Anse Georgette

Anse Georgette is on the north-western corner of Praslin, in the Seychelles, a curve of white sand between granite headlands with the reef close in. It lies behind the Constance Lémuria resort, and getting to it is the whole story.

Seychelles law makes every beach public, and Anse Georgette is no exception. In practice the land route crosses the resort's golf course, and access is granted by arrangement at the gate — you give your name, you are logged, and you walk through. The system works and non-guests do get in, but it must be arranged and numbers are limited. The alternative is a boat or a long walk from Anse Lazio over the headland, which is rough and not signposted.

The beach itself is short, steep and exceptionally clean, with granite boulders at each end and coral sand underfoot. The water is clear and deepens quickly; there is a shore break at times and the current at the northern end runs. Hawksbill turtles nest here between October and February, and parts of the sand are roped off during that period. Anse Lazio, twenty minutes away by road, is the alternative and needs no arrangement at all — larger, busier, with a restaurant and a car park, and generally reckoned the better beach of the two if you are not counting privacy.

There is nothing on the beach — no bar, no sunbeds, no shade beyond the trees at the back. The resort's facilities are for its guests and the beach is not serviced.

You reach this beach by telephoning a hotel and asking, and the answer depends on how many people have already asked. That is the arrangement, it is legal, and the beach itself is small, sheltered and worth the call. Anse Lazio ten minutes away needs no permission at all.