The islands
The Seychelles are a hundred and fifteen islands and almost everyone visits three of them. A day in Sainte Anne Marine National Park takes one of yours; here is what to do with the rest, and which of it pairs badly with six hours of sun.
Quick answer
Do the marine park day early and keep the beaches for afterwards. Mahé has the mountains and Victoria; Praslin has the Vallée de Mai and Anse Lazio; La Digue has the granite beaches everyone photographs. A Moyenne Island tour is the one day of the three that has a schedule.
How to order the days
Marine park first, Mahé second, Praslin third, La Digue if you have a fourth day.
Day one: the marine park. Early in the trip rather than late, because it is the day with a boat schedule and the one that benefits from a spare morning if the weather turns. It also gives you the geography: which island is which, and how close they all are.
Day two: Mahé on land. Victoria, the market, the Morne Seychellois hills and Beau Vallon. A gentler day after six hours of sun.
Day three: Praslin. The Vallée de Mai, where the coco de mer grows, and Anse Lazio, which is regularly called one of the best beaches in the world.
Day four, if you have it: La Digue. Bicycles, granite boulders and Anse Source d’Argent. It is the photograph everyone has seen of the Seychelles.
Six things worth the time
All of them are within a day of Mahé.
A UNESCO World Heritage palm forest where the coco de mer grows, and the only place it grows wild.
Granite boulders, clear water and a regular entry on any list of the best beaches in the world.
The most photographed beach in the Seychelles, reached by bicycle through a coconut plantation.
Small, busy and the best hour in the capital. Fish, fruit and spices.
The mountainous spine of Mahé, with trails through cloud forest above the beaches.
The main beach on Mahé, and free. Best on a Wednesday, when the evening market runs.
Where a Moyenne Island tour fits in a week here
Fix the boat day first, keep it off your last morning, and expect to be tired.
Every other day in the Seychelles can move. A Moyenne Island tour has a boat, a departure time and a weather dependency, so it is the one to fix first and the one to keep away from your last morning.
There is a second reason. A Moyenne Island tour gives you the layout of the whole north-east: which island is Sainte Anne, where Cerf sits, how close everything actually is. The rest of the week reads differently afterwards.
And a third: six hours on an open deck in equatorial sun is the most tiring day of the trip, whatever else you have planned.
Book the marine park day early in the trip. It is the one with a boat, a schedule and a weather dependency — the beaches will still be there on Thursday.
The best time to go→Book direct
The marine park day, the two-island trip, the outer islands and the best-rated snorkel.
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Common questions
Something gentle. Six hours of sun and salt is more tiring than it sounds — keep Victoria or a hill walk for the next morning.
A week covers Mahé, Praslin and a day in the marine park comfortably. Ten days adds La Digue properly.
Early. It is the day with a schedule and a weather dependency, so a booking on day one has more chances.
Yes. The Vallée de Mai and Anse Lazio are both there, and the ferry from Mahé takes about an hour.
On Mahé it helps. On La Digue almost nobody drives — it is bicycles.
La Digue for the photographs, Praslin for Anse Lazio, Mahé for convenience.
Go deeper
One man, 16,000 trees and forty years. The story behind the park.
CostFrom $83, and the park fee nobody mentions.
The parkProtected since 1973, and the first marine park in the Indian Ocean.
The verdictFourteen listings, and the four worth your day.
TortoisesAround fifty of them, and how they got there.
SnorkellingWhat you actually see, and which trips put you in the water.
Mahé: Saint-Anne Marine Park and Moyenne Island Cruise
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