The Ultimate Seychelles Travel Guide: Mahé, La Digue & Praslin
The Seychelles had been on my bucket list for years, and after finally visiting, I can honestly say it exceeded every expectation.
Think impossibly turquoise water, huge granite boulders, white-sand beaches, lush tropical mountains and some of the friendliest people we met throughout the trip. But what surprised me most was how much more there is to the Seychelles beyond the luxury resorts.
Over the course of our trip, we travelled between three of the main islands, starting on Mahé, before slowing things down on La Digue, and finishing on beautiful Praslin.
This guide follows the exact route we took, including where we stayed, our favourite beaches, things to do, places to eat and all the little tips I wish I had known before visiting.
Our route:
Mahé → La Digue → Praslin
MAHÉ
Mahé is the largest island in the Seychelles and where most international visitors will begin their trip.
We flew directly from Abu Dhabi, with a flight time of around four and a half hours, landing at Seychelles International Airport before collecting a rental car and driving north to our Airbnb.
I would definitely recommend renting a car on Mahé. The island is mountainous and spread out, and having your own car makes it much easier to explore at your own pace.
Day 1: Arrive in Mahé
For our first day, we kept things intentionally slow.
After collecting the car, we stopped at a roadside stall selling traditional Creole coconut cakes, which made for a perfect first introduction to Seychellois food.
We then checked into our Airbnb in the north of Mahé, which had beautiful views over the coastline and the island's distinctive granite landscape.
One thing you learn very quickly in the Seychelles is that the weather can change incredibly fast. We travelled in June and experienced short tropical showers followed by completely blue skies, so don't let a little rain ruin your plans.
That evening, we headed down to the waterfront for our first proper meal of the trip: fresh fish curry beside the ocean at Bliss Hotel’s Rockpool Restaurant.
🏡 Where we stayed in Mahé
We stayed in an Airbnb in the north of Mahé, which made a great base for exploring the island.
🍴 Where to eat in Mahé
🐟 Bliss Hotel - Rockpool Restaurant
Great fresh fish and curry! Also just around the corner from the Airbnb!
Day 2: Victoria, Takamaka Rum & Petite Anse
Our first full day on Mahé started with a quick stop in Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles.
It is a compact city and an easy place to walk around, especially if you want to experience a little more of everyday island life before heading back towards the beaches.
Takamaka Rum Distillery
From Victoria, we drove to the Takamaka Rum Distillery, one of my favourite stops on Mahé.
Takamaka is probably the Seychelles' best-known rum, and the distillery offers guided tours that take you through the production process, from fermentation and distillation to ageing in oak barrels.
When we visited, the guided tour itself was free, with an optional rum tasting available afterwards for around 150 Seychellois rupees. There is also a rum shack and food truck on site where you can stay for cocktails and food.
Even if you aren't a huge rum drinker, I thought the experience was genuinely interesting.
Petite Anse Beach
Next up was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.
Petite Anse sits inside the Four Seasons Resort on Mahé, but the beach itself is accessible to the public.
When we visited, we checked in at the resort entrance, were given a wristband and then walked approximately ten minutes downhill to reach the beach.
And it is absolutely worth the walk.
Powder-white sand, enormous granite boulders, lush forest and ridiculously blue water make this one of those places that genuinely looks like a postcard.
Despite being attached to one of the island's most luxurious resorts, parts of the beach were almost completely empty when we visited.
LA DIGUE
After Mahé, it was time to move on to the island that probably surprised me the most: La Digue.
We travelled by ferry from Mahé, stopping at Praslin along the way before continuing to La Digue.
Our one-way ticket was around €74 per person, and the journey from Mahé took roughly an hour and a half. The sea was pretty rough when we travelled, so if you are prone to seasickness, I would definitely prepare beforehand.
The moment you arrive, La Digue feels completely different.
It is smaller, slower and much more relaxed than Mahé.
There are relatively few cars, and the best way to explore is by bicycle which you can rent from most airbnbs and hotels.
When we visited, bike rental cost approximately €12 per day, and because the island is so small, you can reach most places very easily.
Day 3: L'Union Estate & Anse Source d'Argent
Cycle around La Digue
One of my favourite things about La Digue was simply cycling around.
You pass palm trees, traditional buildings, little restaurants and stretches of coastline, and everything feels incredibly relaxed.
Eventually, we made our way towards L'Union Estate, which you pass through to reach one of the most famous beaches in the Seychelles.
L'Union Estate
L'Union Estate was originally established as a coconut plantation and today gives you a glimpse into La Digue's history.
Inside you can see giant tortoises, an old cemetery and remnants of the island's plantation heritage.
Entrance was approximately €10 when we visited.
But the main reason most people visit is what lies on the other side.
Anse Source d'Argent
Anse Source d'Argent is arguably the most iconic beach in the Seychelles
This is the beach you have probably seen in photographs, with enormous smooth granite boulders sitting between shallow turquoise lagoons and tropical palms.
And yes, it really does look like that in real life.
We spent hours here swimming, exploring the rocks, drinking fresh coconuts and taking in what has to be one of the most recognisable landscapes in the country.
If you want those iconic aerial-looking photos but don't have a drone, there were also local photographers around the beach offering photography sessions when we visited.
Transparent kayaking
You can also book a transparent kayak experience around Anse Source d'Argent.
The clear kayaks allow you to see the water and marine life underneath as you paddle along the coastline.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is the weather and tide. Conditions can change quickly, and on our day the wind eventually became too strong for normal kayaking.
Our solution?
Getting towed behind a speedboat while sitting in the kayak.
Possibly not the traditional kayaking experience, but considerably more fun.
Day 4: Slow island life on La Digue
I would strongly recommend spending at least a night or two on La Digue rather than visiting only as a day trip.
Once the day visitors begin leaving, the island becomes even quieter.
Our accommodation sat right beside the water, meaning we could wake up, throw on a swimsuit and walk almost directly into the Indian Ocean.
We paid around €170 per night during our stay, which I thought was relatively good value considering the beachfront location.
🏡 Where we stayed in La Digue
This was probably my favourite stay of the trip purely because of the location.
👉 Book our La Digue Airbnb here
On our final evening, we had one of the best sunsets of the entire trip from directly outside the property.
There was also a bar and restaurant next door, where we had cocktails and a genuinely excellent pizza while sitting amongst tropical gardens and fairy lights.
One of our other meals on La Digue also ended up being my favourite meal of the whole Seychelles trip: incredibly fresh fish served at a restaurant perched directly over the ocean.
🍴 Where to eat in La Digue
🍕 Le Repaire
Our favourite spot for pizza. Perfect if you want something casual but still really good. The cocktail bar on the beach is amazing for sundwoners and the dinner location is set in the gardens by the sea, very romantic.
🍤 Le Nautique
Our overall favourite restaurant in Praslin. Overlooking the sea, the seafood curry was incredible, and the fish & chips is an absolute must.
🐟 The Black Bull
A great option for fresh fish and a relaxed island meal in town. Simple, tasty and exactly what you want in the Seychelles.
PRASLIN
From La Digue, we took the short ferry across to Praslin, which took approximately 15 minutes.
Praslin is noticeably larger than La Digue, but still small enough to explore very easily.
We rented a car as soon as we arrived, paying around €40 per day. From our experience, roughly €40 to €60 per day was fairly normal for car rental in the Seychelles.
We had deliberately left this part of the trip fairly spontaneous, so we spent our first few hours simply driving around the island looking for where we wanted to stay.
Eventually, we found our way to Côte d'Or, and immediately knew we'd found our base.
Day 5: Côte d'Or
Côte d'Or has a slightly different feeling from some of the more secluded Seychelles beaches.
The water is still beautifully clear and the hills behind it are lush and tropical, but there are also hotels, restaurants, fishing boats and little local businesses lining the beachfront.
It feels a little more lived-in.
Along the road, we stopped to buy fresh fruit and coconut from a local vendor, including star fruit, cocoa, bananas and soursop.
We also found a tiny beachside barbecue where locals were grilling everything from steaks and kebabs to seafood.
I went for fresh prawn skewers with salad and garlic bread and essentially turned everything into a giant prawn sandwich.
Simple but perfect.
🏡 Where we stayed in Praslin
We ended up staying directly on Côte d'Or.
Our room overlooked the beach and had its own balcony, and at approximately $200 per night, I thought it offered a really nice middle ground between budget accommodation and the ultra-luxury resorts the Seychelles is famous for.
We travelled during June, which was a quieter period during our visit, and actually managed to negotiate a better rate in person than we'd seen online.
That evening, we ate at a beachfront restaurant, Cafe Des Artes, where we had one of the best tuna steaks of the trip alongside fish curry and live music.
🍴 Where to eat in Praslin
🐟 Cafe Des Artes
A great option for fresh tuna and Seychellois curry… pricey but best tuna steak of my life!
🍔 Leo's Food Truck
Cheap, cheerful and tasty!
Day 6: Coco de Mer, Curieuse Island & Anse Lazio
Our second day on Praslin ended up being one of the best days of the trip.
See the Coco de Mer
Praslin is famous for the Coco de Mer, the enormous seed that has become one of the symbols of the Seychelles.
The famous Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve is one of the main places to see them.
When we visited, entrance to Vallée de Mai was 450 Seychellois rupees.
However, if you're mainly curious to see what a Coco de Mer looks like rather than visiting the full reserve, we also spotted several growing outside the entrance area.
Curieuse Island
One experience I absolutely recommend from Praslin is visiting Curieuse Island.
The island is famous for its giant tortoises, with some of them well over 100 years old.
We had left things far too late to join one of the organised tours, so after asking around locally, we somehow ended up finding a private boat and captain to take us across.
About 15 minutes later, we were arriving on Curieuse.
Seeing the giant tortoises wandering freely around the island was incredible.
You can also feed them leaves, and if you book one of the longer excursions, trips will often include additional time for hiking, snorkelling around nearby islands and lunch.
🐢 Want to visit Curieuse Island?
👉 Book a Curieuse Island excursion here
Or browse more Seychelles activities:
👉 Discover more Seychelles excursions here
Leo's Food Truck
Back on Praslin, we stopped at Leo's food truck for lunch.
Food trucks are a surprisingly big part of the local food scene in the Seychelles, and they're a great option if you want something more casual and affordable between beach stops.
Anse Lazio
Our final major beach stop was Anse Lazio.
Huge granite rocks frame a long sweep of sand, with calm turquoise water and yachts sitting offshore.
There are also local vendors selling freshly prepared coconuts, which is exactly how we ended up drinking Takamaka coconut rum directly from a coconut while sitting on the beach.
Even though our afternoon was fairly overcast, Anse Lazio was still spectacular.
One of my favourite Seychelles moments
Some of the best travel memories are the ones you never plan.
On our way back from Anse Lazio, we happened to drive past a local beach party and decided to stop.
By complete coincidence, we bumped into the captain who had taken us to Curieuse earlier that day.
Before we knew it, we were joining in with local games, watching families and children playing football on the sand and spending our final sunset surrounded almost entirely by locals.
There wasn't another tourist in sight.
And strangely, after all the world-famous beaches and incredible scenery, this ended up being one of my favourite memories from the entire trip.
WHERE WE STAYED (quick links)
If you'd like to stay at the same places featured in my Seychelles documentary, I've linked them all below.
🏡 Mahé Airbnb
👉 Book here
🏡 La Digue Airbnb
👉 Book here
🏡 Praslin Hotel
👉 Book here
THINGS TO BOOK IN THE SEYCHELLES
🐢 Curieuse Island Trip
👉 Book the Curieuse Island excursion
🌴 More Seychelles tours & experiences
👉 Browse Seychelles excursions
SEYCHELLES TRAVEL TIPS
Rent a car on Mahé and Praslin.
Having your own car gave us much more freedom, particularly on Mahé where the distances are greater.
Rent a bicycle on La Digue.
This is easily the nicest way to experience the island, and most places are close enough to reach by bike.
Prepare for the ferry if you get seasick.
Our Mahé to La Digue journey was particularly rough, so I would recommend taking precautions if you're prone to motion sickness.
Don't panic about tropical rain.
The weather changed incredibly quickly during our trip. A grey morning could turn into beautiful sunshine within an hour.
Don't assume the Seychelles has to mean $1,000-a-night hotels.
There are obviously some incredible luxury resorts, but we also found beautiful Airbnbs, boutique hotels, food trucks and local restaurants that made the destination much more accessible than I expected.
Spend more than one day on La Digue.
La Digue changes completely once the day-trippers leave. Staying overnight was absolutely worth it.
Leave a little room for spontaneity.
Some of our best memories came from things we hadn't booked at all, from finding a boat to Curieuse through a local fruit seller to accidentally stumbling across a beach party on our final evening.
OUR SEYCHELLES ROUTE
📍 Mahé
Victoria
Takamaka Rum Distillery
Petite Anse
↓ Ferry (1.5 hours roughly with a quick stop in Praslin)
📍 La Digue
L'Union Estate
Anse Source d'Argent
Transparent kayaking
Cycling around the island
↓ 15-minute ferry
📍 Praslin
Côte d'Or
Coco de Mer
Curieuse Island
Leo's Food Truck
Anse Lazio
Watch the full Seychelles documentary 🎥
If you want to see exactly what this trip looked like, from cycling around La Digue to finding our own boat to Curieuse Island, you can watch my full Seychelles travel documentary on YouTube.