Snorkel· Ilets Pigeon· Leeward Islands
Pigeon Islands (Reserve Cousteau)
16° 10.1′ N · 61° 47.4′ W
Two small volcanic islets 1.1 km off Malendure beach, the heart of the 'Reserve Cousteau' and one of France's busiest dive sites (50,000-60,000 divers a year): coral and sponge walls dropping steeply into the blue, turtles, gorgonians and dense reef fish.
Practical
Position: Ilets Pigeon in OpenStreetMap (relation 7112175). National park core zone: all anchoring is banned; use only the designated buoys, one boat per buoy, maximum 8 m length (arrete 2021-504); fuchsia buoys are for professionals; no overnight stays on the buoys; motor vessels may not enter the navigation exclusion zone around the islets; recreational fishing banned; no night lighting; drones need authorisation; touching any fixed marine life counts as an offence. Bigger yachts anchor off Malendure and come in by dinghy or kayak. A sandy channel about 30 m wide separates the two islets. Cruisers have reported dinghy thefts off Malendure (2015, 2018) - lock it.
Best for
World-class snorkelling and diving