How to visit Moyenne Island

Moyenne is a 9 to 10 hectare island about 4.5 to 5 km off the northeast coast of Mahé. You cannot drive to it, there is no ferry, and there is nowhere to stay. Every visit is a boat trip, and for nearly everyone that means an organised day tour into the Ste Anne Marine National Park. The decisions are which tour, which day, and whether the price includes the Moyenne landing fee.

Departure points: Eden Island Marina and Victoria

Boats into the park leave from two places on Mahé’s east coast, about 7 minutes’ drive apart. SPGA, the government body that runs the marine park, calls the park a 10-minute ride from Victoria; allow 10 to 15 minutes to Moyenne. Most tours collect you from your hotel, so you rarely need to find the quay yourself.

Checked October 2026, from operator and booking-site listings:

Eden Island Marina is on the coast between Victoria and the airport. Eden Plaza, the shops and restaurants by the marina, has an underground car park according to a third-party guide, but we could not confirm whether day visitors may use it or what it costs, and Eden Island describes its village amenities as private. A taxi or a tour pickup is the safer plan. Our Eden Island guide covers the rest of the island.

Victoria’s harbour sits on the edge of the capital. “Marine Charter” (sometimes “Marine Charter Association”) is the meeting-point name booking sites use; we found no organisation behind it, so go by the address on your ticket. Parking on central Victoria streets is charged, and the official rates we found date from 2013. A free park-and-ride trial at the Ile du Port car park started in December 2025, and we could not confirm it is still running. See our Victoria guide if you are making your own way.

Hotel pickups. One booking site lists the Creole Travel Services catamaran collecting guests at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay at 8:50am and at Eden Island at 9:25am, with other pickup points at extra cost; another listing gives pickups between 7:30 and 8:40am. Times differ between listings, so confirm yours with the operator. We found no boats to Moyenne leaving from Beau Vallon beach, which is on the opposite side of Mahé; boats from there go to Baie Ternay. If you are still choosing a base, our where to stay in Mahé guide compares the areas by distance to the boats.

Use a licensed boat. The Tourism Department’s safety guide says to check that a boat operator is licensed and the boat registered, because unlicensed charters are not insured. Your hotel can help, or call the Maritime Safety Administration on 4224866 (the number in the 2022 guide). Make sure life jackets are on board, especially on small boats.

There is no jetty on Moyenne. The boat anchors off the beach and you climb down and wade ashore.

From the airport to the boats

Seychelles International Airport is on Mahé’s east coast, close to both departure points. Drive times below come from a route planner on OpenStreetMap data and assume free-flowing traffic. Mahé’s roads are narrow and winding, and Victoria gets congested, so add time.

Checked October 2026:

Taxi. The last published cap, approved by the Cabinet in May 2023, was R50 for the first kilometre and R40 for each kilometre after that on Mahé, and drivers may charge less. We found no later revision, so treat it as a guide and confirm the fare with the driver before you set off. GOV.UK says meters are increasingly common; if there is none, agree the price first. Travel blogs say most drivers expect cash in rupees.

Bus. SPTC buses are cashless. For visitors, SPTC sells travel passes for unlimited standard services on Mahé and Praslin on consecutive days:

You can buy one at the airport Information Desk (card payment only) or the Airtel kiosk there. Route 1 buses run the East Coast Road between Victoria and Anse aux Pins past the airport, routes 3 and 30 serve Roche Caiman, the stop area nearest Eden Island, and routes 20 to 22 go to Beau Vallon. Buses thin out after about 6.30pm, so check the SPTC timetable for an evening return.

Hire car. Driving is on the left, firms are at the airport, and most want drivers aged 21 or over. Bring an International Driving Permit if your licence is not in English.

Our Mahé map puts the airport, both departure points and the marine park islands on one page.

Fees: the marine park fee and the landing fee

You pay two separate charges, to two different organisations.

Ste Anne Marine Park fee. SPGA charges Rs 200 per non-resident aged 12 and over, per day (checked on SPGA’s site in October 2026). Tickets are valid 8am to 5pm. You can buy online at spga.gov.sc, and on-site payment is by card only, no cash. Seychelles citizens and residents do not need a ticket but must show residency ID. Tour prices often include this fee.

Moyenne landing fee. The Moyenne Island Foundation, which manages the island, charges its own landing fee. We have not been able to confirm the current amount from the foundation, so we do not quote one here. The Creole Travel Services catamaran says its price includes landing fees in the marine park and on Moyenne. Some cheaper glass-bottom boat tours on GetYourGuide say the Moyenne fee is paid separately on the day. Check the “included” list before you book, and if it is unclear, ask the operator.

A private charter costs more and you pay both fees yourself, but you choose the timing. A shared tour handles the fees, the landing, lunch and the snorkel stops in one booking.

What a typical tour looks like

Timings vary by operator, but the published schedules (checked October 2026) give a fair picture:

• Creole Travel Services catamaran: departure from Victoria at 8:50, back around 4pm. It runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, takes 20 to 30 people and includes a barbecue lunch on Moyenne. GetYourGuide sells it as the Saint-Anne Marine Park and Moyenne Island Cruise, with a guided walk among the tortoises and the landing fee included.
• Teddy’s Glass Bottom Boat: leaves Victoria at 10am, snorkels in the Ste Anne channel, lands on Moyenne around 1pm with lunch on the island, and returns at 4:30pm. Runs daily.
• Eden Island glass-bottom boat: snorkelling with fish feeding, a Creole barbecue lunch on Cerf Island, then Moyenne in the afternoon.

So you spend the morning on the water, the middle of the day on Moyenne or Cerf, and you are back on Mahé by late afternoon. Our tours page lists the trips that actually land on Moyenne.

What you will see on Moyenne

The loop trail circles the island. SPGA says it takes about 30 minutes, the Tourism Board says about an hour, and visitors describe it as rocky and uphill in places. Allow 30 to 60 minutes depending on how long you stop.

• Giant tortoises. Free-roaming Aldabra giant tortoises (BBC Travel counted nearly 50 in 2022), plus hatchlings in two nurseries. See our giant tortoise guide.
• The graves. Brendon Grimshaw, the man who bought the island in 1962, is buried beside his father. Nearby are two older graves marked “Unhappily Unknown”, which local legend says belong to pirates. The pirate treasure page covers that story.
• Forest. Grimshaw and René Antoine Lafortune planted about 16,000 trees, including mahogany now 60 to 70 feet tall.
• A small chapel and a small museum about Grimshaw and the island, plus the ruins of early settlers’ homes.
• Beaches of white sand and granite boulders, one of them called Pirate’s Cove.

The only restaurant is the Jolly Roger, run by Creole Travel Services. A visitor in November 2022 described an outdoor buffet of Creole dishes with grilled meat and chicken and a small bar. We could not find opening hours, and it appears to cater mainly to tour groups.

Numbers stay low. BBC Travel reported in 2022 that there are rarely more than 50 visitors on the island at once and never more than 300 a day. For the full story, read our page on Brendon Grimshaw.

What to bring

• Swimwear and a towel. You will get wet getting ashore, and most tours include snorkelling.
• Shoes you can walk a rocky, uphill trail in.
• Reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. One visitor noted sunscreen is not sold on the boat.
• A bank card for the marine park fee if your tour does not include it, since SPGA takes no cash on site.
• A waterproof bag or camera for the wade ashore.

Rules in the marine park

SPGA’s rules apply on the water around Moyenne. Do not fish, use spear guns or collect shells, coral, plants or other marine life. Take your litter home. Boats may only anchor or moor in designated areas, and water-skiing and motorised water sports are banned.

On the island itself, leave the trees alone. The Seychelles Nation reported in 2009 that some tree labels had to be removed because visitors were scraping bark off medicinal plants.

When to go

The marine park is open every day. The calmest seas for boat trips and snorkelling usually come in the changeover months, April to May and October to November. From May to September the southeast trade winds can make the crossing choppier, and from November to March it is hotter, with the heaviest rain in December and January, usually in short showers. Our best time to visit the Seychelles guide goes month by month.

Accessibility

Moyenne is hard going for anyone with limited mobility. You wade ashore from the boat, the trail is rocky and uphill in places, and the Creole catamaran tour states it is not suitable for reduced mobility. If that rules out landing, a semi-submarine or glass-bottom boat trip in the marine park shows you the reef from inside the boat.