Outer Seychelles · Seychelles · Pelagic & blue water
West End
The area's best odds on manta rays and green turtles
Area photo: Bennet Gevers · CC BY-SA 4.0
The western end of St François and the best chance around Alphonse of seeing manta rays and green sea turtles. The site runs from 12 down to 40 m, but most of the marine life congregates around 16 m, so the productive part of the dive sits well within a normal profile.
Where it is and how deep
7.1157° S, 52.7384° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
West End is the site at the western tip of St François, and it offers the best chance around Alphonse of manta rays and green sea turtles. Those two are the headline here, along with other pelagic species passing through, so the dive is run with attention pointed outward rather than down at the coral.
The site spans a wide depth band, from 12 m at the top down to 40 m. That range is worth reading carefully before planning the dive, because most of the marine life congregates around 16 m. There is little reason to spend the dive deep: the shallower part is both where the animals are and where the bottom time is, and the deeper ground is better treated as the site's lower limit than as its objective.
Marine life and season
- Manta rays
- Sea turtles
| 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.
Know before you go
- The site reaches 40 m, well past where the animals actually are — set a depth limit before dropping in rather than following something down.
Questions divers ask
Where can you see manta rays at Alphonse?+
West End, at the western end of St François, offers the best chance of manta rays and green sea turtles. Most of the marine life gathers around 16 m.
How deep is West End?+
It runs from 12 m down to 40 m, but the productive depth is around 16 m, so most divers have no reason to use the deeper part of the site.
Sources
- Scuba Diving Alphonse Island in the Seychelles — Scuba Diver Life
More dive sites in Outer Seychelles
Reef
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Pinnacle
Three pinnacles topping out at 15 m beside an open drop-off
Reef
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Reef
A cleaning station at 13 m working the eastern end
Wall
Alphonse's macro wall, all of it inside 16 m
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