Cerf Island (Ile au Cerf) is the second largest island in the Ste Anne Marine Park, about 4 km off Mahé. Many visitors come on a marine park day trip for a beach barbecue lunch and a snorkel, then cross to Moyenne. You can also stay overnight at Cerf Island Resort or L'Habitation.
Cerf Island is the lunch stop. On many shared boat trips into the Ste Anne Marine National Park, the morning goes on snorkelling and the glass-bottom boat, then everyone lands on Cerf for a beach barbecue before crossing to Moyenne Island in the afternoon. So you will probably see Cerf on the same day as Moyenne, not instead of it.
The island is about 1.3 km², 1.7 km long and 1 km wide, with a high point of 108 m at Mount Cerf. It lies about 4 km off Mahé’s northeast coast. Around 100 people live there, most of whom commute to jobs on Mahé. It has no roads.
The name comes from the French frigate Le Cerf, which reached what is now Victoria on 1 November 1756 under Corneille Nicolas Morphey.
Not a lot, and that is the appeal. The main things are:
The two named beaches are Anse Takamaka and Anse La Fontaine. Don’t confuse Cerf’s Anse Takamaka with the beach of the same name in south Mahé.
You need a boat. Cerf has no public ferry that we could confirm, and the island’s hotels run their own boats for guests.
You pay the marine park fee either way.
| Charge | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ste Anne Marine Park entry | Rs 200 | Non-residents aged 12 and over, per day. Card only on site; tours usually include it |
| Cerf Island Resort boat | €30 return | Per person, resort guests only |
Checked October 2026 (SPGA visitor information; Cerf Island Resort published rates).
Four tours on our tours page use Cerf in different ways:
| Tour | From | What happens on Cerf | Lands on Moyenne? |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Anne Marine Park, Moyenne & Cerf Island Tour | $84 | Beach barbecue lunch | Yes, a stop |
| Glass Bottom Boat Trip with Lunch & Snorkelling | $119 | Lunch | Yes, afternoon with the 45-minute walk |
| Glassbottom boat & Crystalkayak | $81 | Tortoises | No |
| Saint-Anne Marine Park and Moyenne Island Cruise | $158 | Not a Cerf stop | Yes, guided walk |
Prices are GetYourGuide “from” prices, checked October 2026.
The $84 Moyenne and Cerf tour is the one most people book, with 1,185 reviews and a 4.2 rating. It is also the cheapest way to see both islands in a day. One catch from the listing: the Moyenne trail fee is paid extra on site, so ask the operator what it costs and how to pay before you go. Read our guide to visiting Moyenne for what that fee covers.
If tortoises are the reason you are going, pick a tour that lands on Moyenne. The low-cost kayak trip shows you tortoises on Cerf instead, which is fine, but you miss Brendon Grimshaw’s island and the walk past his grave. Our giant tortoise guide explains why Moyenne’s tortoises are special.
Three places take guests. All of them mean a boat ride every time you leave, so they suit people who want a quiet island stay rather than a base for touring Mahé.
For hotels on Mahé near the boat departures, see where to stay in Mahé. Ste Anne next door is a different story: Ste Anne Island is one all-inclusive resort and closed to day visitors.
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 availability6 hours
A newer shared glass-bottom boat trip with lunch on Cerf, then an afternoon on Moyenne with time for the 45-minute island walk.
from$119
Check availability1 day
A low-cost marine park day with two snorkels, the sandbank, a see-through kayak on request and the tortoises on Cerf rather than Moyenne.
from$81
Check availability7 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 availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
Snorkel, eat and swim. A snorkel trail runs from the beach past four marked spots, with buoys about 100 m out, and SeyVillas rates it easy for beginners. Day visitors can eat at one of the beach restaurants and book spa treatments. There are short coastal paths, a small church, a cemetery, fruit bats and giant tortoises. Most of the coastline you can reach takes under two hours to walk.
By boat from Mahé. Most day visitors arrive on a marine park tour from Eden Island Marina or Victoria. Hotel guests use their hotel's boat: L'Habitation runs its own taxi boat from Eden Island, and Cerf Island Resort charges a compulsory €30 return transfer. We found no public ferry or scheduled water taxi for day visitors.
Yes. Cerf has three places to stay. Cerf Island Resort has 24 villas on the hillside and only accepts children over 7. L'Habitation is a smaller hotel of 14 rooms about 25 m from the beach. Fairy Tern Chalets is the third. You stay inside the marine park, a short boat ride from Moyenne Island.
Yes. Wikipedia and SeyVillas both list giant tortoises on Cerf, along with fruit bats. One budget marine park tour on our list shows you tortoises on Cerf instead of landing on Moyenne. For the free-roaming tortoises that Brendon Grimshaw raised, and his grave, you need a tour that lands on Moyenne itself.
As part of a marine park day, yes. It is where most tours stop for lunch, and the snorkel trail off the beach is easy. On its own it is a quiet residential island with no roads and few sights, so we would not book a separate trip just for Cerf unless you are staying there.
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.
You visit Moyenne on a day boat trip from Victoria or Eden Island on Mahé.
Ste Anne Island (Ile Sainte Anne) is the largest island in the Ste Anne Marine National Park, about 4 km off Mahé.
For a Moyenne or marine park day, stay on Eden Island: Eden Bleu Hotel is a short walk from the boats.