Anse Lazio

Praslin’s showpiece and, by many rankings, one of the best beaches in the world. A wide bay of pale sand and sculpted granite at the island’s northern tip, with clear water made for swimming.

★★★★★ 4.8 on Google 3,200 reviews

Backed by palmed trees, this scenic, white-sand beach with aqua water is a popular snorkeling spot.

The beach the lists keep choosing

Anse Lazio turns up again and again near the top of the world’s-best-beaches lists, and in person it earns the reputation. It sits at the northern end of Praslin, a generous curve of soft, pale sand framed at each end by the huge rounded granite boulders that are the signature of the Seychelles. The water shifts through every shade of blue and green, and takamaka and palm trees give shade along the back of the beach.

Unlike some of the wilder southern beaches, Lazio is usually good for swimming, with water that is often calm and clear and deep enough to enjoy. It is a real swimming and lounging beach rather than just a place to photograph, which is a large part of why people love it.

Snorkelling, food and the walk in

The granite boulders at either end shelter reef fish, and the snorkelling around the rocks can be very good when the sea is calm. There is no reef right offshore, so on days with swell take the usual care, but for much of the year it is gentle. Two long-standing restaurants sit just behind the beach, so a swim can turn easily into a long lunch with your feet near the sand.

Reaching Lazio involves a short walk over a small hill from the car park, which keeps the very casual crowds down and adds a little sense of arrival. It is worth timing your visit for earlier or later in the day to avoid both the midday heat and the busiest hours.

Nearby  Vallée de Mai · Anse Georgette · Anse Volbert (Côte d’Or)

Get there early or come late in the afternoon. Anse Lazio is deservedly popular, so the cooler edges of the day give you the calmest water and the beach closer to the way the photographs promise.