Sea Turtles & Snorkeling · Half or Full Day
Ten minutes off Nosy Be's west coast, the "orchid island" hides seagrass meadows where green sea turtles graze all year round.
A short boat hop brings you to Sakatia's turtle bay, where green turtles — some over a metre long — feed on the seagrass in calm, shallow water. Your guide knows their favourite spots and slips you into the water at a respectful distance; floating quietly, you can watch them surface for air an arm's length away. The reef around the point adds coral gardens, anemonefish and octopus to the day.
The full-day option adds a walk through the island's orchid and vanilla paths and a grilled seafood lunch on the beach. There are no cars on Sakatia — just sand tracks, fishing pirogues and quiet coves.
Just off the west coast of Nosy Be, a ten-minute boat hop brings you to Nosy Sakatia — a small green island with no roads, no cars and no hurry. Locals call it the Orchid Island for the wild orchids that flower in its forest, and the pace here is set by the tide and the shade of the trees. You come for two things above all: the turtles in the shallows and the quiet.
The seagrass beds off Sakatia's beach are a feeding ground for green sea turtles, and this is what most people come for. You slip quietly off the boat, put your face in the warm, clear water, and there they are — grazing calmly on the grass, rising slowly to breathe, paying you very little attention. We keep a respectful distance and never chase or touch them, and on most days you can hang weightless above the seagrass and simply watch a wild turtle go about its morning. It is unforgettable.
Sakatia is ringed by healthy coral, and the snorkelling here is some of the best around Nosy Be. Drift over the reef and you pass shimmering walls of yellow snapper that part around you and close again behind, angelfish and parrotfish picking at the coral, and clouds of little blue-and-orange reef fish.
Look closer and the reef keeps giving. A giant moray eel watches from its crevice, mouth opening and closing as it breathes — far shyer than it looks. A blue-spotted ribbontail ray rests half-buried in the sand, its electric-blue spots unmistakable. And for those who like the small stuff, a jewel-bright nudibranch inches across the coral, no bigger than a thumb.
Back on land, a sandy footpath is the only way to travel. It winds through a working island of small plantations — vanilla vines twisting up their support trees, ylang-ylang and coffee, and the wild orchids that give Sakatia its name. Our guide grew up here and stops to show you how a vanilla flower is hand-pollinated, one bloom at a time, and where to find the orchids hiding in the shade.
The path passes through the island's little village of stilt houses, where children wave and life carries on much as it has for generations. In flowering season a flame tree blazes red against the green, and the whole island feels like a garden that happens to be surrounded by sea.
Between the water and the trail there is always time to do nothing at all. The beaches here are soft and near-empty, backed by forest and dotted with the fishing pirogues that are still the island's real transport. On the full-day trip we grill a seafood lunch in the shade — fresh fish, rice, tropical fruit — and set it out on a long table by the sand, with cold drinks and no schedule but the tide.
See all our trips on the Nosy Be tours page, or pair Nosy Sakatia with a morning of lemurs on Nosy Komba for the perfect wildlife-and-water day.
✓ Boat transfer, guide, snorkeling gear, life jackets, bottled water, soft drinks and beer; beach lunch on the full-day option.
The resident turtles feed in the bay almost daily, so sightings are extremely common — though as with all wildlife, never 100% guaranteed.
No — we keep a respectful distance and never chase or touch. That is exactly why they stay relaxed around swimmers here.
Pick the half day if you only want the turtles; take the full day for the island walk, lunch and a much slower pace.
Reserve online through our contact form — no payment, card details or transfer are needed to hold a date. For some tours we ask for a deposit the day before departure, paid in cash to your guide when you meet. Everything else is paid to your guide on the day of the tour, in cash (EUR, USD or MGA) or by mobile money. We never ask for online payments or bank transfers — if anyone contacts you claiming to be us and asks for one, it is not us.
55 € per person. You pay your guide on the day of the tour, in cash or by mobile money — nothing is charged when you reserve.
Boat transfer, a guide, snorkelling gear, life jackets, bottled water and soft drinks, and a beach lunch on the full-day option.
Yes. Private boat charters are available for families and groups — your own boat, crew and guide, and you choose the departure time. Send us your dates and group size on WhatsApp and we will send you a quote.
In whale season (September–November), combine Sakatia with whale watching — or explore all our Nosy Be tours.