Anse Lazio, Praslin: Getting There, Swimming Conditions, Parking & Best Time

Take a car if you have one, and be parked by 8:30. No car? Take a taxi there and agree your pick-up time before you get out. April and October are the calmest months. Anse Lazio is a long beach on the north-west coast of Praslin, in Seychelles, and it is lovely. The sea is not always kind to swimmers, so look at it before you get in.

"Paradise" is the word every page reaches for with this beach. I will leave it with them. What pages skip is where the car goes, what the road does and what the water is doing in your month. That is this page.

How do I get to Anse Lazio?

By car is easiest, because the car parks are at the beach. By taxi is next. The bus is the hard way, and I would not plan a day around it.

The road is sealed. We Seek Travel calls it well kept. It warns the hills are "super steep" near the end, with a long descent to the beach. koek.sc says the last stretch narrows to a single lane with passing places. Minibuses do not always cope, it adds. That matters for the way back. The long descent into the bay is the long climb out of it.

Option	What to know	Source
Car	Three car parks behind the tree line. One shady park is near the north end.	SeyVillas, This Island Life (blog, 2020, updated 2022)
Parking fee	Reports differ. I could not confirm a current fee with anyone who runs the car parks. A blog says (as hearsay) that some people overcharge tourists. Ask at the gate before you pay.	Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler (5 Aug 2026)
Taxi	Roughly SCR 400 to 500 one way from Grand Anse or Cote d'Or. No dependable taxi rank at the beach, so agree the return price at the start.	koek.sc
Bus	Last stop is the Anse Boudin turning point. From there it is 20 to 30 minutes on foot over hills, with no pavement, and no taxis wait there.	Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler; This Island Life says about 1 km
Hotel shuttle	Some hotels run one. Ask yours.	SeyVillas
Toilets and showers	Sources conflict. SeyVillas lists a WC. koek.sc says basic toilets near the car park and no worthwhile showers. Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler says no public toilets or showers on the beach. Plan to use a restaurant.	SeyVillas, koek.sc, Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
Food	Small shops and a few restaurants at each end. Le Chevalier Bay Restaurant is listed as open daily 8am to 4pm.	SeyVillas
Sunbeds	koek.sc puts a plastic lounger at about SCR 200. The sand is fine to sit on.	koek.sc

About the bus. The SPTC timetable page links weekday and weekend PDFs effective 4 August 2026. Both cover Mahe routes from Victoria. Neither names Praslin, Anse Boudin or Anse Lazio. So I cannot give you a Praslin route number or a last bus. Ask your hotel reception, and treat the last bus as the one fact you must have before you go. Fares are reported from about SCR 7 (Southern Sun).

Coming from Mahe, the ferry lands at Baie Sainte Anne, which is the 11 km point above. Hire the car or book the taxi from there.

When should I go to Anse Lazio?

Go before 9:00 in the day, and in April or October in the year. April is the safest pick. Meteorological Services Seychelles calls it the month of the monsoon reversal, with light, variable winds and "conditions at sea can't get more pleasant than this".

Sources disagree on the rest. Meteo does not rank months for this beach. koek.sc names April and October as the sweet spots. We Seek Travel suggests April and May, and October and November. Both avoid the middle of the south-east trades and the deep north-west monsoon. I would take April first and October second, and book flexible if you can.

Crowds follow the same logic as the car park. SeyVillas says the beach is generally busy after 9am. koek.sc describes a parking area of perhaps 25 cars that fills by 10:00 in peak season. It names 10:30 to 14:00 as the busiest window in July and August. Its quiet times are before 9:00 and after 15:30. If you drive, I would be there by 8:30.

What are the swimming conditions by season?

The sea is calmer in the lighter-wind months and rougher in the windiest ones. The Meteo climate guide gives island-wide statements, not beach-by-beach ones. The third column below is my reading for a bay on the north-west coast, with koek.sc's season notes where they exist. It is not an official forecast.

Months	What Meteo Seychelles says	My reading for Anse Lazio	What to do
December to March	The north-west monsoon is the main wind and peaks in January, with "occasional lulls in wind". Meteo calls December seas "quite pleasant", February "fairly good" and March "more pleasant" as the monsoon weakens.	Meteo gives no beach-level view. My reading is that the bay faces the monsoon. koek.sc says conditions range from uncomfortable to unsafe, with red flags when swimming is prohibited.	Look first. Skip the swim if flags are up.
April	"The month of the monsoon reversal", light and variable winds.	Often the gentlest month. koek.sc (not Meteo) names April a sweet spot.	Best month to swim and snorkel, on a calm-looking day.
May to June	The south-east trades set in and get quite windy by June.	The bay is on the far side of the island from the trades. koek.sc: usually possible, but choppier than the photos.	Still check the day.
July to August	Very windy. "The sea is certainly forbidding for amateurs" in August. Meteo's July note says the sheltered beaches of the west and northwest coast are "more pleasant", and ties that to June to September.	That points to the north-west coast as the better side in the trades, which cuts against koek.sc's "choppier" note. Do not assume calm.	Look first.
September to October	Trades decline but stay fairly strong. Winds weaken in October as the rain belt approaches.	Calming. koek.sc, not Meteo, names October a sweet spot.	Good second choice.
November	Winds drop and swing west as the rains start. Seas "quite pleasant".	A transition month that can turn quickly.	Check the day.

Scroll sideways for more columns.

Meteo Seychelles also publishes a marine forecast. Look at it the evening before.

Tides. The tide movement pages give predicted high and low tide times and heights, one page per month. They do not say how the tide changes this beach. We Seek Travel notes that at high tide the water comes quite close to the shore, so do not leave your towel at the waterline. Read the tide for your day, then judge the swell by eye.

Two reports on the best side. One blog says the sea is usually calmer to the right side of the beach. The same blog says parking is cheaper if you carry on left past the first lot. Both come from a single visitor, so treat them as tips, not facts.

One correction. SeyVillas describes a swimming area surrounded by a net. ATC News reported in September 2011 that a net had been put up off the beach after the attacks and was awaiting inspection. The Seychelles News Agency reported on 3 January 2017 that the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration had removed the safety nets. Its director general said swimmers still swam outside the nets, which the north-west monsoon waves often damaged. Do not look for nets.

Is Anse Lazio safe for swimming?

It depends on the season and the day. Nobody can promise it, and this page does not. The safest months described are April and October. The rough months bring swell and red flags.

The sea is the everyday risk. There is no reef. koek.sc says conditions between November and March range from uncomfortable to unsafe. We Seek Travel says the currents and deep water in the bay can make it dangerous. It advises non-swimmers to stay out and swimmers to check conditions. SeyVillas says the water gets deep quickly and that a lifeguard is sometimes or often on duty, which is not a promise.

The rare risk is sharks. A BBC News report of August 2011 says a British man on honeymoon died after a shark attack while snorkelling off Anse Lazio. It was the second fatal attack there that month. A French tourist had been killed off the same beach just over two weeks earlier. Authorities closed the beach and the surrounding beaches. BBC adds that before those deaths, the last recorded fatal shark attack in Seychelles was in 1963.

I found no current official statement setting out what the authorities now advise, so I will not tell you it is fine. Weak swimmers and small children stay close to shore. Nobody swims alone. If red flags are up, believe them.

The Tourism Seychelles page on the 2024 TripAdvisor ranking mentions calm seas for water sports in traveller reviews. That is praise, not a safety assessment.

Can I snorkel at Anse Lazio?

You can, and guides say the water is clear. SeyVillas calls the beach "excellent for snorkelling". That does not make it a safe day for it. One of the 2011 victims was snorkelling, according to the BBC. That is why I would snorkel only in April or October, close to shore, with a friend.

What does a day at Anse Lazio look like without a car?

Take the taxi in and decide the way out before you go. My sample day, not a timetable:

• 7:30 Leave Grand Anse or Cote d'Or by taxi (roughly SCR 400 to 500 one way; other starting points may differ). Ask the driver for a pick-up time, and the price, before you set off.
• 8:15 Arrive before the crowds. Look at the sea and the flags. Walk the beach while it is quiet.
• 8:30 Swim if conditions are right, near shore. Use the tide and marine forecast from the night before.
• 10:00 Have a snack or an early lunch at one of the restaurants at the ends, or at Le Chevalier. Shops are small, so bring food.
• 10:30 Your taxi collects you, just as the busiest window (10:30 to 14:00, per koek.sc) starts. If you want the late light instead, come back after 15:30.

The bus is a backup, not the plan. If you use it, you need the last bus time from your hotel. Then add 20 to 30 minutes on foot to the Anse Boudin turning point, uphill, with no pavement. That walk is the hardest part of the bus day, harder in the rain.

With a car, the plan is the same minus the taxi. Pair it with the Vallee de Mai on another morning, and keep a boat day to Curieuse for the water.

Can I walk on to the next beach?

Treat it as a maybe, not as the plan. Anse Georgette is the next beach along. I found no official statement of its current access terms, so I do not plan around it. Ask locally on the day.

Can I fly a drone at Anse Lazio?

Only within the rules of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority. Its drone page links a registration form for drones of 200 grams or more. It also links a form to request drone flight authorisation. It does not say when authorisation is needed.

The SCAA has warned about misuse. In a 10 May 2022 report, it called careless drone flights in restricted airspace around Mahe, Praslin and La Digue a serious breach. The page shows no restricted-area map for the beach. Ask the SCAA before you fly.

FAQ

Is there a bus to Anse Lazio?

Yes, in a way. The Praslin bus reaches the Anse Boudin turning point, according to a 2026 blog. From there it is 20 to 30 minutes on foot over hills, with no pavement. SPTC's August 2026 PDFs cover Mahe only, so get the last bus time from your hotel.

Is there parking at Anse Lazio?

Yes. SeyVillas counts three car parks behind the trees. koek.sc describes one area of perhaps 25 cars that fills by 10:00 in peak season. Reports of a parking fee differ, so ask at the gate first.

How much is a taxi to Anse Lazio?

Roughly SCR 400 to 500 one way from Grand Anse or Cote d'Or, per koek.sc. Agree the return fare at the start.

When is the best time to go to Anse Lazio?

Before 9:00 for the quiet, and April or October for the sea (per koek.sc, not Meteo). Sources differ on the other months, and there is no official beach-level forecast. Look at the water on the day.

Is Anse Lazio safe for swimming?

Not every day. April and October are the calmest. November to March can be rough, with red flags. Two people died in shark attacks in August 2011. Swim near shore and look at conditions first.