Seychelles, Seychelles

Granite boulders on impossible beaches, giant tortoises, and the most private hotels in the Indian Ocean.

beachluxuryislandhoneymoondiving

Best time to visit

Month	High	Low	Rain	Season
Jan	25°	23°	237 mm
Feb	25°	24°	140 mm
Mar	26°	24°	132 mm
Apr	26°	24°	136 mm	prime
May	26°	24°	137 mm	prime
Jun	24°	23°	95 mm
Jul	24°	22°	61 mm
Aug	24°	22°	71 mm
Sep	24°	23°	137 mm
Oct	25°	23°	136 mm	prime
Nov	25°	23°	162 mm	prime
Dec	25°	23°	234 mm

30-year averages (1995–2024) from ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo. Rain is the monthly total.

Serves travellers at Mid-range→Ultra-luxury level. Typically around $600 a day on the ground.

Ranges are typical costs, not quotes. Check the real price before you book.

Cards work in hotels and larger restaurants on Mahe and Praslin. Keep rupees for buses, market stalls and the smaller places on La Digue.
money · editorial
Distances are small but transfers eat days: a ferry or a flight sits between you and each island, and schedules thin out in the afternoon. Self-catering is normal here and shops are limited outside the main towns.
know before · editorial
The southeast trade winds from June to September bring wind and heaps of seaweed onto the exposed beaches. The northwest monsoon around midsummer brings the heaviest rain.
when not to go · editorial
Mahe for arrival, the north around Beau Vallon for beaches with life, the south for quiet. Praslin for the palm forest and the famous beaches. La Digue for the granite coves and the bicycle pace. Private-island stays are a separate decision entirely.
where to stay · editorial
Mahe and Praslin have buses and hire cars and are easy enough to drive. La Digue has almost no cars at all: it runs on bicycles, and that is the point of it.
getting around · editorial
Mahe is the only international gateway. Praslin is fifteen minutes on by light aircraft or about an hour by fast ferry; La Digue is a short further ferry hop. Nothing connects without a boat or a plane.
getting there · editorial

Anse Source d'Argent
Rounded granite boulders in the sand, with the reef holding the waves off.
Vallée de Mai
The only coco de mer forest in the world. Gordon decided it was Eden.
Anse Lazio
A beach with no hotel in front of it, in the north of Praslin.
Beau Vallon
The beach Seychellois people use, with the fish market in the late afternoon.
Victoria clock tower
A 1903 replica of a London clock, in the smallest capital in Africa.
Anse Intendance
No reef in front of it: real surf and almost nobody.

Take the early boat to Curieuse and stay until the last one
An Aldabra giant tortoise
They reach a hundred years and two hundred kilos. They move slowly and pay you no attention.
See a coco de mer up close
The largest seed in the plant kingdom, at twenty kilos. Taking one home requires a permit.

Morne Blanc
A 667-metre wall on Mahé. An hour of steep climbing through mist forest.