A three-week trip to the Seychelles by Irit Kulik: an itinerary through paradise that included the islands of Mahé, Praslin, La Digue and Silhouette.
Irit is a nurse by profession and a travel blogger in her spare time. She loves to travel, but enjoys just as much the thorough planning before a trip and writing up recommendations afterwards. She runs a travel Instagram account where, beyond the photos, you’ll find practical travel tips and recommendations from around the world.
Click here for Irit’s Instagram page.
General Tips for a Trip to the Seychelles
I’ll start with some general tips for a trip to the Seychelles:
- If you want to book domestic flights or ferries during the trip rather than in advance, get a roaming package from your home provider! A local SIM isn’t enough! When you pay for a flight or ferry, you need to confirm by SMS.
If you don’t have a roaming package there’s no way to receive the SMS. - The weather changes every minute, so ignore the forecast. People wrote this before I went and I found it hard to believe, but really, nobody can predict anything there, and most of the time it’s pleasant. Rain doesn’t bother you when you’re in the sea or the pool either, because it isn’t really cold. So don’t worry about the forecast, even if the whole vacation is supposed to be stormy.
- Bring lots of sunscreen – the sun really burns, even when it’s cloudy and even if the forecast says rain.
- Other things to bring: mosquito repellent, a power adapter, toothpicks (you won’t find them anywhere there), and ideally water shoes (the ones that look like socks with a sole – good for rocky beaches).
Logistics
We flew with the excellent Air Seychelles. We got around by taxi, and recommend this for anyone who doesn’t love driving and prefers to relax at the resort most of the time, with just a day trip here and there rather than lots of driving. This way we also got to know lovely local drivers and got loads of useful advice from them, and you have the privilege of asking a local to simply take you to the most beautiful places he knows or to local restaurants that don’t rip you off. They know best.
When we landed, Brandon, a driver we’d heard about through recommendations, was waiting for us – an amazing man, very helpful, friendly and great to talk to. We really hit it off and booked him many more times. His prices are good too.
This is his number, and he’s available on WhatsApp: +2482526038
Seychelles itinerary
We started our Seychelles trip on Mahé.
Mahé
We stayed a week at the Constance ephelia – amazing! I want to stress that in this case it’s *not* overrated but a real paradise! I swear! First of all, it’s very beautiful, and the hotel blends perfectly with the wild nature – a 5-star jungle feeling. If you love nature but also want to be pampered, this is the perfect place!
The staff’s kindness and service are amazing! They make you feel like you’re their first and only guest – incredible! They even brought me a birthday cake. The hotel team really try to do everything so you have a perfect experience, and you can see they do it with love and from the heart! Simply amazing people, every one of them!
Activities at the Hotel
This hotel is a whole world: if you make use of everything it has, you could stay in it the entire vacation without being bored for a moment.
- Free water sports – SUP, kayaks, pedal boats
- Cool workouts – including a water mat workout, trampoline, tennis, squash, yoga and more, and of course a gym (the gym is sooo worth it).
- Guided nature walks – we went on one that was amazing and heard there are 2 more we didn’t get to.
- Lots of pools and 2 beaches belonging to the hotel.
- A bar with live shows and a DJ.
- A huge, pampering spa.
- A huge tortoise enclosure you can enter and feed them once a day at a specific time.
- A zip line inside the hotel.
Food at the Hotel
The hotel has 7 restaurants – I recommend Adam & Eve and Helios, and also check whether there’s a special theme night you fancy at the buffet or a particular restaurant.
Click here for hotel bookings and prices
Mahé Island
A bit about the island itself – we really loved Mahé, even though some tourists and locals describe it as less good and less beautiful than Praslin and La Digue. In our experience, if you get to the truly beautiful places, you’ll find an island with views just as amazing as the smaller, less developed islands. For example, we didn’t tour Victoria itself – we could have squeezed it in, but it simply didn’t interest us enough.
Recommended Beaches
Anse royal, carana beach ,Grand anse, , takamaka, Anse intendance, petite anse.
Petite Anse – this is the beach belonging to the Four Seasons hotel, and getting there is quite awkward, so bear that in mind.
The list of beaches I’ve written keeps coming up in recommendations, and it’s great and worth using, but don’t kill yourself over it, and I’ll explain: there were times we found “just a beach” on our own that felt no less special than a beach recommended everywhere. So if you didn’t make it to a particular beach, it’s not the end of the world – maybe the beach you saw instead was just as beautiful but less crowded, and you came out ahead. (We, for example, really loved the beaches at Ephelia, which aren’t on the lists.)
Beau Vallon – a sandy stretch of beach with lots of hotels, restaurants, a very wide range of water sports and more. The beach is perfect for swimming: when we were there the sea was flat as a mirror and the depth was great for swimming, something we didn’t experience even at the most amazing beaches. That said, compared to other beaches you’ll see, its beauty won’t give you a wow effect. It’s simply a fun beach to be at and enjoy the attractions around it.
More Attractions on Mahé
Nature trails: Near Ephelia there’s a national park (Port Launay) with several recommended trails (we didn’t do them).
- Morne Blanc trail – an hour and a half, free and lovely.
- Copolia trail – an hour each way, costs 120 rupees per person, with a stunning view.
Couple photo shoot: On Mahé we did a couple photo shoot in our wedding clothes – an idea we only realized was so great in hindsight. The scenery is simply incredible, the photos come out wow, and the price was similar to back home but the result was much better. The photographer was very professional, friendly and fun, and knew how to direct us here and there and go along with our ideas and silliness. The shoot and the result were a dizzying success.
Snorkeling cruise to Sainte Anne Marine National Park: we didn’t do it but heard it’s recommended. There are cruises leaving from Beau Vallon beach on Mahé and also from Eden Island.
Praslin
We chose to fly to Praslin, and it really is a cool experience! I recommend it on the way there or back!
It feels like a ride at an amusement park.
We stayed at constance lemuria, which was amazing! The hotel is smaller and has a more boutique, luxurious style. Because of the boutique style, the gym and spa are smaller too. The service at this hotel is amazing as well!
The food is simply insaaane – the tastiest we ate on the trip. I warmly recommend the DIVA restaurant and the buffet.
Here too there are free water sports, a gym and a spa, tortoises and even peacocks. I recommend checking out the free golf lesson – they run one every few days and it’s a really nice experience. For those interested, the hotel also has a huge golf course. We made do with a trial lesson.
Click here for hotel bookings and prices
Attractions on Praslin
Fond Ferdinand – a lovely coconut reserve with a funny, fun guide, stair climbing, lots of fun and views, and light explanations about the plants. Highly recommended. Note that there’s an entry fee, but the guide works for tips only. A special experience, and cheap.
Tortoise Island and Bird Island – note that this trip only leaves from Praslin! We didn’t realize that, so we missed it. Opinions are divided on whether it’s recommended.
La Digue
An amazing island that’s a real experience to ride around by bike and explore in full. It has amazing beaches, a somewhat old-fashioned atmosphere and above all a lot of authenticity. We loved it, but experienced relatively heavy traffic and lots of tourists. It’s an amazing experience, but I felt it was different from what people describe. Technology and cars have reached it too.
Accommodation – cocotier du rocher, a lovely, stunning hotel of excellent, well-kept cottages at a low price with everything you need. Each cottage has a fully equipped kitchen and a quiet, beautiful garden. The cottages don’t include meals, which is an advantage on La Digue because there are cheap supermarkets and restaurants and everything is accessible by bike. The owner, Stephane, is a lovely man who helped us with everything and went above and beyond!
Attractions on La Digue
Anis’s transparent kayaks – I recommend, recommend, recommend!!! A lovely, funny, professional guy who puts real effort into running the trip in a fun, experiential way and at a ridiculous price! The views he shows you, the coconut-opening workshop and the overall experience really amazed us, and it was one of the best things we did on the trip. Plus, the beach where the trip takes place was one of the most beautiful we saw, and it’s great to lounge there all day drinking shakes from the stall.
Anse Source d’Argent – the name of the beach where the trip takes place. It’s a huge, amazing stretch of beach, and there’s an entry fee because there are other things there too, like an art gallery and, I think, a museum. Worth every rupee!
Bikini Bottom – I recommend going there and to the adjacent beach, which is really fun. There are tortoises roaming freely, a beautiful beach and great shakes.
There are more beaches on La Digue that you reach by a hiking and climbing trail, such as Coco beach.
They were recommended to us, but in the end we didn’t get there.
Recommended takeaway – Rey & Josh
Recommended restaurant – Fish Trap
Recommended bar – La Digue Reggae Bar
The four-island trip with Nadi: We really enjoyed it and saw amazing things, but bear in mind it’s extreme. The boat rocks, there’s lots of snorkeling time and lots of waves, even while snorkeling. If you get seasick or aren’t an experienced snorkeler, think twice. They don’t explain things very clearly, so if you decide to go for it, ask everything you can think of – meeting point, time, etc. On our trip we had free time on an island and nobody knew when the food would be, when we were going back to the boat or what came next.
A small tip for anyone staying a few days who wants to get around by bike in the evening: buy a head torch. We bought one on La Digue, but it was quite hard to find. In some places it’s pitch dark after 6 pm, and it really helped us get around by bike.
Back to Mahé
From La Digue we went back to Mahé by ferry. Luckily the sea was relatively calm, but we took anti-nausea pills in advance. We booked upper-deck seats on the Cat Cocos website – you feel the rocking less there, and I recommend it to anyone who gets seasick.
On Mahé we stayed at marie laurie suites A small, cheap and cute place with well-kept rooms and breakfast. What you get for the price is amazing. Because of the location, I’d recommend it if you need to spend one night in the Beau Vallon area. For us it was close to the ferry to Silhouette Island, so we stayed there, and in practice we spent that whole evening at other hotels’ restaurants and the casino. Bear in mind there’s a 15-minute walk without much sidewalk. In short, not a hotel to base yourself in unless you have a car.
Silhouette
Wow, what an incredible island, and not many people know it exists! I think the scenery there is simply perfect, with amazing, unspoiled nature. There are no cars at all apart from golf carts. There are 3 hotels, but the main and most recommended one is the Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa.
Getting to Silhouette – the only way to reach the island is by the Hilton ferry.
It’s a 35-minute crossing from Mahé, from the Bel Ombre area. The ferry is much more fun than the regular ferries: they serve drinks, you check in while waiting for the ferry, which saves time at the hotel, and most importantly – there’s air conditioning. On this ferry the crossing felt smoother to me. Getting there is a bit expensive – 145 euros per person round trip – but worth every euro.
On the island itself we only went to 2 beaches and realized there’s a whole other world within walking distance. A beach I highly recommend, maybe the most beautiful we saw on the trip, is next to the presidential suite. From the beach there’s another hiking trail we didn’t do, but we saw lots of people heading there. The hotel itself is very big and pampering, and the staff are very helpful and dedicated, but here you have to pay for most activities – paid nature walks, water sports equipment rental, guided boat trips and lots more, all at extra cost.
We did a free yoga class there that was great for beginners.
On the hotel grounds you’ll also find mini golf, snooker, a nice spa and a huge organic garden.
Click here for hotel prices and bookings.
Silhouette has two downsides:
- Food – despite the obvious investment in the hotel restaurants, the food is less good (of the restaurants, I recommend Portobello).
- There are no restaurants outside the hotel, so you have to take half board.
- Mosquitoes – I don’t know if it’s always like this or depends on the season, but there are lots. We practically showered in mosquito repellent to keep them away. In the room or outside, at night or by day, they’re there.
Still worth going? In my opinion, very much so, because the scenery there gave us more of a wow effect than all the other islands. It’s a whole world of nature without roads, with lots of beauty and uniqueness.
Another advantage of the island is how easy it is to get to. The ferry is relatively easy even for those who get seasick. The arrival is very well organized, and it’s totally worth it. In my opinion, Silhouette’s beauty gives La Digue a serious run for its money.
STORY Seychelles Hotel on Mahé
From Silhouette we returned to Mahé for the last 2 nights. We stayed at STORY Seychelles. Simply a perfect hotel. The room is really luxurious, the staff are dedicated and helpful – simply perfect! The food there is excellent, especially at Trader Vic’s, which was one of our favorite restaurants on the trip.
Note!!! Don’t take half board! Just pay for the restaurants per dish – it works out cheaper.
There’s a strange arrangement where you pay 50 euros per person for half board and get a 40-euro dinner budget. Without half board you simply pay for what you ate, and the prices are the same.
All in all, we think it’s a perfect hotel to end the trip in and move to slightly more familiar, less wild scenery. The hotel is in the popular and touristy Beau Vallon area.
To sum up, this was the Seychelles itinerary we chose.
The Seychelles are paradise – I wish you a perfect vacation.
