Island Hopping in Seychelles: Mahe, Praslin and La Digue

Three islands, two ferries and a bicycle. How to see the granite archipelago without a resort budget.

Seychelles has a reputation as a destination for people who do not check prices, and that reputation is not entirely undeserved. Almost everything on the islands is imported, and resort rates reflect it. But the archipelago also has a reliable public ferry network, a healthy supply of self-catering guesthouses, and three main islands close enough together to string into one trip. Done that way, it becomes achievable.

Why These Islands Look Different

Seychelles is the only mid-ocean granite archipelago on the planet. Most tropical islands are either coral atolls or volcanic cones; these are fragments of an ancient continent that stayed behind when the landmasses separated. That is why the beaches are strewn with enormous smooth boulders, and why the islands rise into hills, rainforest and waterfalls instead of staying flat. It gives you hiking and beaches in the same day, which very few tropical destinations can offer.

Mahe: Arrival and the Real Country

Mahe holds the airport, the capital at Victoria, and most of the population. It is the least postcard-perfect of the three and the most interesting for it. The market in Victoria sells fish, fruit and spices to people cooking dinner, not to tourists. Inland, Morne Seychellois National Park covers a large share of the island, and the Copolia trail climbs through forest to a granite dome with views over the whole east coast. Beau Vallon is the main beach and fills up with local families in the evening.

Praslin: Prehistoric Forest and Famous Beaches

The ferry from Mahe takes about an hour. Praslin's headline is the Vallee de Mai, a UNESCO World Heritage palm forest where the coco de mer grows the largest seed in the plant kingdom, some weighing twenty kilos. The canopy closes overhead, the light turns green, and the whole place feels older than it has any right to. The Seychelles black parrot, found nowhere else on earth, lives here.

Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette are both on most lists of the world's best beaches. Anse Georgette requires crossing a resort property, so call ahead to arrange access; it is free but the numbers are managed.

La Digue: The One You Will Not Want to Leave

A fifteen-minute ferry from Praslin drops you at an island with almost no cars. Bicycles are the transport, they cost a few dollars a day, and you rent one at the jetty without booking. Anse Source d'Argent, the most photographed beach in the world, is a short ride away and genuinely lives up to the images at low tide: granite boulders the size of houses standing in ankle-deep, glass-clear water.

Go at opening time. By mid-morning the light has flattened and the tour groups have arrived. Cycle on to Grand Anse on the exposed side, where the surf is too strong for swimming and the beach is consequently almost empty. Giant Aldabra tortoises wander around Union Estate and past guesthouse gardens without much interest in anyone.

How to Keep the Cost Sane

• Book self-catering guesthouses rather than resorts and cook some meals
• Take the inter-island ferries instead of domestic flights - far cheaper and more reliable
• Shop at Victoria market and island grocery stores rather than hotel restaurants
• Eat Creole takeaway from roadside stalls, which is excellent and a fraction of restaurant prices
• Rent bicycles on La Digue instead of ox-cart taxis
• Travel in April to May or October to November, between the two monsoon winds

Practical Details

Seychelles is visa-free for every nationality, which is rare, but you must apply online for a Travel Authorisation before departure and it will be checked at boarding. Tap water is safe on Mahe. The southeast trade winds from June to September push seaweed onto east-facing beaches, so check which way your beach faces before booking. Book ferries ahead in high season, and carry cash for the small vendors and roadside grills that make the trip worth doing.