semi-submersible, a snorkel, a buffet lunch with live music, then time ashore on Moyenne to find the tortoises and the old graves.
from$141
Check availabilityLands on Moyenne
St. Anne Marine Park, Moyenne & Cerf Island Tour with Lunch
6-6.5 hours
The cheapest and most-booked marine park day: glass-bottom boat from Eden Island, snorkelling, the Round and Long Island sandbank, a stop at Moyenne and a beach barbecue on Cerf.
from$84
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
The rest of the Ste Anne Marine National Park
Moyenne is one of six islands in the park, which was declared in 1973 as the first marine protected area in the Seychelles. Its reefs and seagrass beds draw green turtles, and most boat trips stop to snorkel between the islands.
- Ste Anne, the largest, holds a Club Med resort and is open only to its guests.
- Cerf is where many day trips stop for a barbecue lunch on the beach.
- Round Island, once a leprosy settlement, now has a small private resort.
- Long Island held a prison until 2006. In 2024 the government chose a developer to build a resort there.
- Ile Cachée, a tiny islet, is a nature reserve with noddy colonies.
Moyenne Island guides
The island’s story, its tortoises and legends, and the practical side of a visit.
Brendon Grimshaw and Moyenne Island
Brendon Grimshaw was a Yorkshire newspaper editor who bought Moyenne Island in the Seychelles for £8,000 in 1962.
How to visit Moyenne Island
You visit Moyenne on a day boat trip from Victoria or Eden Island on Mahé.
Sainte Anne Marine National Park
Sainte Anne Marine National Park is a protected area of sea and six islands about 5 km off Mahé, a 10-minute boat ride from Victoria.
Seychelles giant tortoises
Almost every giant tortoise you meet in the Seychelles is an Aldabra giant tortoise, a species with more than 100,000 animals on Aldabra Atoll.
Pirate treasure: La Buse and the Moyenne legend
Olivier Levasseur, known as La Buse, was a French pirate hanged on Réunion in 1730.
Cerf Island: what to do and how it fits a Moyenne day
Cerf Island (Ile au Cerf) is the second largest island in the Ste Anne Marine Park, about 4 km off Mahé.
Ste Anne Island: can you visit, and what is there?
Ste Anne Island (Ile Sainte Anne) is the largest island in the Ste Anne Marine National Park, about 4 km off Mahé.
Plan your trip
Where to stay on Mahé, which tour to book and what to sort out before the boat.
Where to stay in Mahé: areas and hotels for a marine park trip
For a Moyenne or marine park day, stay on Eden Island: Eden Bleu Hotel is a short walk from the boats.
Where to stay in Seychelles: Mahé, Praslin or La Digue
Stay on Mahé if it's your first trip, your stay is short, or you want the Ste Anne Marine Park: the airport and the boats are there.
Eden Island, Seychelles: the marina, the boats and what to do
Eden Island is a man-made residential and marina island joined to Mahé by a bridge, between Victoria and the airport.
Mahé map: Victoria, Eden Island, the marine park and Moyenne
Mahé's marine park side is the north-east coast.
Is Seychelles expensive? Prices for fees, tours, buses and hotels
Seychelles can be expensive, but day-to-day fees are modest.
Planning a Seychelles trip
Mahé, Victoria and the wider islands, for the days you are not on Moyenne.
12 things to do in Mahé, Seychelles
The best things to do in Mahé split between the water and the hills.
Things to do in Seychelles, island by island
Most things to do in Seychelles sit on three islands.
Best time to visit Seychelles, month by month
The best time to visit Seychelles is April to May or October to November.
Seychelles snorkeling: the best spots and when to go
The best Seychelles snorkeling is inside the marine parks.
Seychelles island hopping: ferries, flights and day tours
Seychelles island hopping runs on the Cat Cocos ferry: 1 hour 15 minutes from Mahé to Praslin, then 15 minutes on to La Digue.
Victoria, Seychelles: things to do in the capital on foot
Victoria is the capital of Seychelles and small enough to see on foot in half a day.
Beau Vallon beach: Mahé's main resort bay
Beau Vallon is Mahé's busiest beach: almost 2 km of sand on the north-west coast, about 5 km by road from Victoria.
Anse Major: the Mahé beach you reach on foot
Anse Major is a small beach on Mahé's north-west coast with no road.
Morne Seychellois National Park: hiking Mahé's mountains
Morne Seychellois National Park covers 3,045 ha of Mahé's mountains, more than a fifth of the island, with over 15 km of trails.
Copolia trail: Mahé's short climb to a granite summit
The Copolia trail is a short, steep SPGA trail in the hills above Victoria: 1.2 km with a 180 m climb, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
Anse Royale: beach, snorkelling and how to get there
Anse Royale is a long, reef-sheltered beach on Mahé's southeast coast, about 20 km and 30 minutes by car from Victoria.
Anse Intendance: the wild beach of south Mahé
Anse Intendance is a wild beach of white sand and granite in south Mahé, about 30 km from Victoria.
Takamaka rum distillery: tours, hours and tasting
The Takamaka rum distillery is at La Plaine St André, a 1792 plantation estate on Mahé's east coast, 7 km south of the airport.
Best beaches in Mahé: 10 beaches compared
The best beach on Mahé depends on the wind.
Seychelles vs Maldives: which suits your trip?
Choose the Seychelles for variety: granite islands with mountains up to 905 m, rainforest hikes, giant tortoises and ferries between islands.
Common questions about Moyenne Island
Who owns Moyenne Island now?
The Moyenne Island Foundation. Brendon Grimshaw set it up and left the island to it when he died in 2012. Under a 2013 agreement the foundation runs the island and the national parks authority gives technical support. The sea around it is part of the government-run Ste Anne Marine National Park.
Can you visit Moyenne Island?
Yes. Most visitors come on a day boat trip from Mahé that combines snorkelling and lunch with time ashore for the trail and the tortoises. There is no hotel and no jetty, so you wade ashore from a small boat. You pay the marine park fee and a separate landing fee, and many tours include both.
Where is Moyenne Island?
In the Seychelles. It is one of six islands in the Ste Anne Marine National Park, about 4.5 to 5 km off the northeast coast of Mahé and roughly 10 to 15 minutes by boat from Victoria. Its neighbours are Ste Anne, Round Island and Long Island.
Is Moyenne Island still a national park?
Yes. Grimshaw signed an agreement with the government in 2008, and Moyenne was formally declared a national park in 2009. The Moyenne Island Foundation manages it, and it sits inside the protected Ste Anne Marine National Park.
How big is Moyenne Island?
About 9.9 hectares (0.099 square kilometres, or about 24 acres), roughly 400 m long and 300 m wide. Some sources give a smaller figure of about 9 hectares. A loop walk around the island takes 30 to 60 minutes.
Does anyone live on Moyenne Island?
Only staff. A warden lives on the island, in a house behind the restaurant, but there is no village and no hotel, so visitors come for the day. Brendon Grimshaw made Moyenne his home from 1973, and his father Raymond spent his last years there. Both are buried on the island.
What animals live on Moyenne Island?
Aldabra giant tortoises are the best known: dozens roam free (BBC Travel counted nearly 50 in 2022) and hatchlings are raised in two nurseries. About 2,000 birds live there, on an island that had almost none when Grimshaw arrived. Hawksbill turtles nest on the beaches, and snorkel stops in the marine park around it turn up parrotfish and angelfish.
How do you get to Moyenne Island?
By boat from Mahé. Organised day trips leave from Victoria, at Marine Charter and the Inter-Island Quay, and from Eden Island Marina, often with hotel pickup. A private boat charter is the other option. There is no public ferry.