SEYCHELLES · INDIAN OCEAN
The granite islands of the Indian Ocean.
Island hopping, marine-park snorkelling and the boat days that link Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. The Seychelles tours worth booking, across the inner islands.
Only in Seychelles
Three experiences that are pure Seychelles.
Snorkel trips and beach days turn up on every island holiday. These three don’t: a palm forest growing the world’s biggest seed, an island run by giant tortoises, and the oldest marine park in the Indian Ocean.
Praslin
Vallée de Mai & the Coco de Mer
Praslin holds the only forest on earth where the giant coco de mer palm still grows wild, a UNESCO valley that looks much as it did before anyone arrived. Its double coconut is the largest seed of any plant. Most Praslin days pair the forest with Anse Lazio, one of the great beaches.
- 1 Praslin: Vallée de Mai and Anse Lazio Beach Full-day Tour
- 2 Praslin:Private Tour ValleDeMai,CoteD’orMuseum & AnseLazio
- 3 Vallee de Mai Tour (From Praslin)
Off Praslin
The Island the Tortoises Run
Curieuse is a short boat hop from Praslin, given over to hundreds of free-roaming Aldabra giant tortoises that wander the mangroves and the beaches. Boats pair it with a snorkel stop at St Pierre and a Creole barbecue cooked on the sand.
- 1 Praslin: Curieuse & St. Pierre Full-Day Boat Trip with Lunch
- 2 Curieuse Guided Tour, St Pierre, BBQ & 2 Snorkel Stops
- 3 Praslin: Curieuse & St Pierre Island Day Trip with Barbecue
Off Mahé
The First Marine Park in the Indian Ocean
St Anne was the Indian Ocean’s first national marine park, six islands in the bay off Victoria where the water is shallow, warm and thick with fish. Glass-bottom boats, snorkel stops, and a landing on Moyenne, a tiny island turned nature reserve.
- 1 St. Anne Marine Park, Moyenne & Cerf Island Tour with Lunch
- 2 Mahe: St.Anne Marine National Park Reef Safari with Lunch
- 3 Eden Island: Semi-Submarine Tour in St. Anne Marine Park
Planning a Seychelles trip
Which island, and how long on each?
Almost every trip splits time across the three big granitic islands. Here’s what each one is for, and roughly how long it earns.
Mahé
The biggest island, and the only airport. Victoria, the smallest capital in the world; the long west-coast beaches at Beau Vallon and Anse Intendance; the green ridge of Morne Seychellois behind. Most trips start and finish here.
Mahé tours →Praslin
An hour from Mahé by fast ferry. Base here for the Vallée de Mai palm forest, the long curve of Anse Lazio, and the short boat runs out to Curieuse and St Pierre.
Praslin tours →La Digue
A few minutes by ferry from Praslin, and almost no cars, just bicycles and ox-carts. Come for Anse Source d’Argent, the granite-boulder beach on half the postcards ever printed of these islands.
La Digue tours →Start here
If you only book one boat day.
If your Seychelles trip only has room for a single day on the water, this is the one most travellers choose.
The classics
Seychelles’ Most Popular Boat Trips
Curieuse, St Anne, Moyenne and the Vallée de Mai. The days most travellers build a Seychelles trip around.
By island
Pick your islands.
Each one is its own day. Mahé for the beaches and the capital. Praslin for the palm forest. La Digue for the granite. Curieuse for the tortoises, St Anne for the snorkelling.
By tour type
Or pick the kind of day.
Catamarans, snorkel boats and reef safaris on the water. Glass-bottom and semi-submarine if you’d rather stay dry. Forest walks under the coco de mer, coastal hikes and Creole feasts back on land.
On Mahé
Mahé, at your own pace.
The biggest island rewards a full day with a driver: the west-coast beaches in the morning, the mountain road and Victoria after. Three private Mahé days we’d happily repeat.
Between the swims
Lunch, Creole-style.
Half these boat days finish with a barbecue on a beach: grilled fish, lentils and breadfruit, a rum punch in the shade. The Creole table is half the reason to come ashore. These three lean into it.
On foot
When you trade the boat for the trail.
The granite islands are laced with paths: jungle tracks down to hidden coves, the climb toward Morne Seychellois, the boardwalk under the coco de mer palms. Three walks worth the sweat.
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