Seychelles 4 Day Itinerary
Seychelles 4 Day Itinerary
Four days in Seychelles sounds like a lot until you realise that the ferry between Mahe and Praslin alone takes an hour each way, La Digue adds another 15 minutes on top, and none of the islands have the kind of efficient transport that lets you cover ground quickly. This itinerary treats that constraint as the point: slow down, pick three islands, and spend real time on each rather than ticking boxes. The reward is that Seychelles, when you stop rushing it, is genuinely one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Before You Go
Visa: Citizens of almost all countries receive a free visitor’s permit on arrival valid for up to 30 days. You will need to show proof of accommodation and a return or onward ticket. No pre-approval is needed.
When to visit: June through August is the driest period, with the southeast trade winds keeping temperatures around 26-28 degrees Celsius and making the west-facing beaches on La Digue rougher but the east-facing ones calmer. April, May, October, and November are hot, still, and humid but excellent for snorkelling. December through February brings the northwest monsoon with heavier rain. The Seychelles does not have a truly bad season, but if you want the famous beach photos without chop and clouds, aim for July or August.
Currency: The Seychellois Rupee (SCR) is the official currency. Most hotels, restaurants, and ferry operators quote prices in Euros and accept card payments. Small guesthouses, local takeaways, and market stalls work in rupees and often prefer cash.
Airport transfer: Mahe’s Seychelles International Airport is in the north of the island. A taxi to Beau Vallon (the main tourist beach) costs roughly 30 to 35 euros. Shared shuttle buses to the ferry jetty cost around 11 euros per adult.
Day 1: Mahe
Fly into Mahe and resist the urge to immediately hop to another island. Mahe has enough to justify a full first day and it also functions as your logistical base for booking onward ferries.
In the morning, head to Victoria, the smallest capital city in the world by population, with just over 26,000 people. The central market (Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market) is at its best before 10am: stalls sell fresh fish, spices, vanilla pods, and Creole street food. Buy a pack of cinnamon or vanilla to take home; prices are far lower than the resort shops. The clock tower at the market’s edge is a quarter-scale replica of the one at Vauxhall Bridge in London, installed in 1903 to mark the centenary of British rule. It is not impressive as architecture goes, but it is oddly charming as a colonial footnote.
From Victoria, drive or take a taxi south to Anse Royale for lunch. This neighbourhood has fewer resorts than Beau Vallon and a handful of small Creole restaurants where a grilled fish with rice and rougaille sauce costs under 15 euros. Chez Batista is a long-standing spot directly on the beach.
In the afternoon, visit the Botanical Gardens near Victoria, which house several giant Aldabra tortoises that wander freely and are startlingly large up close. Entry is modest (around 200 SCR). Then take the drive up the interior hills through Morne Seychellois National Park to watch the sunset from the La Misere viewpoint. The light over the capital and harbour is extraordinary.
Book your ferry to Praslin online in advance at seyferry.com. The Cat Cocos ferry departs from the Port Victoria jetty and costs approximately 56 euros one way for adults. Morning departures at 7:30 or 9:00 are worth prioritising to maximise your time on Praslin.
Where to stay on Mahe: Mid-range guesthouses around Beau Vallon start from around 80 euros per night. The beach at Beau Vallon is the safest swimming beach on Mahe and has several casual beach bars. Skip the large resort hotels unless the budget is open; the guesthouses give you a better sense of the island.
Day 2: Praslin
The ferry from Mahe to Praslin takes about 55 minutes. Arrive early to get a window seat on the upper deck; the approach to Praslin through the granite outcrops is genuinely scenic. Taxis wait at the jetty.
The non-negotiable item on Praslin is Vallee de Mai Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that occupies a shallow valley in the centre of the island. Entry costs approximately 350 SCR (roughly 24 to 26 euros). The reserve protects a stand of the Coco de Mer palm, which produces the largest seed of any plant on earth, weighing up to 25 kilograms. The Coco de Mer’s double-lobed nut was, for centuries, a mystery: sailors found them floating in the Indian Ocean and assumed they grew on an underwater tree. The Vallee de Mai is also one of the few places where you can see the Black Parrot, endemic to Praslin and found nowhere else. Go in the morning when it is cooler and the birds are active.
Spend the afternoon at Anse Lazio, widely considered one of the world’s finest beaches. The granite boulders at each end of the bay, the turquoise water, and the fine white sand justify the reputation. It gets crowded between 10am and 2pm as day-trippers arrive; being there by 9am or after 3pm transforms the experience. There is a small restaurant at the beach (La Pirogue) serving grilled lobster and fresh fish. Worth the splurge.
Anse Georgette sits just to the north and requires either a short walk through the grounds of the Constance Lemuria resort or a boat transfer. It is quieter than Anse Lazio and the snorkelling at the northern end is better.
Skip: Chateau de Feu gets recommended in many older guides but the historic content is thin. The view is reasonable, but the time is better spent at the beaches.
Where to stay on Praslin: Self-catering chalets around Anse Volbert (Cote d’Or) beach start from around 120 euros per night and give you a kitchen to keep costs down. The village at Anse Volbert has several small supermarkets and good local restaurants. Les Lauriers near Grand’Anse offers an excellent Creole buffet, with Edwin grilling fresh Red Snapper and Jobfish over charcoal.
Book your ferry to La Digue for the next morning: the Cat Rose operates from Praslin and costs around 15 euros for adults, 30 minutes crossing. It runs several times a day but gets full in peak season.
Day 3: La Digue
La Digue is the itinerary’s centrepiece and the one island where the travel-writing cliches are actually earned. The island has almost no motorised traffic apart from a few trucks and the hospital vehicle. You hire a bicycle from your guesthouse (typically 10 to 12 euros per day) and that is how you get everywhere. This constraint is the island’s greatest charm.
The single sight everyone comes to see is Anse Source d’Argent, reachable via L’Union Estate. You pay an entry fee of around 100 to 150 SCR to cross the estate grounds, which include a copra plantation, giant tortoises in an enclosure, and a reconstructed colonial residence. The beach beyond is a series of small coves separated by towering pink granite boulders, with shallow, warm, clear water. It appears in more travel photography than almost any beach in the world. The honest advice: it is as beautiful in person as it looks in photographs, which is rare. Go before 9am or after 4pm to avoid the worst of the crowds. Afternoon light from the west turns the granite an extraordinary orange-red.
After lunch, cycle north to Grand Anse and Petite Anse. Grand Anse has strong surf on the west-facing shore, better for watching than swimming during the southeast trade wind season (June to August). Petite Anse is smaller and usually less visited.
The local food on La Digue is the best value in the whole Seychelles. Small takeaway spots along the main village road sell octopus curry, grilled fish with breadfruit, and coconut-based stews for 5 to 8 euros. This is the meal worth having here, not a restaurant main course.
Where to stay on La Digue: Small guesthouses in the main village (La Passe) start from around 70 euros per night for a double room. Several self-catering bungalows sit among coconut palms within cycling distance of Anse Source d’Argent. Book in advance for July and August; La Digue has limited accommodation and fills up.
Take the late afternoon ferry back to Mahe (via Praslin) or book a Cat Cocos direct from Praslin if you prefer to return via a single connection.
Day 4: Mahe Departure Day
If your flight is afternoon or evening, use the morning well.
Baie Ternay Marine National Park on the northwest coast is Mahe’s best snorkelling site, accessible only by boat. Half-day snorkelling trips depart from Beau Vallon beach and cost around 50 to 70 euros per person including equipment. The park has no entrance to walk to; you anchor in the bay and enter from the boat. The fish life is genuinely impressive.
If snorkelling is not the priority, the Mahe village road network in the southern half of the island passes through fishing villages that feel completely separate from the tourist north. Anse aux Pins and Anse Royale are both worth a morning wander.
For a final meal before the airport, try Marie Antoinette in Victoria, a restaurant occupying a wooden Creole house built around 1895. The menu has not changed substantially since 1972 and includes the famous bat curry (fruit bat braised in Creole spices), which sounds confronting and tastes like rich dark chicken. The set menu costs around 40 euros per person and is the one splurge that belongs on a first trip to Mahe.
Souvenir shopping: The Sir Selwyn-Clarke market in Victoria sells vanilla pods, cinnamon, and locally blended spices at prices that bear no resemblance to the resort gift shops. This is where to buy. The market closes early afternoon and is closed on Sundays.
The taxi to the airport from central Victoria takes 15 to 25 minutes depending on traffic. Allow 90 minutes before departure given Mahe’s international connections often run through Dubai, Doha, or Nairobi.