Anchorage· Alphonse· Seychelles
Alphonse Lagoon (Dinghy and Tender Only)
7° 1.5′ S · 52° 44.9′ E · approximate
A 540-hectare turquoise lagoon wrapped by reef flats on the east side of Alphonse island, home to bonefish, turtles and rays. Yachts stay outside; the lagoon is a tender and small-boat playground.
Practical
IDC: the atoll has one narrow channel in the southwest, 4-10 m deep, giving safe passage to small boats; the lagoon is at most about 10 m deep and is ringed by about 400 ha of reef flats. Treat the lagoon as dinghy and tender water only: leave the yacht on the standby position off the west reef (see Alphonse Island Anchorage) and take the tender in on a rising tide, at slack water if you can. Tides are fast here and lagoons in the Seychelles can almost empty at low tide; one expedition group walked to its Zodiacs in the shallows as the water ran out. Landing on Alphonse and use of the lagoon needs IDC permission, and the flats are fished on a guided catch-and-release basis by the lodge operator, so do not fish. No fuel, water or shop for yachts. Coordinate is approximate: a point in the lagoon SE of the island, inside the OpenStreetMap atoll outline; the SW channel itself is not charted in any source we found.
Best for
Tender exploring, snorkelling and wildlife in a shallow atoll lagoon
Season
Calm transition months (April, October-November) best
Nearby
- Alphonse Island Fly-Fishing0.6 NM away
- Alphonse Manta Ray Snorkel0.8 NM away
- Alphonse Island Lodge1.6 NM away
- Alphonse Island Conservation Centre1.7 NM away
- Alphonse Outer Wall Diving1.8 NM away
- Alphonse Island Anchorage (West Side, Off the Reef)2.3 NM away
- Bijoutier Island2.7 NM away
- Alphonse Sailfish Snorkel3.5 NM away