Seychelles

Mahé, the largest and most vibrant of the Seychelles islands, is where most journeys begin — and where many travellers discover they need not go far to find paradise. The island’s lush mountainous interior, cloaked in tropical forest, gives way to over sixty beaches, each more inviting than the last. Victoria, the charming island capital and one of the world’s smallest, offers a fascinating window into Creole culture, with its colourful Sir Selwyn Clarke Market, colonial clocktower, and excellent local restaurants. Beyond the town, the Morne Seychellois National Park draws hikers through misty peaks and endemic forest, while the calm western beaches provide the perfect base for snorkelling, diving, and sailing excursions across the archipelago.

Praslin, the second-largest island in the Seychelles, is home to two of the archipelago’s most celebrated treasures. The Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve — a UNESCO World Heritage site — shelters one of the rarest palm forests on earth and is the only place in the world where the extraordinary coco de mer grows wild. The island’s beaches are equally legendary: Anse Lazio, consistently ranked among the finest beaches in the world, offers crystalline water framed by smooth granite boulders and whispering palms, while Anse Georgette provides a more secluded alternative for those seeking complete tranquillity. Praslin’s boutique resorts and eco-lodges make it an ideal base for island-hopping day trips to neighbouring Curieuse, with its wild giant tortoises and protected mangroves.

La Digue is Seychelles at its most unhurried — an island where bicycles outnumber cars and time moves at the rhythm of the tide. This small, enchanting island is home to Anse Source d’Argent, one of the most photographed beaches in the world and justifiably so, with its dramatic rose-pink granite formations rising from shallow, jade-green water. Beyond the beaches, La Digue rewards those who explore: cycle through vanilla plantations and small fishing villages, visit the L’Union Estate to see giant tortoises in their natural habitat, or kayak across to nearby Île Cocos for some of the best snorkelling in the Seychelles. Intimate guesthouses and small boutique hotels make staying on La Digue feel like a genuine escape from the modern world.