The one on the lists
Anse Lazio
Beach · The famous one
Anse Lazio in short.
Five hundred metres of white sand between two granite headlands at the northern end of Praslin, with takamaka along the back of it and a restaurant at either end. It turns up on lists of the best beaches in the world and it deserves to.
Which months
North-west facing, so the calm months are May to September. From December to March it takes the monsoon and can have swell and weed.
Anse Lazio, in 6 frames.
Harvested from this beach's own Commons category, with the file's own title naming the beach. Captions are that title.
Photographs, under Creative Commons: Tobias Alt, Tobi 87, CC BY-SA 4.0 dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 Radosław Botev, CC BY 3.0 pl Radosław Botev, CC BY 3.0 pl Radosław Botev, CC BY 3.0 pl Radosław Botev, CC BY 3.0 pl
What makes it
Three things at once. The sand is fine and pale and deep. The granite at both ends is the rounded, stacked, weathered kind that only these islands have. And the water shelves gently and holds a colour that photographs badly because nobody believes it.
It is public, it has a car park, and it has two restaurants, one at each end. It is busy in the middle of the day in season and empty at eight in the morning.
The practical part
The road in crosses a steep hill from Anse Boudin and the last stretch is narrow. There is a car park at the southern end and a short walk through the trees to the sand. There is shade under the takamaka along most of the beach.
Swimming is easy in the calm months. In the December to March window the north end can have a current running off the headland, and the safest water is in the middle of the bay.
How you arrive
About twenty-five minutes by road from Baie Sainte-Anne jetty, at the far north of the island. The bus runs to the top of the hill and it is a walk down. Most people drive or take a taxi.
The sheet.
Checked 2 September 2026.
- Island
- Praslin, north end
- Access
- public, with a car park and two restaurants
- Calmest
- May to September
- Length
- about 500 m between two granite headlands
What people ask.
When is Anse Lazio calm?
North-west facing, so the calm months are May to September. From December to March it takes the monsoon and can have swell and weed.
How do you get to Anse Lazio?
About twenty-five minutes by road from Baie Sainte-Anne jetty, at the far north of the island. The bus runs to the top of the hill and it is a walk down. Most people drive or take a taxi.
Is there anything on the beach?
Nothing built. Take what you need with you.
What we do arrange.
The sand is not ours. The car that gets you to it, the day out that takes in three more of them and the driver who meets the flight all are.
Car hire, from €45 a day
Ten cars, no deposit, handed over at the airport, the jetty or your hotel.
Days out and excursions
Island tours, boat days, snorkelling and walks, with real ratings and free cancellation to twenty-four hours.
Airport transfers
A driver who watches your flight number and waits with your name on a board.
The terminal photograph above: Remi Jouan, CC BY-SA 3.0
Planning a week around the right coast?
Send the dates. Meera will tell you which side of which island is calm in your month, and put the car and the days out around it.