Anse Royale: beach, snorkelling and how to get there

Anse Royale is the easy beach on Mahé’s southeast coast. An offshore reef keeps the bay calm and shallow, there is a bus stop and parking beside the sand, and at the Fairyland end you can walk in and snorkel a 1 to 3 m lagoon. It is about 20 km and 30 minutes by car from Victoria.

SeyVillas measures the beach at about 1,500 m by 15 m and describes it as a long bay made up of several smaller stretches of sand. It also says the beach is often busy. Anse Royale is a district as well as a beach, with about 4,700 residents (2019 estimate) and restaurants and snack bars in the village behind the sand.

Snorkelling at Fairyland

Fairyland is the small beach at the end of Anse Royale, and it is where you snorkel. Snorkeling Report’s guide (last updated July 2023) gives the details:

• Entry: from the sand at the end of the beach, near the rocks. If the lagoon is very shallow at low tide, swim out toward Ile Souris, the small islet offshore, for deeper water.
• Depth: about 1 to 2 m in the lagoon, 2 to 3 m near Ile Souris.
• What you see: semicircle angelfish, bluespotted grouper, goldbar wrasse, sergeant fish, puffers, trevallies and the occasional spotted eagle ray, with leather corals on the sandy flats.
• The danger: do not go behind Ile Souris. The current there is often strong. Stay on the lagoon side.

Snorkeling Report rates the spot beginner level, but only in good conditions. Entry is free and there is no lifeguard. The Tourism Department’s beach safety guide says the only lifeguards on Mahé are at Beau Vallon.

Bring your own mask and fins or rent them locally; SeyVillas says shops near the beach rent snorkelling gear. For more spots around the islands, see our Seychelles snorkelling guide.

When to go

The reef shelters Anse Royale most of the year. Two seasonal notes from SeyVillas: seaweed washes in from June to September, and the trade winds in those months make it good for windsurfing and less good for a flat-calm snorkel. The changeover months, April to May and October to November, usually bring the calmest seas around Mahé.

Getting to Anse Royale

Checked October 2026 (SPTC timetable and visitor cards page; GetYourGuide), except where a source date is given.

Driving is on the left and the roads are narrow and winding. If you would rather not drive, the Customizable Private Tour of Island with Driver gives you a car and driver for 7.5 hours and lets you choose the beaches, so Anse Royale, the rum distillery and Anse Intendance fit in one day. It was from $180 per group of up to 3, rated 4.8 from 741 reviews.

Combine it with nearby stops

• Takamaka rum distillery: a short drive north at La Plaine St André, with free guided tours from Monday to Saturday.
• Anse Intendance: the wild surf beach in the south. Great to look at, much rougher to swim.
• Le Jardin du Roi: a spice garden and restaurant in the hills about 1.5 km away. We could not confirm its current hours or entry fee.

Anse Royale and a Moyenne trip

Anse Royale sits at the opposite end of the east coast from the marine park boats, which leave from Victoria and Eden Island further north. Treat them as two separate days: one on the south coast beaches, one on a boat to Moyenne Island and its tortoises.

Our where to stay in Mahé guide compares the areas, from Eden Island and Victoria near the boats to the quieter east coast around Anse aux Pins.