The Seychelles

The Seychelles

The inner granite islands of the Seychelles – Mahe, Praslin, La Digue, and a handful of others – are remnants of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. They didn’t form through volcanic activity. They broke off. This is why they look different from every other tropical island group in the Indian Ocean: the rock is old granite, sculpted by 150 million years of weathering into the smooth pink boulders that stack along the beaches and frame the photographs you’ve seen. It’s not a feature. It’s the geological identity of the place.

The Seychelles is expensive. Prices in 2026 run from USD 100 to 120 per day for budget travellers using guesthouses and local restaurants, USD 180 to 250 for mid-range, and USD 600 and above for luxury resorts. Visitor numbers grew 10.6 percent in the first seven months of 2025 – the archipelago is having a moment, which means prices are unlikely to soften. Plan your budget honestly before you book.

Mahe

Mahe is the largest island at 27km long, holding the capital Victoria and the international airport (SEZ). A north-south ridge of mountains runs through the interior, forested and protected in the Morne Seychellois National Park. Anse Intendance on the south coast is dramatic and less developed than the north, but it has dangerous surf and undertow and carries official warning signs, so walk and photograph it rather than swim. The north-west coast has Beau Vallon, the most accessible beach, with restaurant infrastructure, water sports operators and lifeguards.

Victoria itself can be walked across in 20 minutes. The Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market (currently trading from a temporary site on Albert Street while the 1840 building is renovated; check before you go) is worth a morning for fresh fish, Creole spices, and fruit. The city is a capital in the way that a medium-sized town is sometimes technically a city, and that’s entirely fine.

Praslin

Praslin is the second-largest island, about 1h15 by catamaran from Mahe (Cat Cocos fast ferry; sailings differ by day, so check the current timetable). Vallee de Mai is the main attraction: a UNESCO World Heritage forest where the coco de mer palm grows naturally. The coco de mer produces the largest seed of any plant on earth, up to 25kg, and the forest, small enough to walk in under two hours, is genuinely strange in the way that genuinely unusual biology is strange. Entry is SCR 450 for non-resident adults. Anse Lazio beach on the north coast is consistently listed among the world’s best and deserves the listing; it is lifeguarded but has no protecting reef, so follow the flags, and swimming can be unsafe from December to March.

La Digue

La Digue is reached by ferry from Praslin (15 minutes). The island is largely car-free; bicycles are the standard transport (rental around SCR 150 per day), and the flatness of the main roads makes cycling accessible to most fitness levels. Anse Source d’Argent on the west coast is the most photographed beach in the Seychelles, with pink granite boulders worn smooth by the sea. Access is through the L’Union Estate entrance (small fee). You can circumnavigate the island by bicycle in a day if you’re fit; a half-day gets you everything you came for.

Practical Notes

The Seychelles has no income tax and no sales tax. Prices reflect the absence of a tax revenue base for local services. Credit cards are widely accepted at larger hotels; carry cash for smaller restaurants and markets. There is no endemic malaria; no prophylaxis required. April to May and October to November are shoulder seasons with good conditions and slightly lower prices. The December to March cyclone season is technically possible but rare compared to other Indian Ocean destinations.

Budget travellers who eat Creole food at local restaurants – octopus curry, ladob, grilled fish with rice – find the cost manageable. Eating at hotel restaurants or tourist-facing establishments is where the expense accumulates.