Curieuse Marine National Park shelters the largest population of wild giant tortoises outside Aldabra, yet its underwater zones host an older lineage: hawksbill turtles that nest on Anse St. José and Anse Badamier between October and February.
The park's 300-Seychellois-rupee conservation levy, introduced in 2009, funds ranger patrols and mooring-buoy maintenance that keeps yacht anchors from scouring the seagrass beds where green turtles forage. Snorkeling with turtles in Seychelles remains concentrated here and at nearby St. Pierre islet because the granite bedrock fractures into swim-throughs and overhangs that shelter juvenile turtles from pelagic predators.
Curieuse Island was a leper colony from 1829 to 1965; the doctor's house now serves as the park headquarters, and the mangrove boardwalk follows the route of the old quarantine perimeter. The island's terrestrial tortoises were reintroduced in 1978, but the marine turtles never left. Hawksbills feed on sponges anchored to the granite boulders in three to six metres of water, while green turtles graze turtle grass in the shallower bays. St. Pierre, a granite dome 400 metres offshore, rises abruptly from 18-metre depths; its southern face attracts schools of snapper and emperor fish, and turtles drift along the thermocline where cooler water upwells.
The Seychelles Marine Parks Authority enforces no-take zones within the park boundaries, and dive operators report stable turtle sightings across the 08:00–17:00 operating window. Morning departures from Praslin reach Curieuse in 20 minutes; the crossing to St. Pierre adds another ten. Guides brief snorkelers on passive observation protocols—maintain two metres of separation, avoid flash photography near nesting sites, never pursue a turtle that swims away. The marine park's success rests on visitor compliance: a single anchor strike can kill decades-old brain coral that forms the structural foundation for reef fish nurseries.
Curieuse Marine National Park tour permits include the conservation fee, boat transfers, and snorkeling gear. Most operators pair the turtle encounter with a land visit to the tortoise pens and a barbecue lunch on Anse St. José, where the Takamaka trees provide shade and the beach gradient is gentle enough for wading. The park receives fewer than 50,000 annual visitors, a fraction of the numbers at Sainte Anne Marine Park off Mahé, ensuring that turtle behaviour remains natural and flight distances short.
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