The originals on the Praslin–La Digue crossing
Cat Rose I and Cat Rose II are the two founding vessels of the Inter Island Ferry fleet - the high-speed catamarans that replaced the old wooden schooner service and established the fast, reliable Praslin to La Digue crossing that travellers rely on today. Together they laid the groundwork for everything that followed, and both remain active members of the daily schedule.
Cat Rose I is a 24-metre aluminium catamaran carrying around 130 passengers. Cat Rose II, introduced shortly after, is the most compact vessel in the fleet at 19 metres, carrying up to 102 passengers - but when it arrived, it nearly doubled the operation's daily capacity and made multiple crossings per day possible for the first time.
Ferry Info
Cat Rose I & II
Check-in
30 minutes
before departure
Luggage Info
1 small bag
1 checked bag
- Economy 30kg max.
Seating
Main Cabin A/C
Upper Outside Deck
Capacity
Cat Rose I - 154 seats
Cat Rose II - 102 seats
All Cat Rose ferries depart Praslin from Baie Sainte Anne's new ERO Passenger Terminal. Cat Cocos shares the same terminal, which makes onward connections to or from their Mahe ferry services quick and easy. On La Digue, all vessels use the Inter-Island Ferry Jetty in La Passe - the island's main village and the hub for bicycles, ox-cart taxis and hotel transfers.
Check in at the Cat Rose office at least 30 minutes before your sailing. Boarding opens 10 minutes before departure, and the gate closes 3 minutes prior, so don't cut it too fine.
The vessels that built the schedule. Before Cat Rose I, the Praslin-La Digue crossing depended on schooners that were slower, less predictable and subject to the wind. Before Cat Rose II, frequency was limited. Together, these two catamarans created the foundation of the daily timetable that Cat Rose III would later expand further.
Two decks on both vessels. Each ferry offers the same basic choice - the cooler, sheltered air-conditioned cabin on the main deck, or the open upper deck with a canopy for shade. On a 15-minute crossing through one of the most sheltered channels in the Inner Islands, both options are comfortable in most conditions.
A calm, protected crossing. The channel between Praslin and La Digue is well-sheltered compared to the open-ocean Mahe to Praslin ferry route. Rough crossings are rare, and seasickness is not a significant concern for the vast majority of passengers on either vessel.
A family business on familiar waters. Inter Island Ferry was founded by William Rose, who learned these routes from his father and has been operating them for decades. Cat Rose I and II are the tangible expression of that history - working vessels on a crossing he knows better than almost anyone.
Connecting onwards to Mahe. If you're travelling from La Digue to Mahe, Cat Rose I or II will get you to Praslin in 15 minutes, where you can connect directly to a Cat Cocos service at the same terminal. Both operators share the ERO Passenger Terminal at Baie Sainte Anne for exactly this reason.
The original Cat Rose catamaran and the vessel that set the template for everything that followed. Built to a 24-metre aluminium twin-hull design, it carries around 154 passengers across two decks - an air-conditioned main cabin below and an open upper deck with a protective canopy above. When it replaced the old schooner service, it transformed the crossing from a leisurely sail into a reliable, timetabled 15-minute journey.
Slightly smaller than Cat Rose I at 19 metres, Cat Rose II is the most compact vessel in the Inter Island Ferry fleet. It carries up to 102 passengers - 56 in the air-conditioned main cabin and 46 on the open upper deck - and is powered by two Caterpillar C9 engines producing 500 bhp each, achieving a cruising speed of around 20 knots. Its introduction was a turning point for the operation: by adding a second vessel, Inter Island Ferry could for the first time run multiple daily crossings in each direction, giving travellers genuine flexibility in how they planned their day.
Inter Island Ferry, also known as Cat Rose - is the Seychelles' specialist on the short but essential link between Praslin and La Digue. A family business at heart, it has evolved from wooden schooners to a modern fleet of three catamarans without losing the personal, locally-rooted character that sets it apart. With up to six daily departures and an impeccable safety record, it is the trusted choice for the Praslin to La Digue crossing.
