Curious Islands from the Seychelles to Madagascar

Situated off the coast of Praslin, Curieuse has a distinguishing feature: its red earth. Discovered in 1768 by the French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, it was ravaged by a fire in 1771 and then home to a leper colony of which a few vestiges still remain. Declared a national marine park in 1979, it is home to many underwater species, which can be discovered while scuba diving or snorkelling in the idyllic waters of the Indian Ocean. But above all, Curieuse is renowned for the hundreds of Aldabra giant tortoises that live there. It is highly likely that you will get the chance to meet these fascinating reptiles. Along with Praslin, it is also the only island on which the sea coconut grows wild.

La Digue Island is a veritable concentration of all the beauty of the Seychelles. Located 6 km south-east of Praslin, this small piece of land that looks like paradise is the third-largest island in the Seychelles, despite its modest size (5 km by 3 km)! Turquoise waters just asking you to swim in them, lush vegetation sheltering giant tortoises, beaches of fine sand fringed with coconut trees and surrounded with those emblematic large granite rocks with their pink highlights like at the famous Anse Source d’Argent: the perfect picture postcard… Authentic and preserved, the island follows a peaceful rhythm, with the only means of transport along its little roads being bikes or traditional oxcarts.

Saint-François is a coastal town on the main island of Guadeloupe, a French overseas region in the Caribbean Sea. Restaurants and shops line the yacht-filled Marina Saint-François. White-sand Raisins Clairs Beach is fringed by palms. The weekly Marché Nocturne, or night market, sells produce and crafts such as handmade baskets. To the east, rocky Pointe des Châteaux peninsula offers panoramic sea views.

Diego-Suarez, also called Antsiranana, is the largest city in the north of Madagascar and the third port of the “Grande île”. Along with Nosy Be and Nosy Boraha (previously known as Île Sainte-Marie), it is a former territory of the French protectorate of Madagascar. The city is located on Cap d’Ambre in the north of Madagascar, bordered to the west by the Mozambique Channel and to the east by the Indian Ocean. You’ll be able to walk in the lush Montagne d’Ambre National Park, full of a rich variety of tropical plants, to the Roussettes Waterfalls or head off to explore the Tsingy Rouge Park, which offers extraordinary landscapes of canyons and red laterite stone mounds.

Diego-Suarez, also called Antsiranana, is the largest city in the north of Madagascar and the third port of the “Grande île”. Along with Nosy Be and Nosy Boraha (previously known as Île Sainte-Marie), it is a former territory of the French protectorate of Madagascar. The city is located on Cap d’Ambre in the north of Madagascar, bordered to the west by the Mozambique Channel and to the east by the Indian Ocean. You’ll be able to walk in the lush Montagne d’Ambre National Park, full of a rich variety of tropical plants, to the Roussettes Waterfalls or head off to explore the Tsingy Rouge Park, which offers extraordinary landscapes of canyons and red laterite stone mounds.

Nosy Hara is an uninhabited limestone islet off the northwest coast of Madagascar. It is the habitat of Brookesia micra, the smallest known chameleon.