Seychelles 5 Day Itinerary (No Traps)
Five days is where Praslin earns a second day
Five days takes the 4 day route and gives Praslin the second day it actually deserves, instead of squeezing Vallee de Mai and Anse Lazio into one. That extra day is what makes room for Curieuse Island, the giant-tortoise boat trip most 4 day plans have to skip. Everything still runs on SCR (the euro is quoted, not legal tender) and on the Cat Cocos and Cat Rose ferry timetables, which do not bend for anyone’s flight.
Book these before you go
- A Praslin self-catering chalet for two nights near Anse Volbert: check rates on Booking.com
- A Curieuse Island tortoise and snorkel boat trip: book on GetYourGuide
- Vallee de Mai entry, cheaper booked online in advance: reserve via GetYourGuide
Day 1: Mahe
Land at SEZ with your Travel Authorisation already approved (about EUR11, via seychelles.govtas.com , up to 30 days ahead). A taxi to Victoria or Beau Vallon runs a commonly quoted SCR300 (~EUR19) fixed fare, cash, agreed before you get in. Victoria takes two to three hours: the 1903 Clock Tower and the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market, liveliest before 10am on a weekend.
Beau Vallon fills the afternoon, free and genuinely good for swimming; keep valuables off the sand, since it is one of the spots local reporting flags for petty theft. Book a guesthouse or self-catering room over a resort here: a beach takeaway fish curry runs SCR40 to 60 against SCR150 to 300 plated at a hotel restaurant.
Day 2: Praslin, day one
Cat Cocos to Praslin, about 1 hour to 1h15, economy around EUR56 plus a EUR2 port fee (~EUR58 one way). Spend the day at Vallee de Mai, the UNESCO reserve holding the world’s last wild coco de mer palms: SCR450 (~EUR28 to 30), a 10% discount if booked online through the Seychelles tourism board , and worth two to three unhurried hours rather than a rushed pass-through.
Check into a Praslin self-catering chalet near Anse Volbert (~EUR120 a night); the kitchen matters here, since resort dinners run noticeably higher than a market-bought meal.
Day 3: Praslin, day two: Anse Lazio and Curieuse
Anse Lazio, free and consistently ranked among the best beaches anywhere, is best arrived at before 10am, since the small parking areas fill and the beach visibly crowds by late morning. In the afternoon, a boat trip to Curieuse Marine National Park (entry SCR300, ~EUR18 to 19, card-only on-site) adds hundreds of Aldabra giant tortoises introduced from the 1978 to 1982 conservation program, plus a tortoise nursery, a genuinely different sight from a resort’s roadside tortoise pen.
Day 4: La Digue, overnight
Cat Rose, the separate operator that runs only the short Praslin to La Digue hop, takes 15 to 20 minutes for about EUR15 one way. Anse Source d’Argent sits behind the L’Union Estate gate, SCR150 (~EUR9 to 10) for all-day re-entry plus the vanilla plantation and tortoise pen. Rent a bicycle at the jetty (SCR150 to 200 a day); the island’s one remaining ox-cart operator is a photo-op, not transport most visitors actually use.
Time Anse Source d’Argent for late afternoon, after the Praslin day-tripper boats have gone, and again early the next morning before you leave. Sleeping over is what makes this possible; a same-day return from Praslin only ever sees it at its most crowded.
Day 5: Back to Mahe, departure buffer
Cat Rose to Praslin, then Cat Cocos onward to Mahe, or the direct Mahe-La Digue Cat Cocos sailing (~1h45 via a brief Praslin stop) if the schedule suits better. Build in a genuine buffer, since SEZ is Seychelles’ only international gateway and most long-haul connections route through Nairobi, Doha or Dubai.
With a spare morning, a half-day snorkel trip to Ste Anne Marine National Park (SCR200, ~EUR12, card-only on-site) or a last pass through Victoria’s market for vanilla and cinnamon at real local prices, well below the resort gift shop markup, beats sitting at the airport early.
Does a second Praslin day actually change the trip?
Yes. Splitting Vallee de Mai and Anse Lazio across two separate days, instead of racing both plus a ferry connection in one, is the difference between ticking boxes and actually enjoying either. It is also the only itinerary length here that fits Curieuse Island without cutting something else.
Is La Digue’s ox-cart a real way to get around?
No. Reporting as recent as 2022 found essentially one operator left, running short rides mainly for couples wanting a photo, not point-to-point travel. Bicycles, rented at the jetty for SCR150 to 200 a day, are how almost everyone actually moves around the island.
| Day | Island | Ferry / travel time | Rough cost per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mahe | Taxi from SEZ, ~SCR300 (~EUR19) | ~EUR60 to 90 |
| 2 | Praslin (day 1) | Cat Cocos, ~1h, ~EUR58 one way | ~EUR100 to 150 |
| 3 | Praslin (day 2) | none, on-island + Curieuse boat | ~EUR100 to 170 |
| 4 | La Digue (overnight) | Cat Rose, ~15 to 20min, ~EUR15 one way | ~EUR90 to 130 |
| 5 | Mahe (departure) | Cat Rose + Cat Cocos, or direct ~1h45 | ~EUR50 to 80 |
Book the Curieuse boat trip and the Cat Rose leg to La Digue before you leave Mahe on day 1; both fill in peak season, and neither has a same-day backup. For a version that trims this back to a single Praslin day, see the 4 day itinerary .