Snorkelling

Snorkelling the coral reef in the Seychelles: what you actually see

Sainte Anne Marine National Park has been protected since 1973, and it shows. The snorkelling stops are shallow, sheltered and close together, which makes them unusually forgiving for people who have not done much of it.

9 min read Heights, distances and departure points checked against the published record and the operators’ own listings; prices, durations and ratings read off the live listings, September 2026

A snorkeller over coral in the Sainte Anne Marine National Park

Quick answer

The snorkelling in Sainte Anne Marine National Park is shallow, calm and close to the boat. Expect parrotfish, sergeant majors, angelfish, wrasse and often turtles, over coral that has had fifty years of protection. The best-rated trip here is four hours at $154; the best full day is $146.

Snorkelling, at a glance

Where: Sainte Anne Marine Parkprotected since 1973
Depth at the stops: Shallowoften two to five metres
Conditions: Shelteredthe islands break the swell
What you see: Reef fish, coral, turtlesand rays if you are lucky
Gear: Mask and snorkel providedon the snorkelling listings
Best rated trip: $154four hours, 4.9 from 76
Best full day: $146seven hours, 321 reviews
Not a swimmer?: Glass-bottom insteadfrom $83
Best visibility: April, May, Oct, Novthe monsoon turns
Reef shoes: Worth bringinggranite and coral rubble at some entries

What you are likely to see

Six things on almost every stop

None of these are rare here.

Parrotfish
Large, brightly coloured and audible — you can hear them scraping algae off the coral.
Sergeant majors
Small striped fish in large numbers, and usually the first thing anybody sees.
Angelfish and butterflyfish
Flat, patterned and unbothered by snorkellers in water that has been protected this long.
Hawksbill turtles
Not guaranteed, but regular. The Seychelles is one of their more important nesting regions.
Live hard coral
The point of the 1973 boundary. Compare it with unprotected water a few kilometres away.
Occasionally rays
Eagle rays and stingrays over the sand between coral heads.

If you have never snorkelled before

Three things that make this a good place to start

Shallow, sheltered, close to the boat — and a glass panel if you would rather not.

The water is shallow and calm. The islands of the marine park break the swell, and the stops are chosen for depth. You are not swimming out over an abyss.

The boat is right there. On every listing here the anchoring is close to the reef, so the distance between the ladder and the coral is short.

And if it is not for you, the glass-bottom boats exist. Four listings on this page use them, and they show the same reef from above. Nobody has to be brave for a Moyenne Island tour to be worth doing.

Six things a Moyenne Island tour shows you underwater

In the order you notice them

All of them are inside a park protected since 1973.

The colour change at the anchorage
From deep blue to pale green as the bottom comes up. Every Moyenne Island tour anchors where this happens.
Live hard coral
The reason the 1973 boundary exists, and visibly different from unprotected water nearby.
Fish that ignore you
Decades without spearfishing shows in behaviour more than in numbers.
Seagrass beds
Between the coral heads, and where the turtles feed.
Turtles, often
Hawksbills are regular here, and the Seychelles is an important nesting region for them.
The islands from the water
Moyenne Island from sea level is a wall of trees, which is exactly what it was not in 1962.