Outer Seychelles · Seychelles · Reef
Secret Reef
Schooling snapper, jacks and barracuda off Bijoutier
Area photo: Bennet Gevers · CC BY-SA 4.0
A reef off Bijoutier Island, a short boat ride from Alphonse, lying between 15 and 25 m. It is a schooling-fish dive more than a structure one: snapper, emperor, jacks and barracuda gather here, and the moderate depth keeps the profile straightforward.
Where it is and how deep
7.0678° S, 52.7347° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Secret Reef sits off Bijoutier Island, the small sand islet a short boat ride from Alphonse, and lies between 15 and 25 m. The depth band is comfortable enough that the dive can be run without much clock-watching, which suits a site where the interest is in what is swimming past rather than in a specific piece of structure.
Schools are what you come for. Snapper and emperor fish gather in numbers over the reef, along with jacks and barracuda. That combination tends to reward hanging back and letting the fish settle rather than swimming at them, and it gives the site a different feel from the sharky drop-offs closer to Alphonse itself.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Outer Seychelles: Oct–May is the season with Mar–Apr and Oct–Nov calmest between the monsoons; the lodge closes for part of the year.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Secret Reef?+
Between 15 and 25 m, which keeps it within a straightforward recreational profile while still reaching the deeper part of the reef.
Sources
- Scuba Diving Alphonse Island in the Seychelles — Scuba Diver Life
More dive sites in Outer Seychelles
Reef
Deep crevices at 16 to 30 m with hammerheads on the drop-off
Pinnacle
Three pinnacles topping out at 15 m beside an open drop-off
Reef
A cleaning station at 13 m working the eastern end
Pelagic & blue water
The area's best odds on manta rays and green turtles
Wall
Alphonse's macro wall, all of it inside 16 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Manta cleaning stations at 10–15 m, with 8–9 mantas at once on a good day
A large 'aquarium' section plus soft-coral canyons and overhangs
Grey reef sharks, nurse sharks and eagle rays on a current-swept slope
A banana-shaped reef dived from the surface to 30 m