Seychelles 3 Day Itinerary (No Traps)
Three days is the floor for a real three-island trip
Three days is genuinely the shortest version of Seychelles that touches Mahe, Praslin and La Digue without lying to yourself about it. It is still a squeeze: an overnight on Praslin buys the time Vallee de Mai and Anse Lazio actually deserve, and La Digue becomes a half-day out-and-back rather than a proper visit. The Seychellois rupee (SCR) is the currency, euros are quoted everywhere but are not legal tender, and every leg of this trip runs on the Cat Cocos and Cat Rose ferry timetables, two separate operators covering two separate routes.
Book these before you go
- A Praslin self-catering chalet near Anse Volbert: check rates on Booking.com
- Vallee de Mai entry, bookable online for a 10% discount: reserve via GetYourGuide
- A guided La Digue bike or walking half-day, useful if your window there is a few hours: browse Viator
Day 1: Mahe
Land at Seychelles International Airport (SEZ) with your Travel Authorisation already approved. It is the paid pre-arrival step (about EUR11, applied online at seychelles.govtas.com up to 30 days out) that “visa-free Seychelles” articles routinely skip past. A taxi to Victoria or Beau Vallon runs a commonly quoted SCR300 (~EUR19) fixed fare, cash only, agreed before you get in.
Give Victoria two to three hours: the 1903 Clock Tower, a scaled Vauxhall Bridge replica, and the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market five minutes away, at its best before 10am on a weekend for fresh fish and spices. Spend the afternoon at Beau Vallon, Mahe’s largest free beach, and keep valuables in the hotel safe rather than on the sand; it is one of the spots local reporting flags for opportunistic beach theft, simply because it is the busiest. Book a guesthouse or self-catering room here rather than a resort; the same Creole fish curry costs SCR40 to 60 at a takeaway against SCR150 to 300 plated at a hotel restaurant.
Day 2: Praslin, properly this time
Take the Cat Cocos to Praslin, about 1 hour to 1h15, economy fare around EUR56 plus a EUR2 port fee (~EUR58 total, one way). Staying overnight, rather than day-tripping like the 2 day version of this route, means you can actually walk Vallee de Mai at a decent pace: SCR450 (~EUR28 to 30) for a reserve that holds the world’s last wild population of coco de mer palms, and genuinely worth two to three unhurried hours.
Anse Lazio, on the north coast, is free and consistently rated among the best beaches anywhere; arrive before 10am or after 3pm to dodge the day-tripper crowds bussed in from Mahe. Sleep on Praslin in a self-catering chalet near Anse Volbert, from roughly EUR120 a night, which also gives you a kitchen and a real shot at beating resort food prices for dinner.
Day 3: La Digue, honestly rushed, then home
The Praslin to La Digue hop runs on Cat Rose, a separate, smaller ferry operator from Cat Cocos, about 15 to 20 minutes and EUR15 one way, with up to five sailings a day. Take an early one. Anse Source d’Argent, the granite-boulder beach that outshoots every other Seychelles postcard, sits behind the L’Union Estate gate, SCR150 (~EUR9 to 10) covering all-day re-entry plus the estate’s vanilla plantation and tortoise pen. Rent a bicycle at the jetty (roughly SCR150 to 200 a day) rather than pretending the island’s one remaining ox-cart operator counts as transport; it is a photo-op novelty, not a way to get around.
Budget two to three hours at Anse Source d’Argent before the return Cat Rose to Praslin, then either the last Cat Cocos onward to Mahe or the direct Mahe-La Digue Cat Cocos sailing (about 1h45, via a brief Praslin stop) if the timing lines up better. Either way, build in a real buffer: this is the day three separate ferries have to work in sequence for you to make your flight.
Should you really try to fit La Digue into day 3?
Yes, but as a half-day, not a full one. A morning at Anse Source d’Argent, reached before the tour boats arrive from Praslin, still beats skipping the island entirely. What it will not give you is Grand Anse, Petite Anse, or an evening on La Digue’s slower pace; that needs the 4 day itinerary instead.
Is Cat Rose the same ferry as Cat Cocos?
No, and conflating the two causes missed connections. Cat Cocos runs Mahe to Praslin and the direct Mahe to La Digue sailing; Cat Rose is the separate, smaller operator that covers only the short Praslin to La Digue hop. Book each leg on its own operator’s schedule rather than assuming one ticket covers both.
| Day | Island | Ferry / travel time | Rough cost per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mahe | Taxi from SEZ, ~SCR300 (~EUR19) | ~EUR60 to 90 |
| 2 | Praslin (overnight) | Cat Cocos, ~1h, ~EUR58 one way | ~EUR100 to 150 |
| 3 | La Digue (half day) | Cat Rose, ~15 to 20min, ~EUR15 one way | ~EUR60 to 90 |
Confirm the last Cat Cocos or Cat Rose sailing of day 3 before you leave your Praslin guesthouse that morning, not after you are already on La Digue. For the version with a full night on La Digue instead of a rushed morning, see the 4 day itinerary .